Hair algae issues

[nlopez8488]

Hello, just wanted some help on dealing with a hair algae problem I have. I have a 55 gal, HOB Octopus Skimmer, 75lbs live rock, Yellow tang, Clarkii clown, lawnmower blenny, t5 lighting. I use RO water (no tap water ever used).

The bulbs have been in fixture since Sept 2011 (tank started). I dont have a filter since most info I have read on this forum is leaning towards not using a canister (nitrate factory). I would like to know if using a Reactor (two little fishes) with nitrate and phosphate reducer would be a good idea in clearing this up, or if you have any other suggestions I would appreciate it. Thanks

 

[Bifferwine]

What kind and how much food do you feed? What are your water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate)? How often and how large of water changes do you do?

Using a reactor may help, but it would be better to get to the root of the problem and eliminate it at the source rather than treat the problem using a reactor. Nitrate reducing media doesn't always work -- when it does, it takes months to kick in. I'd say it's not a reliable strategy.

 

[nlopez8488]

I feed half a cube of brine shrimp (melted first), I do 10% water change weekly, ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrates are 20-40 ppm (my problem) pH 8.2

 

[Old_Moe]

I would change your bulbs if you have not done so already. If you have not, then they are at least 8months old.

I am sure others will chime in with other suggestions.

-Good Luck

 

[nlopez8488]

I was thinking the bulbs could also be adding to the problems based in what I have read here so where do you guys suggest I get some replacements. My fixture is an odyssea 48" with 2actinic and 2 10k bulbs. Is there a specific brand or website that is trusted or recommended? They are t5 HO thanks for the help. I heard about ATI bulbs are they good?

 

[Northstar24]

Call ReefGeek, ask for George. Tell him what kind of look you're going for with your tank, and he'll sugguest the proper ATI bulbs

In the meantime, I would also start upping your water changes to 20% weekly

I assume you are talking about a bio pellet reactor, they will remove nitrates and some phosphates, but they can take several weeks to dial in

 

[FishyReef]

What do you have for a CUC? If you don't have any turbo snails, I'd add about 5 of them to help - they'll mow down the algae pretty fast. Also, brine shrimp isn't very nutritious - its more like candy for fish. I'd switch to frozen mysis or a frozen mix like marine cuisine or formula one when you can. You can probably feed every other day with the fish you have - no need to feed daily. That might help reduce nutrients that are feeding the algae. Also, with a tang, you should give him/her some nori sheets to eat on a clip, maybe 1/2 sheet to a sheet a day. They really need the nori sheets to meet their nutritional needs. Good luck!

 

[nlopez8488]

Well I took the live rock out (where most of the problem is) and used a 10gal tank with tank water and brushed off all the algae I could. Took me about 2.5 hours and I did a 30% water change. My skimmer is collecting a lot and I will start working with a 20% weekly change as suggested.

I'll be heading over to LFS to look for a better frozen fish food and I am giving the tang seaweed sheets already (which he loves). Thanks for the input everyone, I'll keep fighting this junk and see what happens. Hopefully with the increase in water change amount and feeding less I will be able to fight this back ( as well as changing out my bulbs ASAP). Pray it does cuz I hate this stuff.

 

[nlopez8488]

One other note I was thinking about a sump and was wondering if you had any experience with the Aqueon Proflex Model 2 sump which already comes ready to go. Would adding this sump help me with the hair algae issue or should I try to clear up the hair algae before adding a sump? Thanks in advance