Cameronbherring Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Ok. Hair algae has been taking over my tank. Some is growing over my coral which I have tried to remove once I see it. I have been busy with school and basketball but I still usually have time to clean the skimmer every other day and everything else. But how can I rid of the algae? I'm currently running a HOB octopus skimmer and have a sump but the sump is so small and I can't use it. I've been doing 25g water changes every 2 weeks. Is adding a BRS dual reactor going to help? If I get that im going to use carbon and gfo. Or gfo and phosguard. I feed every other day but sometimes every day. Anyone have any ideas? Will a dual reactor help? How can I make use of my small sump? Thanks for our help Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 What about turning your sump into an algae scrubber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Algae scrubber? How does that work? Never heard of it but at this point if it will help the slightest bit without ill effects im all for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Ok I looked it up. That seems good but won't the algae keep growing in my display tank since the scrubber would be small? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 A little algae scrubber goes a long way. Hopefully nvrEnuf chimes in on his experience. I'd honestly toss the ceramic media and trickle filter. It's so efficient at converting ammonia/nitrites to nitrate that you will have excess nitrates in your system. That is the epitome of a nitrate factory right there. The reactors with carbon and GFO should help with organics and phosphates, respectively, but you will still have excess nitrates to deal with. You can remove nitrates through water changes, a deep sand band, a Ceramico block in a low flow environment, macro algae, turf scrubber, or carbon dosing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Thanks. I might add macro algae, algae scrubber, and the Dual reacotors. The only way I can stop the trickles is if I take out that blue piece and if I do that it flows over the side. The only way I can get it not to trickle is to drill a hole in the middle of the sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 You may be able to modify the trickle portion for the turf scrubber. I'd do some research into turf scrubbers and see if you can "engineer" it to work. You may want to reach out to NvrEnuf and pick his brain about them. He's had great success with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I'm going to throw my two cents in here and suggest a Sea Hare to help manage the algae until you implement a permanent solution. I had a hair algae problem and the Sea Hare was awesome, a hair algae eating machine. Remember the Sea Hare is only part of the over all solution. You will have to remove it after you get your hair algae under control. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 What kind of sea hare did you have? I Only have 10-15 hermits and a turbo snail right now. I do need a larger clean up crew for sure. My foxface won't eat any of the algae -_- nor will either of my tangs.... But still those fish are awesome are they any other great clean up crew members? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Also it says the sea hare can release a purple posion in the water that can kill. I don't know if it could harm anything but I think I would rather be safe than sorry. I don't know about yall but I don't want a tank crash. O.o that's the last thing I want right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Long-term I prefer urchins, turbo snails, fighting conchs, and emerald crabs. I despise hermit crabs... annoying little buggers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Should I take out my hermits? They are a inch or smaller. Red legged. I might add 2 conchs, 2 turbos, and 10-15 smaller snails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 I might add a urchin but I feel one day I'll accidenlty poke my self putting my hands in the tank.... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Tuxedo urchin is my recommendation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I never had any problems with my Sea Hare. I am not sure what type it was. Like I said as a short term option n the overall process it can really be a big help. If you have the crabs in there, I would just leave them they will thin out on their own. Although Ty has given his true feelings about hermit crabs :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Royal, Tuxedo, pink and green short spine are all good urchins to help control algae. Additionally do as much manual removal as is practical when doing water changes. I would leave the hermits is you already have them but I would avoid astrea snails. I would not bother changing anything with your filter. I also would not drop your phosphates below .1 mg/l (avg on reefs is .13, Kingman Island, one of the most pristine reefs in the world is .1). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Phosphate and Nitrate buildup is common with trickle filters and wet dry filters. Mechanical filtration is very effective at removing large particles, like uneaten food, before it starts to decompose. These filter types were common between 1980ish and 2000ish. They sort of fell out of favor as new technology rose because you have to keep them really clean. The same goes for filter socks and many people don't use them because they just don't want to keep up with the maintenance. I'm not even sure if they sell Bio Balls anymore. They used to be everywhere. You may notice a reduction if you clean the media regularly. Since you're already doing regular water changes, I would say that you need an additional nitrate export. GFO reactors, Bio Pellet reactors, turf scrubbers, refugiums, vinegar dosing and vodka dosing are all methods people use to control nitrates beyond water changes. It probably doesn't matter which method you start with, just research them and choose the one that is right for you. Adding a clean up crew may help if the problem is uneaten food or over feeding, but it's unreliable and you'll have to keep adding more as inhabitants die. I'm with Ty though. Crabs are the devil. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjohn Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Three Days of Darkness and wrap the tank with towels! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Three Days of Darkness and wrap the tank with towels! That works for cyano, but never heard of it working for hair algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) Yup. 3 day blackout did nothing to my gha. Wiped out cyano but gha and bubbles stayed quite happy. Edited February 11, 2015 by furam28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjohn Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 It's a fall back for me anytime something I don't like gets started. It's free and does not include chemical additives. It can't hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 You don't need chemicals for GHA. Manual removal plus reduction in nitrates and phosphates will get you far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 I did a 10g water change I pulled out a ton of algae. I also ordered a BRS Dual Reactor and some GFO and Carbon. So hopefully it will help with phosphates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 One thing that seemed to help me with the hair algae control was shortening the length of time that I ran my lights. How long do you run your lights each day? (sorry if someone already discussed this, did not see it in a quick scan of the thread) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronbherring Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 I run my light from 10:30am to 9pm so 10hrs and 30 mins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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