frostyjay1
Active member
not sure if this is the right spot but here goes. i have had a recent hair algea break out, and not sure how to handle it. any ideas would be great. thx
i have a phosphate test kit but have never used it. the instructions are missing and i can view them online. i will take in a sample on sunday to a lfs and see. thx+1 on light out. When I had a problem I used a tooth brush to scrub my rocks off; make sure to syphon the loose hair out or it will spread.
I'm also guessing your phosphates are high? If so, try to figure out why. Lowering phosphates should be a permanent fix.
Good luck!!
Unless they are really high, test kits don't help much. You really need to have it measured by a meter to detect low levels. Generally speaking the best way to get rid of it is to reduce the source of the phosphates/nitrates. As an example; are you using rodi? What type of food and how often do you feed? Overfeeding is the #1 cause of algae coupled with poor nutrient export. You have a good skimmer? Fuge? Personally, I love to overfeed and get big fat fish, so I run GFO.i have a phosphate test kit but have never used it. the instructions are missing and i can view them online. i will take in a sample on sunday to a lfs and see. thx
This also happened to me recently and a few weeks of GFO made a huge impact.Sometimes rock can leach phosphates too. I used to have a bad case of it (like most people at some point) and GFO did the trick for me. After I ran the gfo I could brush it off with a toothbrush and it wouldn't grow back
OMG, I recently learned this. I now blast a couple times a week and my water stays pristine. It's amazing what the smallest changes can make.Another thing that helps keep it off is to blow your rocks off before each water change to lift the detritus off the rock and into the water column for export. Turkey baster works, or better yet, a small powerhead that you hold in your hand to blow off the muck. Sometimes people are baffled about why they have algae when their phosphates are low....until they blow their rock.
so this would be ablove and beyone running an MP10 on NTM for a few hours before a WC? Interesting. I gave up on that once I got the MP10. . .OMG, I recently learned this. I now blast a couple times a week and my water stays pristine. It's amazing what the smallest changes can make.
so this would be ablove and beyone running an MP10 on NTM for a few hours before a WC? Interesting. I gave up on that once I got the MP10. . .
Reefwise has Hi-Capacity and Regular GFO for teh same price BRS sells it.Any lfs sell gfo?
Yup. I do it just as the lights are dimming and it makes the water nice cloudy. I'm assuming live food bits get knocked into teh tank because my acans and other corals open up like mad and they start feeding. Even my Scolly flips inside out for this event.so this would be ablove and beyone running an MP10 on NTM for a few hours before a WC? Interesting. I gave up on that once I got the MP10. . .