I have two Tunze 6025 powerheads and a MaxiJet 1200 in the display (53 gallons). Would you think that would be enough to disperse the AlgaeFix with the return turned off ? (return pump is a Eheim 1262). The two Tunzes are on opposite sides of the tank (31" wide) facing each other, and the MaxiJet 1200 is at the bottom of the tank behind the rocks, facing diaganally up towards the surface of the water. The surface of the water really churns. :)
I was planning on pouring the AlgaeFix (1 tsp) directly in front of one of the Tunzes. Or do you think it would be better to leave the return pump on, and just turn off the skimmer for an hour after dosing?

Pam

FWIW, most of the hobbyists simply add the AF as recommended per the label to high flow areas to allow it to mix properly. If the AlgaeFix is going to kill your specie of algae then it works. If it does not work on your specie I would not continue dosing too much longer then 10 doses.

I don't believe there is a need to turn off skimmers or pumps. The exception would be to cut off the GAC and GFO during dosing per Randy's comments that these materials can absorb the product.

Just to re cap, here is some more algae I just collected from my algae trough. This grew since I last posted a picture. Of course there is much more than pictured but I like to leave algae in there to help me purify the water.
OK have fun

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h.../urchin014.jpg

I am currently reading this thread and am through pg14. I will be reading the rest....however, I have been dealing with GHA for over a year now. I have done everything imaginable. I have been through 4 bottles of algefix with no luck. I think I might have some strange swine-flu strain of this crap.
I have an 85gal right now and my new 150 will be delivered next month. I plan on bleaching everything in my current system in plans for re-using some of the stuff in the new tank. Rocks, filters and the 85gal tank will become the sump.
Some question I have concerning the GHA:
Cooking the rocks: Does this kill the spores? Seems kinda pointless to cook the rocks if the spores that are imbedded in the porous rocks will just germinate when they get the proper lighting. You can take care of the current “trees” that are there but does it also kill the seeds/spores? (Reminds me of the "seed vault" in the arctic. Google it to see what I mean)
What is the time from germination to the time GHA can Re-seed (Spore)? This brings up the question of re-dosing frequency. Dosing has to occur at a rate less than the germinate-to-re-seed time frame of the pest. I.E. if a pest has a germinate to re-seed time of 48 hours and we dose algefix every 72 hours then the pest will, in theory, never be eliminated from the system. I understand each pest will have different times frames but I have not seen this issue addressed in the first 15 pages of the thread.
I have taken out all my rocks twice and cleaned them of the GHA. The first time i used a brush. This time (two weeks ago) i used a 1600 PSI pressure washer. Yes I am breaking out the big guns. Napalm is my next step. All my PO4 and NO3 have always read 0. Right now I see zero GHA in my tank...obviously because I blasted them off the rocks with the pressure washer. For my second trick...I dosed algefix again today. I have to search through my photos of the last year or so and see if I can come up with some pictures worthy of posting to ID this stuff. It looks just like all the other GHA stuff in this thread though. Unfortunately what I am doing I won’t see the fruits of the labor since this tank will be broken down in about 2 weeks to prepare for the new 150. But as much pain as this stuff has caused me….i am gonna keep beating on it till the last moment. I am still fighting this so that if/when it occurs in the future I already know how I can deal with it.

tralynne,

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Sorry to hear about this pest problem you have. :(

Unfortunately AlgaeFix does not kill all algae as you have experienced. FWIW, I have experienced the same problem with my pest (Derbesia, I believe). The AlgaeFix did not control this pest either. It has taken me over a year to finally get the Derbesia under control. It is still present in my tank, but well under control. What the factors were that actually controlled it, I am not sure, since I implemented so many. The siphoning algae are particularly hard to control, since they heal themselves so easily. They do look very similar to many of the easily controlled algae. ;)

In my tank the phosphates are reading lower than I can measure using a Hach PO-19 kit. This is important in gaining control of algae. My nitrates were high at 50 ppm when I finally gained control, so I don't think the nitrates have a lot to do with it. Go figure. The largest impact on controlling this algal pest seemed to be the combination of reducing my feeding to once every three days and the low phosphates. I did remove several fish which were large feeders also. I stopped dosing vinegar (carbon sources) completely. Now I have been dosing sugar to gain control of the nitrates without incurring algae growth. Perhaps once my nitrate level is down to a zero reading, it may have impact on the remaining Derbesia in my tank. We will see. My nitrate is currently around 20 ppm with no effect. :)

If you are going to start over, I would soak your rock in bleach to kill both the vegetative stage and hopefully the spores. Cooking rock will not work in eradicating the pest. Soaking any equipment that came into contact with your pest would be advisable, including hoses that the water runs through. I would repeat the bleach soaking several times and clean off the pest in between.

I'm a week into using AlgaeFix. Tonight will be dose #3. Last night was the first time I had to clean my glass in the past 5 days. I normally need to clean it every other day, but after 5 days, I was just starting to see a little algae on the glass. I'd say about the amount of algae on the glass after 5 days, was what I'd normally see 36 hours after cleaning the glass. So...I took that as a good sign, because if it's keeping algae off the glass, it's doing something to the algae on the rocks. I scrubbed about 95% of the GHA off my overflow 24 hours after my first dose of AlgaeFix and suctioned as much of it as I could into a filter sock in my sump. So far, it doesn't appear to be growing back on the overflow. Right now, the tips of all the GHA in my tank looks singed. I took a turkey baster last night to blow off the rocks, and I noticed some of the longer GHA blowing right off the rock. Normally it's attached really well to the rock, so that's a GREAT sign !! I also manually pulled some of the longer GHA last night. So far, so good and I don't see any stress to any of my fish, corals (LPS and some zoos) and inverts (Crocea Clam, huge Sabae Anemone, Sandsifting starfish, Pistol Shrimp, Tuxedo Urchin, Queen Conch, Nacarrius, Cerith, Astrea and Bumblebee snails, scarlett crabs).
Pam

Pam,

Sounds good. :)

I have been battling GHA in my 35 Hex for the better part of 9 months, I run a sump, skimmer, GFO, GAC, Purigen, and a 8" Deep Sand Bed in a bucket. At the very worst my tank looked like the amazon rainforest. I will try to post some pictures of the worst and current pictures as well tommarrow. When I do water changes I pull and siphon out what I can reach. I started using the algaefix about 6 weeks ago, so i'm about 18 or so doses in. Although the GHA has reduced in its density it is still a plague that refuses to be destroyed. All of my rocks both in my display and in my sump have some degree of coverage, the shell of my clam, my shells on my crabs and snails all have GHA growth on them. I don't know if I have to have more patience for this process, I've read others success after 5-8 doses. I'm thinking about tearing down the whole system and restarting with fresh sand and fresh rocks and cooking the rocks I currently have for future reintroduction into the tank.

SinlessHarbor,

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If AlgaeFix has not worked at this point for you, then it will probably not achieve control your algal pest. If you decide to start over, I would use the acid/bleach treatment on your rock, sand and equipment. Cooking rock will not kill algal pests.

To recap what you should be doing to try and gain control of your pest:

There are a lot of hobbyists in your same position. Reducing your nitrate and phosphate levels to a zero reading will help in getting rid of many type of

algae pests. IME, reducing nitrate and phosphate levels too low can kill or cause problems for many types of coral. Running GAC & GFO will all help in

reducing the growth of these type of pests. In many cases they will not eradicate the pest. Vodka dosing will help reduce the nitrate and phosphate

levels also, but will not necessarily eradicate the pest either.

A common problem is being able to identify your pest to a catagory correctly: true algae, cyano, dino, bacteria & other assorted pests that look similar.

In many cases a micro look at your pest is best to properly ID it to one of these catagories.

IMHO, if you are faced with an algal type pest problem, it is best to implement an algae pest control program strategy:


1) Wet skimming with a good quality skimmer. Clean your skimmer cup at least once per week.

2) Reduce your nitrates and phosphates to a zero reading using the hobby grade test kits. See Randy's articles regarding this:

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...t2003/chem.htm

3) Proper lighting. I find that the higher wavelength bulbs are less conducive to algae growth. I now run 20,000 K bulbs from using 10,000 K bulbs.

4) Proper day length is a good thing also. I would not run your lights for more than 12 hrs total. Keep in mind that light entering from a window nearby

is added to this figure.

5) Running GAC is a good practice in my book. It will help reduce the total dissolved organic carbons in your tank water and this is a food source.

6) Proper 30% per month total water changes will help export the DOC as well as some of the pests in the water column. It will help maintain the

micro-nutrients as well.

7) Physical removal of the pest by hand, scrubbing and siphoning is important as well. If the amount of pest in your aquarium is overwhelming, perhaps

dealing with one section at a time is a better idea.

8) Proper water circulation in your tank to prevent dead zones. When dealing with cyanobacteria pests increasing the flow where it grows seems to help.

9) Use RODI water for all top-off, salt mixing, additive mixes... etc.

10) Dosing iron may have benefits for macro-algae, but if you are experiencing algae pest problems than I would stop dosing it as it can add to the

problem in many cases.

11) If you are dosing other supplements such as vitamins, amino acids, or others that contain a mix of supplements other than the basic alk., calcium and

magnesium, I would stop these until you gain control of your pest. This includes many of the store bought products with unknown ingredients. Dosing Vodka

or sugar to reduce your nitrates and phosphates would be an exception in my opinion.

12) Proper feeding habits. This can be the number one problem when trying to reduce your nitrate and phosphate levels. Use low phosphate fish foods.

13) IMHO, lighted refugiums may be a problem when trying to deal with an algae type pest problem. They are wonderful when it comes to reducing nitrates

and phosphates. However, the light over most refugiums is conducive to the microalgae type pests. If the refugium becomes infested with a microalgae

pest, I would clean it throughly of all pests as best as possible, remove the macro and turn off the lights until you gain control of your pest. Re-using

the same macroalgae later may serve as a source for re-infestation of your pest.

14) Adding fish and other creatures that will eat your algae pest will help.

15) There are other items that can be added to this list if others care too share and some of the items listed may be disputed.

I do currently run my skimmer on the wetter side, I'm running a 150W 14K MH going to switch to a 20K soon. I run my MH on display and PC on my sump 7 hours a day and blue leds on display 9 hours a day 2 hours prior, during, and 2 hours after MH cycle. Since my tank is a hex I get pretty good flow from my 2 Korolia 1's. I only use RODI water, and I do 5 gallon water changes every 5 days.

I have been toying with the idea of getting a turbo twist UV sterilizer to kill the spores in the water since the algaefix dosn't kill the spores.

I know a guy that swears he has stomatella snails that devour hair algae, even though I've heard that they don't eat it. I think he's crazy cause he's going to take one of my GHA covered rocks and put it in his system to prove to me that it will be GHA free in a few weeks, if that works hopefully I can populate my tank with his super snails and rid my system of this plague.

Does the AlgaeFix make it easier to remove the algae from your rock?

Yes it does.

Since the AlgaeFix it having an effect on the algae, then I would take advantage of this and remove the algae by whatever means possible from all your rock, sand bed and glass. I would also get all the dead algae and debris out of your tank. This stuff will brake down and provide a food source for more algae growth.

Another thing to help control the algae, would be to decrease your light output by 1/2. Perhaps encouraging bacterial populations to replace algae populations by dosing a carbon source while decreasing your light output may be helpful.

can i get a (or a few) reccomendations on good Marine Pest book...Algae books. Ones that i can use for ID'ing purposes would be great.

Of all the books I have on algae, macroalgae and algal pests, I use this book the most:

Caribbean Reef Plants
http://www.amazon.com/Caribbean-Plan.../dp/0967890101

Tralynne,

I just noticed you are new to RC. :)

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Update on my 55G: I've stopped maintenance dosing AF Marine for the past month, and some GHA has grown back onto the LR. The main reason why I stopped is due to adverse effects on my coral population, which is largely LPS and Actinodiscus (mushrooms).

I'm trying to use a revers photoperiod driven fuge to export N/P, and a purigen bag to further purify the water. Since I have a grip on it, i'm starting vodka to see if it's as effective as maintenance dosing AF. I'm going to give it a month, and if it doesn't improve, then back to AF marine.

Let us know how it works out for you. Dosing a carbon source makes sense to try and stimulate a bacterial population to replace the algal population.

Were you dosing AF once per week?

5th dose of AlgaeFix last night. I'd say about 50% of the GHA is gone...possibly more. Very happy with the results so far and fish, coral and inverts don't seem affected at all. I've only had to clean my glass once in the past 12 days and normally, if I don't clean it every other day, it's gets pretty bad by the 3rd day! Pam

Pam,

Gad to hear the AF is working for you. Keep us posted. ;)

I have a dense low red turf aglae problem. It looks and feels like the soft side of velcro but dark red (maroon). I don't have pics but it looks exactly as described. Will algaefix have a impact on this type of algae? Sorry if this question has already been asked.

Chads120,

Your description fits one of the Rhodophyta algae. I don't believe that AlgaeFix will work on them. Perhaps it will work if you continue dosing it for a longer period of time, say in excess of 10 doses. After 10 doses AlgaeFix has been seen to kill some macroalgae. Care needs to be taken if you dose AlgaeFix longer than 10 doses, since some hobbyists have noted problems with their coral.

Controlling the Rhodophyta is usually accomplished by using organisms that will eat them, along with a lot of elbow grease used to scrub them, pick them and remove them any other way possible. Staying on top of removing them is the most effective way of controlling them I have heard of.

i have tried a few ways of getting rid of hair algae with no success, so after reading this thread on and off for a while i tried some algae fix marine at half strength on a 2 foot cube, mixed reef.

well all i can say is that it was an absolute disaster,the hair algae weakened and would pull out but the impact on livestock was devastating.

the first sign of trouble was the death of the entire cuc,trochus,turbos and hermits,at this stage i stopped dosing and started water changes,the next thing was an explosion of red cyano which i have never had before,as fast as it was removed it had smothered and killed acans,lobos and a duncan,the final straw was 2 clams one after the other

weeks later after many water changes the deaths have stopped,i still get cyano outbreaks and have to clean green algae of the glass twice a day,and the hair algae has returned

the reason for posting my experience is to inform people that if something seems to good to be true it usually is and to warn you all that this stuff even at half doses can have devastating effects on a mixed reef,it certainly upsets the chemical balance of the whole system even after stopping its use for weeks.

Sorry to hear that rdm. I had a similar experience. It did kill my HA and my cheato, next was most of my CUC, then my SPS, then some LPS. I had a bad case of cyano for about a month. Luckily none of the fish died. My "tank of death" lasted about 6 months. I would try adding frags once a month but they would die. The only good thing was that all my HA was killed and has not come back. For the last 2 months I have been adding frags and they have been doing well so I think my tank is back.

I would like to echo that caution should be used. I was using about 3/4 dose and had horrible results.