hair algae/red rust colored algae

becketd · 08/04/2007, 08:21 PM

i know i know... another algae problem....im about at witts end with this stuff and any advice would be much appricated...the stuff has been growing rampent for about 2 to 3 months..maybe even longer... i think i have tried about everything..ive had a tank for 5 yrs and never had this prob...i dont know what to do at this point...i use phosband, changed the filters in the ro unit, did frequent water changes, tried chemi clean and bought bags and bags of snails and crabs..even the snails dont like this stuff and seem to died alot quicker eat this crap then when i didnt have it...i know that seems far fetched but honestly when i didnt have the stuff my snails really thrived....the only thing i havent added is cheato..which im going to as soon as my lfs gets it in..i cant fig out where the nutriants or phosphates are coming from..and actually i dont have any phosphates because the algea is consuming it ... i read and read these posts of other people with the same prob and the advice is always the same...can anyone see a major flaw in my approach to solving this problem...my tank looks horrible...

froggy4112 · 08/04/2007, 11:06 PM

you might have a nitrate problem, what are your levels? also, how are you on water changes? how long do you leave your lights on and what kind are they? what kind of algae is it?

becketd · 08/05/2007, 06:38 AM

about 3 weeks ago i got new filters for my ro unit because i thought that i might be the sorce of my prob...so i would say ive done about 8 water changes in that time of about 10 to 15 percent...i have a 90 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump so i feel like i still have a few more changes until i will of completely changed all the water...have 2 mh lights ones 250w and the other is 400w...i have 220w of vho...all the bulbs are relatively new.....i dont have a chiller so i normally turn the mh lights on when i get home from work and turn them off before i go to bed..this is about 6hr...the vhos stay on longer..prob total of 10....ill test everything and post that in a couple of hours...the algae that covers the rocks is an orgish color and the stringy algae is green...i have know idea what kind and im sure it would prob really help if i did...

scarpenter · 08/05/2007, 07:31 AM

how old are your MH bulbs? If they are older then say 8 months. You might consider changing them. New MH bulbs stoped my algae prob.

hypertech · 08/05/2007, 08:39 AM

Also, lots of small changes really doesn't reduce levels of anything as much as a couple big ones.

For example, do a 30% change instead of 3 10% changes.

rowland75 · 08/05/2007, 09:13 AM

Im having the same problem.

It happened a while ago and i shifted it with the lights out theory, so im not convinced it worked.

This time ive improved my refugium lighting so the macro is growing really well now.

Ive increased the tank to sump rate, and generally doing more water changes.

I will change my mh bulbs too as I had'nt thought of that.

Keep posting your progress and dont lose heart.

Pete

becketd · 08/06/2007, 09:43 AM

i would do a larger water change however im have my corals up near the top of the tank....i dont have a really nice plumbed in system yet so im stuck doing the bucket thing...when i drain it down about 10 percent my corals are out of the water...im worried about killing them...

SaltyDr · 08/06/2007, 10:13 AM

Drain the water from your sump as well. Buy a cheap wet-dry vac. That way you won't expose your corals to the air and you still could say take 10g from display and 15+ from the sump.

becketd · 08/06/2007, 07:56 PM

thats a good idea....i think im going to get 40 gals of water ready to add and then get a longer hose and siphen it right out the window...befoer i was taking it out 5 gal at a time until i had removed 10 to 20 percent....i also just bought some macro algae....does anyone have a guess as to how long it will take and how much algae i need to have to get ahead of the nitrate prob...if at all...also i set my tank up per my lfs recomendation as a deep sand bed with egg crate at the bottom...im told it helps change nitrates to nitrogen...i have covered the base of my deep sand bed becasue was thinking that the bottom layer was getting light somehow and therefore not working...i know im grasping at straws here but i am really trinng to fig this out...it very frustrating

Scissorhand · 08/06/2007, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SaltyDr
Drain the water from your sump as well. Buy a cheap wet-dry vac. That way you won't expose your corals to the air and you still could say take 10g from display and 15+ from the sump.

It won't hurt if your corals aren't exposed to air for prolonged period of time.

When I change water, my corals are dry for 10 minutes or a bit less without ill effect.

08/04/2007, 08:21 PM	#1
becketd Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 129	hair algae/red rust colored algae i know i know... another algae problem....im about at witts end with this stuff and any advice would be much appricated...the stuff has been growing rampent for about 2 to 3 months..maybe even longer... i think i have tried about everything..ive had a tank for 5 yrs and never had this prob...i dont know what to do at this point...i use phosband, changed the filters in the ro unit, did frequent water changes, tried chemi clean and bought bags and bags of snails and crabs..even the snails dont like this stuff and seem to died alot quicker eat this crap then when i didnt have it...i know that seems far fetched but honestly when i didnt have the stuff my snails really thrived....the only thing i havent added is cheato..which im going to as soon as my lfs gets it in..i cant fig out where the nutriants or phosphates are coming from..and actually i dont have any phosphates because the algea is consuming it ... i read and read these posts of other people with the same prob and the advice is always the same...can anyone see a major flaw in my approach to solving this problem...my tank looks horrible...

08/04/2007, 11:06 PM	#2
froggy4112 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Central Florida Posts: 131	you might have a nitrate problem, what are your levels? also, how are you on water changes? how long do you leave your lights on and what kind are they? what kind of algae is it?

08/05/2007, 06:38 AM	#3
becketd Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 129	about 3 weeks ago i got new filters for my ro unit because i thought that i might be the sorce of my prob...so i would say ive done about 8 water changes in that time of about 10 to 15 percent...i have a 90 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump so i feel like i still have a few more changes until i will of completely changed all the water...have 2 mh lights ones 250w and the other is 400w...i have 220w of vho...all the bulbs are relatively new.....i dont have a chiller so i normally turn the mh lights on when i get home from work and turn them off before i go to bed..this is about 6hr...the vhos stay on longer..prob total of 10....ill test everything and post that in a couple of hours...the algae that covers the rocks is an orgish color and the stringy algae is green...i have know idea what kind and im sure it would prob really help if i did...

08/05/2007, 07:31 AM	#4
scarpenter Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Tupelo, MS Posts: 436	how old are your MH bulbs? If they are older then say 8 months. You might consider changing them. New MH bulbs stoped my algae prob.

08/05/2007, 08:39 AM	#5
hypertech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 244	Also, lots of small changes really doesn't reduce levels of anything as much as a couple big ones. For example, do a 30% change instead of 3 10% changes.

08/05/2007, 09:13 AM	#6
rowland75 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 106	Im having the same problem. It happened a while ago and i shifted it with the lights out theory, so im not convinced it worked. This time ive improved my refugium lighting so the macro is growing really well now. Ive increased the tank to sump rate, and generally doing more water changes. I will change my mh bulbs too as I had'nt thought of that. Keep posting your progress and dont lose heart. Pete

08/06/2007, 09:43 AM	#7
becketd Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 129	i would do a larger water change however im have my corals up near the top of the tank....i dont have a really nice plumbed in system yet so im stuck doing the bucket thing...when i drain it down about 10 percent my corals are out of the water...im worried about killing them...

08/06/2007, 10:13 AM	#8
SaltyDr Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Southwest Florida Posts: 1,191	Drain the water from your sump as well. Buy a cheap wet-dry vac. That way you won't expose your corals to the air and you still could say take 10g from display and 15+ from the sump.

08/06/2007, 07:56 PM	#9
becketd Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 129	thats a good idea....i think im going to get 40 gals of water ready to add and then get a longer hose and siphen it right out the window...befoer i was taking it out 5 gal at a time until i had removed 10 to 20 percent....i also just bought some macro algae....does anyone have a guess as to how long it will take and how much algae i need to have to get ahead of the nitrate prob...if at all...also i set my tank up per my lfs recomendation as a deep sand bed with egg crate at the bottom...im told it helps change nitrates to nitrogen...i have covered the base of my deep sand bed becasue was thinking that the bottom layer was getting light somehow and therefore not working...i know im grasping at straws here but i am really trinng to fig this out...it very frustrating