So what's true? I just picked up this stuff (Elite) for a trade in on a fish, so I can pick up a pair of ORA Picasso's.

Mind sharing a little more about the Elite stuff?

Boyd's Chemi-Pure Elite:

http://www.petdiscounters.com/c569/B...ite-p7112.html

From this:

"Chemi-Pure Elite is a precise formula for use with either fresh, reef, and marine aquariums as a chemical absorption filter, ion generator and exchange unit, which positively keeps the pH at a constant level. Ammonia and nitrate scavenging formula removes cooper metal, phosphates, ions, odors, all pollution, gasses, carbon dioxide, and color from aquarium water.

Chemi-Pure quickly buffers pH harmlessly and without any shock to the fish.

Newly collected marines or fishes from old water may be transferred to Chemi-Pure filtered water without harm as this remarkable formula neutralizes the fright and shock systems of fishes.

Chemi-Pure Elite formula now contains Ferric oxide, which helps remove red slime and PO4 (phosphates from the water, giving your coral and fish a healthy environment to grow and live. Packaged in a sealed nylon filter bag."

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This is not the same product as ChemiClean. This product contains a GFO to help reduce phosphate levels.

Regarding the ChemiClean, Boomer knows more information about the Erythromycin in it and the type of independent tests that were done on it. ;)

OK, I found a thread where Boomer indicated what was in ChemiClean:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...n&pagenumber=2

From this thread:

"2thdeekay

It is Erthyromycin cetyl suflate

A chem grad student had looked at it an thought it was Polyacrylamide with no testing. I thought may be so as it is well known in the water world as a flocculating agent. He was going to get it tested but never did. However, it was tested out side of the USA. We also had thoughts it was Alum but we got no sulfate levels. Since the sulafte is acttached to the cetyl you will not me able to measure free sulfate levels in Erthyromycin cetyl, like you could in Alum suflate. So, we did not know what it was.


__________________
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Marine SAT?
 

Has anyone tried TLC's Marine SAT? It claims to address hair algae by using bateria that out compete the hair algae for nutrients thus killing it. Since it is live bacteria they claim no negative effects on the tank.

Sorry if already mentioned. I read this entire thread a week ago and don't recall seeing it.

Re: Marine SAT?
 

Elaborate please. More info, something. :)

here is a link
 

Sorry, I don't know much more than I posted. I came across a reference to it searching the net and haven't seen much else. People here have a lot of knowledge/experience and thought maybe someone here had some experience with it.

Here is a link

http://www.aquariumpros.com/p-SAT32SW.html

BTW, I'm currently trying Algafix and am on my second dose. No news to report yet.

Re: here is a link
 

Give it a few more doses. :)

can anyone tell what are the nuisance algae in this picture?

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70...6tankright.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70...26tankleft.jpg


What about to the left in this picture? Is it some kind of macroalgae?

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70...rplebonsai.jpg

Are these strandy algae a pest?

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70...leargreens.jpg

Lastly, the ugly clumps of red hairy algae in the middle in the back of this picture

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70...leftcorner.jpg

Thank you for your help

wmatt140,

I would assume that the product you are talking about works on the same principle as carbon dosing (vodka) except possibly this product contains bacteria. If you drive bacteria with a carbon source they will take up nitrate and phosphate and skimming will remove the actual bacteria which exports the nitrate and phosphate. Whether their bacteria work better at exporting than the ones already in your system would be up to debate. Reducing your nitrate and phosphate levels will help in controlling algae, but in many cases will not eradicate it. What are your current nitrate and phosphate levels?

thirst,

The red color pest belongs to the Rhodophta, which is a true red algae. This is a large group of algae and many look very similar.

I can not see the green algae in your pictures to tell what group it belongs to.

Whether or not AlgaeFix will work, I don't know. If you decide to try, I would be careful after you reach the 10th dose and watch your other organisms carefully.

Thanks are the rhodophta the strandy ones or the stringy ones in a clump?

The reddish colored algae in your 4th picture down is a Rhodophta.

If you can get a close-up of the green pest it may help.

The only algae I can make out clearly in your photos is the red branching algae in photos #3 and #4.

This appears to be a Gracilaria species, and I have never heard of anybody considering Gracilaria a pest. It is in fact a favorite food of surgeonfish (it is often offered for sale as a nutritious treat for tangs), and most all herbivores love the stuff. It is not aggressive and is rather slow growing; otherwise it would be the perfect refugium algae.

Best photograph I could find on short notice, you might check this link:

http://www.marineflora.com/index.php...products_id=12

It's a good representative photo however, so maybe you can compare to see if this is what you have. If so, no worries. In fact, I can't think of a red algae (aside from cyanobacteria, which aren't truly alga and are definitely not what is pictured) that is generally considered a pest at all.

That looks like it!

so good that algae is good...


but the clumpy stringy algae... that thing is killing all the corals! they grow like cotton balls.

That would be Erythromycin cetyl sulfate.

Not exactly what I would consider an even remotely convincing argument. I had the cleaning lady at the local pharmacy look at the stuff, and she disagreed. And then she left the country, presumably to do more testing.

I live in the city where erythromycin was discovered and first isolated 60 years ago, where it was first processed, compounded, and patented, and the only place it was manufactured in this country for a very long time. I many years ago met Dr. Jim McGuire, who led the team that first isolated and identified it, and I am quite well acquainted with one of his surviving original team members. So for kicks I asked my acquaintance about the Boyd's product and gave him a sample to look at. He did explain to me that positively identifying compounds (esters and salts) of erythromycin is a fairly complex, multistep process, but there were certain indicators one could look for, and he had a (much) younger colleague take a look. The verdict was that if the Boyd's product contained any erythromycin compounds, it was in tiny quantities, and would require some elaborate testing (the details of which went at least several feet over my head) to be certain.

So since my head was spinning a little, I left it at that.
If the Boyd's product does in fact not contain Erythromycin succinate as the company claims, but does contain a different ester or salt of erythromycin, then I would consider that willfully deceptive advertising that would warrant an explanation by the company. But knowing what I know now, I would still use the Boyd's product before any other.

Re: Marine SAT?
 

Sounded pretty intriguing and worth a little investigation. There don't seem to be many online vendors offering it for sale, and none of what I consider the 'Big Ones', so I checked with my local LFS. They used to carry it, but stopped because it did not seem to be a very effective product. Take that with a grain of salt. It also doesn't sound as if there's any danger (except to the wallet) in trying it. My local LFS now instead carries a Marc Weiss product (I didn't get the product name), which they say works slowly but effectively. More grains of salt... just passing along what I found.

And in an attempt to keep on topic, my local LFS does carry AlgaeFix, and reports, much as we have seen in this thread, widely varying results.

so what is the best method to remove this type of alage ?

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/...4algea5555.jpg

levels
 

My phosphate and nitrate levels show none (API test kits). I figure the kits don't measure a low enough level and/or the algae is taking it up too fast.

My problem isn't too bad at this point but it is spreading. I want to stop it before it get out of control. One thing I noticed is the majority of the hair algae is on old coral skeletons vs the live rock. Is there a reason for this?

OK, i dosed for the seventh time. It seems to have slowed down the GHA growth some. I also have spent HOURS scrubbing EVERY rock with a toothbrush and have completely removed most of the GHA. Hopefully, that'll do it. I got some more Rowa Phos and refilled my phosban reactor with 500ml of the stuff so maybe that'll get rid of whatever phoshates i may have. I've also stepped up water change frequency to 20 gallons every other day.

I think that MAY be too frequent. Maybe 20g every 3 days.. I know you have a lot of water volume. I'll let someone with a little more experience chime in.

I would hold off on the 20g every other day unless someone else with more experience says its ok.

chercm,

It is hard to tell what you have from the picture. Can you get a close-up of it. What color is it, sometimes colors do not come out correctly in pictures?

I'm a little worried about it but i HAVE to get rid of this damn GHA. I figured i'd do maybe 5 wc's then switch back to at least 10% weekly. I can't do a nice big wc because i don't have a mixing container large enough.

Are you trying to reduce nitrates, phosphates or both?

I've never had a nitrate problem since i first cycled the tank, at least not one i can measure. Phosphates, i think, is my problem. my Hanna reads .03, which IMO, is low but the GHA is/ was still growing so...