water change?

drillsar · 05/29/2008, 11:21 AM

Im battling hair algae problem and I can see some hair algae floating as I guess i couldnt get all of it, I already took 5 gallons out, will it hurt if I take another 5 gallons? I have a 29 gallon. Hair algae will spread if you dont get them correct? I have 10 astrae snails ordered these will help right?

FishDad2 · 05/29/2008, 12:09 PM

You've just changed ~17% of the water, so if this is a reef tank with corals, I'd wait a day, but if it's fish only, you should be fine.

The snails will help a bit, but once hair algae gets going, they won't do much, as they tend not to eat it once it gets "big"...they're best for nipping it in the bud, before it starts growing everywhere.

The key here is to find out the cause and fix that...a water change may or may not address the root cause, as your new water may will be high in the very nutrients the algae is thriving on.

As you probably know, algae thrive on nutrients in the water and light. If either is in excess, it can lead to unwanted algae growth.

You should test for Nitrate, Phosphate and Silica .... these are the three favorite/most common nutrients for unwanted algae in an aquarium. Test the tank and your replacement water (before you add salt and after you've added it). This will help you understand what's likely causing the algae growth and therein point you in the direction of what to do to fix the problem.

Good luck.

05/29/2008, 11:21 AM	#1
drillsar Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: West Orange, NJ Posts: 2,838	water change? Im battling hair algae problem and I can see some hair algae floating as I guess i couldnt get all of it, I already took 5 gallons out, will it hurt if I take another 5 gallons? I have a 29 gallon. Hair algae will spread if you dont get them correct? I have 10 astrae snails ordered these will help right?

05/29/2008, 12:09 PM	#2
FishDad2 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 660	You've just changed ~17% of the water, so if this is a reef tank with corals, I'd wait a day, but if it's fish only, you should be fine. The snails will help a bit, but once hair algae gets going, they won't do much, as they tend not to eat it once it gets "big"...they're best for nipping it in the bud, before it starts growing everywhere. The key here is to find out the cause and fix that...a water change may or may not address the root cause, as your new water may will be high in the very nutrients the algae is thriving on. As you probably know, algae thrive on nutrients in the water and light. If either is in excess, it can lead to unwanted algae growth. You should test for Nitrate, Phosphate and Silica .... these are the three favorite/most common nutrients for unwanted algae in an aquarium. Test the tank and your replacement water (before you add salt and after you've added it). This will help you understand what's likely causing the algae growth and therein point you in the direction of what to do to fix the problem. Good luck.