Flux Rx? Pros? Cons? I hate hair algae =(

[FastandCurious]

Goooooood morning,
So I've been living the struggle with green hair algae after 2 months ago my light fell Into my tank and I had to use a friend's light for 3 weeks while I was mailed a replacement and their light was a lot stronger than mine, they had a kessil and I have an AI prime (I know I know, Im working on getting a better one this year) During this time my corals were loving the kessil light but when my replacement came I started to realize I had started to grow some green hair algae bc i might of had their light on too strong. I started manually removing it ever since and even though I've been using my light again It's never fully gone away. I recently went ham on the tank with a scrubber on the rocks and spots where it liked to grow and got it all out but that lasted all of about 4.2 seconds and I could just see them starting to plot their revenge on me as soon as I went to work. Spawns of Satan ;Troll. I checked my phosphate levels and they weren't super super high, right around 0.25 but thats bc the hair algae is absorbing some of it. Other than that all of my other parameters are in good range. And my corals are all open and happy. I have tried Phosguard but haven't had much luck with it at all. I just ordered Phosphate rx but I was wondering if Flux Rx might be a better solution. Anybody have any advice or any stories of other people using this and having any results positive or negative? Let me know thank you

 

[EvanDeVita]

Goooooood morning,
So I've been living the struggle with green hair algae after 2 months ago my light fell Into my tank and I had to use a friend's light for 3 weeks while I was mailed a replacement and their light was a lot stronger than mine, they had a kessil and I have an AI prime (I know I know, Im working on getting a better one this year) During this time my corals were loving the kessil light but when my replacement came I started to realize I had started to grow some green hair algae bc i might of had their light on too strong. I started manually removing it ever since and even though I've been using my light again It's never fully gone away. I recently went ham on the tank with a scrubber on the rocks and spots where it liked to grow and got it all out but that lasted all of about 4.2 seconds and I could just see them starting to plot their revenge on me as soon as I went to work. Spawns of Satan ;Troll. I checked my phosphate levels and they weren't super super high, right around 0.25 but thats bc the hair algae is absorbing some of it. Other than that all of my other parameters are in good range. And my corals are all open and happy. I have tried Phosguard but haven't had much luck with it at all. I just ordered Phosphate rx but I was wondering if Flux Rx might be a better solution. Anybody have any advice or any stories of other people using this and having any results positive or negative? Let me know thank you

If it’s GHA and not bryopsis, have you thought of introducing a fish that eats GHA? Hermits, snails, urchins, etc are also helpful. If youre tank is overrun with it, then a sea hare is a good choice. Chemicals should be a last resort

 

[DE FISH]

0.25 phosphate is high especially if you have a lot of gha as it will be absorbing the phosphate from the water. Your actual phosphate level will be higher than what it’s currently testing now It’s just bound up in the gha. I’d manually remove as much gha as you can concentrate on getting your po4 to below 0.1 I’ve never used liquid phosphate emoter due to having no sump with filter socks to dose in. Rowaphos has always worked well for me. Slowly increasing the amount till i hit the sweet spot.

 

[FastandCurious]

If it’s GHA and not bryopsis, have you thought of introducing a fish that eats GHA? Hermits, snails, urchins, etc are also helpful. If youre tank is overrun with it, then a sea hare is a good choice. Chemicals should be a last resort

Yes that was my first move. I already had a pretty good CUC ( and equal share of crabs snails and 2 cleaner shrimp) but I even added sum extra turbo snails and they did help some but I had to target snail the spots w hair algae lol and sometimes they just couldn't handle the stuff of it got over half an inch. Which is when I would go in manually. And right now its pretty clean but I can see tiny bits starting to take form again and I feel like I need to try a diff tactic. I even went on the hunt for a lawnmower blenny to help out some and turns out I may of found the only lawnmower that doesn't eat hair algae and only wants mysis. Go figure. I feel like I'm winning the battles but losing the war. Doing might need to bring in some bigger guns.

 

[homer1475]

You do know some algae is a good thing?

I would like to see pics of this algae plague.

 

[EvanDeVita]

Yes that was my first move. I already had a pretty good CUC ( and equal share of crabs snails and 2 cleaner shrimp) but I even added sum extra turbo snails and they did help some but I had to target snail the spots w hair algae lol and sometimes they just couldn't handle the stuff of it got over half an inch. Which is when I would go in manually. And right now its pretty clean but I can see tiny bits starting to take form again and I feel like I need to try a diff tactic. I even went on the hunt for a lawnmower blenny to help out some and turns out I may of found the only lawnmower that doesn't eat hair algae and only wants mysis. Go figure. I feel like I'm winning the battles but losing the war. Doing might need to bring in some bigger guns.

If you want bigger guns, sea hare is a no brained. I had GHA in my tank- it was one step below a plague! I got a sea hare and it cleaned shop in 9 days. I got the sea hare for $15 and it fixed my problem in 9 days when months of different CUC failed. Just make sure you can rehome it after cause it will die soon after

 

[Melanie Fish]

I only use Flux Rx for bryopsis. Hair algae I usually clear up with clean up crew and water changes. Def making sure your source water is good can be a huge help.

 

[FastandCurious]

You do know some algae is a good thing?

I would like to see pics of this algae plague.

Its clean now bc I just scrubbed it out like crazy 2 days ago but its already starting to regrow again a little in some spots. Also I get these little tiny mats in the sand of hair algae like tiny mini carpets that I usually manually grab with a my long grabber before they get too big. Those are a pain. But I wish I took a before pic for u if what it looked like 2 days ago. Theres also a plant in the back that is like a collector for the stuff. I recently also added a fighting conch thats slowly (very slowly) making a dent as well. But I spend about 20 min everyday just trying to keep it hair free and I'm starting to feel like its never going to stop regrowing. So I'm willing to try anything at this point.

 

[redeyejedi]

Urchins are brilliant for this. What it doesnt't eat it will stick on its head for camo anyway.

 

[homer1475]

Pure white rock, dead and dry. Your going to be fighting GHA for a while I'm afraid. Until that rock gets covered in coralline, the GHA will take over.

Unfortunately because of the dry rock start, you can use flux rx or any of the other potions in a bottle(some actually do work), but until that rock gets some life on it, you'll be fighting the never ending battle of GHA.

Ask me how I know......

Mine was so bad I eventually gave up after 2 years. Ditched the dead dry rock, and bought someones used system and all their rock. Once I replaced the rock, I had a small month long battle, then the GHA just miraculously disappeared.

 

[Tamberav]

Lights should not be to blame. It’s water parameters, a lack of CUC, or a young tank or a combination.

Unless someone is running one of those red and blue leds for algae... fingers should not be pointed at lights.

Also it looks like you are running an air stone instead of a power head. You may be setting yourself up for cyano in the future from a lack of flow. I would only use an air stone on the tiny vase systems.

Algae also grows much easier on dry rock since there’s nothing there to compete for that space.

1. Get a power head. Jebaos are cheap and controllable if cost is a factor. It will help free up debris in your rock.

2. make sure you have a cuc. A conch will clean the sand but not get up in those rocks.

3. You can just do a water change to lower phosphate but if you are using API to test phosphate, it is useless. It only tests 0 or 0.25 which means your PO4 is anywhere between 0 and 0.25. That isn’t helpful. If you want to monitor phosphate, you need a better test kit.

 

[Dkmoo]

Reef rx pro: will rid yourself of gha and bryopsis

Con: will return after the medicine wears off if you dont correct the underlying problem (as others mentioned - young tank, excess nutrient, lack of biological diversity, lack of competition) and will actually delay the ultimate solution - tank maturity.

 

[Hermie]

Its clean now bc I just scrubbed it out like crazy 2 days ago but its already starting to regrow again a little in some spots. Also I get these little tiny mats in the sand of hair algae like tiny mini carpets that I usually manually grab with a my long grabber before they get too big. Those are a pain. But I wish I took a before pic for u if what it looked like 2 days ago. Theres also a plant in the back that is like a collector for the stuff. I recently also added a fighting conch thats slowly (very slowly) making a dent as well. But I spend about 20 min everyday just trying to keep it hair free and I'm starting to feel like its never going to stop regrowing. So I'm willing to try anything at this point.

from the pic, I definitely would not use Flux Rx yet; it can work but it can also not work, and it can lead to side effects like dinos or cyano once the algae is gone. If it stays that small I'd say don't sweat it and just try to increase your herbivores in the tank.

 

[FastandCurious]

Pure white rock, dead and dry. Your going to be fighting GHA for a while I'm afraid. Until that rock gets covered in coralline, the GHA will take over.

Unfortunately because of the dry rock start, you can use flux rx or any of the other potions in a bottle(some actually do work), but until that rock gets some life on it, you'll be fighting the never ending battle of GHA.

Ask me how I know......

Mine was so bad I eventually gave up after 2 years. Ditched the dead dry rock, and bought someones used system and all their rock. Once I replaced the rock, I had a small month long battle, then the GHA just miraculously disappeared.

I wish I knew more about the live/dry rock situation when I started my tank. That was all my LFS had on hand at the time and I didn't think it mattered which rock I used bc there were so many other things I needed when I started out. And this is my first sw tank. But I wish I had used live rock for sure. Just to cycle it took over 2 months. Right now I'm about 7-8 months in. I'm just trying to stay on top of it so it doesn't get out of control. I went thru my ugly phase at around the 4 month mark and now I'm just trying to avoid another 1. I have a good CUC with about 15 crabs 10 turbos and 15 other various snails (nassarius, bumble bee and certh) and 2 shrimp a conch and a lawnmower so I have a good little army bc that was my first solution but I might look into maybe an urchin. I don't want to get something that I will have to rehome afterwards. But looking for a "bottled method" is my last resort.

 

[FastandCurious]

I wish I knew more about the live/dry rock situation when I started my tank. That was all my LFS had on hand at the time and I didn't think it mattered which rock I used bc there were so many other things I needed when I started out. And this is my first sw tank. But I wish I had used live rock for sure. Just to cycle it took over 2 months. Right now I'm about 7-8 months in. I'm just trying to stay on top of it so it doesn't get out of control. I went thru my ugly phase at around the 4 month mark and now I'm just trying to avoid another 1. I have a good CUC with about 15 crabs 10 turbos and 15 other various snails (nassarius, bumble bee and certh) and 2 shrimp a conch and a lawnmower so I have a good little army bc that was my first solution but I might look into maybe an urchin. I don't want to get something that I will have to rehome afterwards. But looking for a "bottled method" is my last resort.

My rocks have started to green up they are def not white like when I got them. But after the ugly phase I never thought all of that brown color was going to go away!

 

[FastandCurious]

Lights should not be to blame. It’s water parameters, a lack of CUC, or a young tank or a combination.

Unless someone is running one of those red and blue leds for algae... fingers should not be pointed at lights.

Also it looks like you are running an air stone instead of a power head. You may be setting yourself up for cyano in the future from a lack of flow. I would only use an air stone on the tiny vase systems.

Algae also grows much easier on dry rock since there’s nothing there to compete for that space.

1. Get a power head. Jebaos are cheap and controllable if cost is a factor. It will help free up debris in your rock.

2. make sure you have a cuc. A conch will clean the sand but not get up in those rocks.

3. You can just do a water change to lower phosphate but if you are using API to test phosphate, it is useless. It only tests 0 or 0.25 which means your PO4 is anywhere between 0 and 0.25. That isn’t helpful. If you want to monitor phosphate, you need a better test kit.

I have a power head that I got a while ago but when I set it up it blew everything around! It wasn't even a strong one. My poor tube anemone was ticked. And bc I have a big arch right in the middle of my cube that almost reaches to the top, I found it hard to find a place to set it where it wasn't blowing directly on the rock. So I took it out and am trying to find another solution bc I agree I would love to have some more flow but my fish have been so used to just the 2 return heads Idk how the would like a new current. My LFS has the same tank in his.shop for a display tank and doesn't use a power head. But then again he uses it just for seahorses and softies lol.

 

[Tamberav]

I have a power head that I got a while ago but when I set it up it blew everything around! It wasn't even a strong one. My poor tube anemone was ticked. And bc I have a big arch right in the middle of my cube that almost reaches to the top, I found it hard to find a place to set it where it wasn't blowing directly on the rock. So I took it out and am trying to find another solution bc I agree I would love to have some more flow but my fish have been so used to just the 2 return heads Idk how the would like a new current. My LFS has the same tank in his.shop for a display tank and doesn't use a power head. But then again he uses it just for seahorses and softies lol.

what powerhead is it?

I use a Jebao sow-4 in my 5 gallon on the lowest wave setting but they make even a smaller one now, a sow-3. An Aqamai KPS would be even more gentle.

 

[SneakyNelly]

Does anyone know if you dose Flux Rx everyday for the 14 days the directions reccomend, or is it just once? The package, and their insert doesn't specify...

 

[Dkmoo]

I remember doing only once myself

 

[Hermie]

Does anyone know if you dose Flux Rx everyday for the 14 days the directions reccomend, or is it just once? The package, and their insert doesn't specify...

it's once as Dkmoo says