LEDs and hair algae??

Ok I got my LEDs back in October or something like that. Everyone said that I should run the lights at about 25-30% for a couple of months so I have been. But I recently purchased some staghorns some montis and slimers plus I already have some other sps's in the tank. So I turned the lights up to 55% deep blue 55% royal blue 45% whites but now Im getting hair algae in certain spots and my glass is getting agae growth the coral is doing great but what do I do about the algae I dont want it to get out of control ..oh yeah my nitrates are about 10ppm I dont know if that makes a difference should I pick the algae out turn the lights back down??

 

Im guessing its a phosphate issue. do you know what your phosphates are at?

 

Yup, algae has nothing to do with the kind of light you are using, but rather the available algae food in your tank.

 

Im buying a GFO and a carbon reactor friday will that make a difference?? how do you bring down phosphates

 

...also if I pick the algae out will that make it spread more???

 

GFO will help, its only job is to remove phosphates. You can manually remove it and the GHA shouldnt spread further.

 

You can manually remove the algae, but it is so prolific it will likely show up in random areas untill you get your PO4 under control. Start out slow with the GFO you don't want to drop PO4 to rapidly and stress corals. Also be sure to rinse your carbon and gfo well in RODI prior to adding them to the tank.

 

This is interesting.. I got leds on my tank back in sept and I have bad hair algae I pick it out constantly. My lfs whom I bring all my problems too told me to get a bucket and put the rock in with water from the tank put a lid on it and leave for a week or two. Then rinse good and put back in. With it in total darkness it should rot and die. But i know i need to get my PO4 under control somehow. I just have a 29 gal bio cube. And there are still some rocks with hair algae in the tank since they have corals on them and I could have them in total dark that long without killing them. But i still need to figure out how to lower my PO4.

 

LED's will grow algae no different than any other light of comparable intensity. Given nutrients and light with the right photosynthetic peaks, algae will grow. You could go lights out to kill it off the rocks but it will be back. If I remember correctly from undergrad, there is a fair amount of algae particulate airborne from sea spray ect.


The take home: Feed it and it will grow.


You can lower Po4 by GFO, carbon dosing, or lanthanum chloride dosing. To name a few simple ways.

 

Once you get the nutrients under control you can take rocks out and spot treat with hydrogen peroxide. Some dose the tank but can be hard on some corals.

 

You could convert the rear chamber to a refugium if its not already and get macro algae growing back there to soak up nutrients and slow the hair algae.

 

IMO I would start by checking the TDS of ur RO water.
then go with GFO. Good luck

 

I have used hydrogen peroxide to kill hair algae but it is a temporary fix. You will still need to address the main problem of why it got so bad in the first place. If you have coral in the tank I would not add H2O2 to the tank cause you will most likely kill something.

 

So pretty much what I posted about hydrogen perxoide tickty?

 

The way you left it as some dose the tank is a littl ambigous. I felt the need to clearly state that you should not do it. Yours was grey mine was black and white.

 

PO4 can be a slippery slope. Too much and it will contribute to algae growth. Not enough, and nothing will grow.

An accurate measuring device is very helpful to maintain the proper levels.

IMO, if your going to use GFO as a method of PO4 reduction it would also be a good idea to buy a Hanna PO4 checker.

By utilizing a checker you can also ensure your not wasting GFO by changing it out prematurely.
If your PO4 levels are high enough GFO could be exhausted quite rapidly and then start building up again in a short amount of time. Especially when it is first added to a PO4 rich system. By using a checker you will know exactly when to change it and reduce the risk of feeding that stubborn algae any more fuel.