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Green Hair Algea Help

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by JByrd, Oct 24, 2008.

  1. Oct 24, 2008 #1
    JByrd

    JByrd

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    I have a little green hair issue currently that I am battling against.  So far I would have to say its a draw....I have been manually pulling it out, increased flow,  increased water changes, cut way back on feeding and shortend the light cycle.  I have also been running phosgaurd in a pentair rainbow mechanical filter for some time now.  It seems that what ever I do I can just not beat this.  I did some water tests lately and eveything was in range.  I have read that Nitrates will not show as good on a test because the GHA will have it stored up.   Its a shame for myself I have let this happen and have vouced to never let this happen again if I can get this cleared up.  With the new family member this summer maintenance on the tank was not at the top of the prority list......any suggestions would be great.   Thanks
     
  2. Oct 24, 2008 #2
    REEFer Madness

    REEFer Madness Inactive User

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    Grab a few emerald crabs.  Mine eat a whole **** load of algae.  One of them grabbed a piece that was about 4x the size of the crab and took him an hour, but he ate it all.
     
  3. Oct 24, 2008 #3
    phishcrazee Riverside

    phishcrazee Experienced Reefkeeper

    1,681
    Riverside
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    yellow tangs are great hair algae eaters.........When you say your parameters are in range, what are the readings exactly?
     
  4. Oct 24, 2008 #4
    Travis

    Travis Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    You are going to also want to figure out where your algae fuel is comming from. Test your top off and water change water also look at what you are feeding and how often. Some frozen foods are packaged in phosphate laiden juices. If you are using something similar to that you will want to rinse the food before feeding.
     
  5. Oct 24, 2008 #5
    JByrd

    JByrd

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    Let me give you some more insight on my tank. For fish I currently have a 6" Blue Hippo which picks at the GHA, a 4" Yellow tang, a 3" Purple Tang, lawnmower blenny, 2 percula's, 3 green chromis, unknown blue leg crabs and snail, 3 emerald crabs. My tank is a 125 AGA with a 30 gal fuge, Coralife 125 skimmer, pentair aquatics mechanical filter and 40 watt UV. Wavemaster pro with 4 MJ powerheads. Current USA 3x150 with 96w pc's light. I have thought about getting 50 more blue legs. After testing again today (last test was 2 weeks ago) the results are Ph 8.3, Ammonia 0, Calcium 320 mg/L (low), Carbonate Hardness 7 dKH, Phosphate < .25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, S.G. is 1.022. These are the current test results and the only tests that I currently test.
     
  6. Oct 24, 2008 #6
    JByrd

    JByrd

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    What is a good item to rinse the food in?
     
  7. Oct 24, 2008 #7
    Travis

    Travis Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Posted By JByrd on 10/24/2008 02:42 PM
    What is a good item to rinse the food in?
    Vodka
    JUST KIDDING
    Either distilled or RO/DI water.
     
  8. Oct 24, 2008 #8
    Travis

    Travis Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Heck just rise it with tank water for that matter.
     
  9. Oct 25, 2008 #9
    JByrd

    JByrd

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    Any suggestions on the GHA. Also here is a link to my build.........http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1007596&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
     
  10. Oct 25, 2008 #10
    einsteins

    einsteins Experienced Reefkeeper

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    How are you testing your PO4 ?

    If you have had a nutrient rich tank for a while its most likely that the PO4 and nutrients are stored up in the Live Rock or sandbed and will take a while to leach out if you have lowered the amount of nutrients being added to the tank.
    I would suggest weekly 10% water changes continue with GFO and Carbon. you need to get PO4 down to the .o5 range or so to keep HA at bay. Make sure your skimmer is set to skim WET!

    I would also make sure your main parameters are all balanced Alk, cal and Mag...I would also bring Salinity up to the 1.025 to 1.026 range (do this slowly!!!)

    When feeding use only a small bit of food at a time and dont add more food until the fish eat all of what you have already added, this will cut down on uneaten food laying around in the tank causing nutrients and PO4 build up.

    This wont happen overnight and you have to be diligent with it but once you get back in good order it is easier to keep things under control.

    Good luck
    eins

     

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