Hair algae

MaccaPopEye · Sep 6, 2016

Lol melev and ReeferBob both commented in the other thread tonight too

Here is my post from the other GHA thread

I highly recommend an algae turf scrubber. I posted about this just the other day so the below is just a combination of a couple of my previous posts from the other thread

Adding things like a sea hare, urchins, snails and tangs can help control the algae, but all of those animals will just eventually digest the algae and turn it into more nutrients (which then turns into more algae).

Only way I have seen work is to increase your nutrient export. Things like bigger skimmers or more water changes help a lot. But IMO macro algae is the way to go for this. Having a fuge to grow macro is good but an algae turf scrubber can be implemented without a sump or even just a sump without much room. As long as it is lit with powerful enough (and not too powerful) lights, has the correct flow and a big enough screen to handle the amount of nutrients you are adding to the system an algae scrubber should work well.

I tried everything I could think of (more clean up crew, herbivore fish, manual removal, more water changes). No matter what I did I could scrub the rocks clean and the algae was back, super long and over every surface within a week.

5 months of an algae scrubber and I am almost algae free, and the only reason IMO why it has taken so long is because I have been really busy and have only done 1 water change since I put it on and have actually started feeding double what I used to as I have added a few more fish. But still the algae is decreasing and the scrubber is going awesome

If you haven't tried one I do recommend it. Nail the screen size, lighting and flow and it should work perfectly for you! (recommended guidelines are on algaescrubber.zohosites.com)

This is my tank before (bottom pic) and 4 months after the scrubber was added (with no water changes and increased feeding). It's been almost 6 months now I think and looking even better (still a month or two to go to be algae free) but have done a bit of rescaping so it looks different and doesn't make a good before and after.

And here is the same time frame focusing on just one coral.

brandon429 · Sep 6, 2016

does anyone have a link to a 2.5 tank that uses an algae scrubber

the proximity to the immediate display area and the holding area for the tufted algae will make for quite the containment challenge, curious to see pico reefs that use ATS and how they were made/

its so rare to find aged pico reefs using methods for large tanks, clearly there are some examples handy.

MaccaPopEye · Sep 6, 2016

Woops. Missed that it was a 2.5g as OP didn't state in the first post.

In that case I recommend manual removal and regular large water changes. My understanding of pico reefs is that they generally do 90-100% WC weekly.

If there is a sump attached then an ATS would be best but I have only seen a couple of picos with sumps so that's probably not the case.

twilliard · Sep 6, 2016

A person does not need any fancy equipment to be algae free.
Once all the algae is killed off and proper protocol is in place for new additions any form of unwanted algae will never return.
I have been trying my hardest to see if it will come back.
It does not exist if it's not there.
H2O2 is a reefers freind, it's a tool, it's a tank saver.

ReeferBob · Sep 6, 2016

twilliard said:
A person does not need any fancy equipment to be algae free.
Once all the algae is killed off and proper protocol is in place for new additions any form of unwanted algae will never return.
I have been trying my hardest to see if it will come back.
It does not exist if it's not there.
H2O2 is a reefers freind, it's a tool, it's a tank saver.

I don't understand what you are saying. By "fancy equipment" are you referring to an ATS? Algae exists everywhere. Given the right conditions (light and nutrients) it will appear. You cannot get rid of it per se, you can only keep it in check. if rocks are leaching nutrients like many do, those nutrients must be exported via water changes or otherwise used by either plant, animal or biological processes. An ATS is especially effective since it does not try to artificially mask the problem like manual removal does nor does it address the sources for nutrients like chemical solutions. It merely provides a location for optimal algae growth. If you have high nutrients, you will get a lot of growth on the ATS and if not, low or no growth. In either case, your DT remains algae free. IMO an ATS is the best solution for algae control.

brandon429 · Sep 6, 2016

can we link any long term pico reefs using ats?> not any, in the whole world? agreed for larger tanks with dilution and distance factors its helpful this is a niche tank here though imo

the effects of lighting imbalances and the slightest disturbance or addition of waste in the limited volume of the pico reef makes ATS transmit their plants into the display as much as they suck up the waste from the display. I think this dilution change is why all examples of recommended actions so far don't come from any apples to apples examples.

MaccaPopEye · Sep 6, 2016

brandon429 said:
the effects of lighting imbalances and the slightest disturbance or addition of waste in the limited volume of the pico reef makes ATS transmit their plants into the display as much as they suck up the waste from the display. I think this dilution change is why all examples of recommended actions so far don't come from any apples to apples examples.

While I have never had a Pico this doesn't make sense to me.

ATS are sized to feeding and when designed correctly should keep up with nutrients going in so this can't happen.

Say you put a Santa Monica drop style scrubber in that is slightly oversized for the amount you feed, it will create such a perfect environment for algae to grow, in such an enclosed space with little to no light escaping that algae should grow on the grow space and no where else. A drop scrubber is also sized that it could be hidden nicely behind a rock pile in a Pico, as long as it can be removed easily I don't see how it wouldn't work well.

And as far as I'm aware hair algae is also naturally occurring in the way that a setup with dry rocks, dry sand, artificial sea water and nothing added except light and nutrients should still grow hair algae. However I am not 100% certain on that one and from what I have seen twilliard does seem to be an algae expert so I could be very wrong.

brandon429 · Sep 6, 2016

they wont harm a system to try that's for sure, they are harmless to use. I was just positioning that the reason nobody has an old pico reef using anything other than peroxide and forced removal is because nothing else works heh but seems like it would. only upon actually running one past three yrs does the differences become apparent/dilution factor changes...

someone should make a mini ats on a pico and try one it would be neat if it did work to save all the water change and export work they currently require

the keeper must remove the target, then take indirect action X and see if it stops the regrowth, there is no other known way in pico reefing to actually keep them alive. they are different animals for sure, them picos...such that not many old ones exist because large tank rules just don't work for em. what works in large tanks doesn't work the same in pico reefs like this one here, firm bet. it only seems like it would work, but doesn't actually upon setup and three years.

rock_lobster · Sep 6, 2016

A healthy ball of chaeto will do the trick.

twilliard · Sep 6, 2016

ReeferBob said:
I don't understand what you are saying. By "fancy equipment" are you referring to an ATS? Algae exists everywhere. Given the right conditions (light and nutrients) it will appear. You cannot get rid of it per se, you can only keep it in check. if rocks are leaching nutrients like many do, those nutrients must be exported via water changes or otherwise used by either plant, animal or biological processes. An ATS is especially effective since it does not try to artificially mask the problem like manual removal does nor does it address the sources for nutrients like chemical solutions. It merely provides a location for optimal algae growth. If you have high nutrients, you will get a lot of growth on the ATS and if not, low or no growth. In either case, your DT remains algae free. IMO an ATS is the best solution for algae control.

You are correct there are two terms used for algae
Control
Eradication