blando
Reefing newb
Ok Im seeing hair algae on my rocks and i don't know why.. All my parameters are fine and i am using RO water.. Anything i can put in there to get rid of it?
hair algae
- Thread starter blando
- Start date
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
How long are your lights on? How often do you feed? Did you check your phosphates? How often do you do water changes?
blando
Reefing newb
I do water once a week like good amount..lights are on from like 12pm to like 10 at night..
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
When was the last time you changed your bulbs? Old bulbs can promote algae growth. 10 hours is a bit long. Try to cut back to 8 hours. I have mine on from 2pm to 10pm.
blando
Reefing newb
bulbs are brand new i just put them in like 3 weeks ago. and ok i will change that.. what do u think about the sump tank light also? 8 hrs also?
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
Sump light doesn't matter. We prefer to grow algae in the sump than in the dt anyway :) I keep my sump fuge light on 24/7, and in fact, it helped promote algae growth there instead of the dt.
Have you tested for phosphates? Check your new water, too -- when you do a water change, check the water you're putting in for nitrates and phosphates.
Was the algae already spreading before you changed to your new lights? Maybe it was the older bulbs that caused it.
Have you tested for phosphates? Check your new water, too -- when you do a water change, check the water you're putting in for nitrates and phosphates.
Was the algae already spreading before you changed to your new lights? Maybe it was the older bulbs that caused it.
blando
Reefing newb
ye ai have no test for phosphates yet need to get new test kit.. and before like 3 months ago i used just regular water and i read about RO water and how itsway betterso now i use RO water but that was 3 months ago.. and the old bulbs were not even old either i just replaced the bulbs with better bulbs. The old ones were the ones that came with the light fixture...
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
Ah, so you were using tap before. Chances are that the tap is just doing it's thing...which is why most people don't use tap because of the nitrates, which promote algae growth. Just keep doing water changes. If you can, put the rocks in your old water, scrub off the hair algae.
When you say your levels are "good"....what are they exactly?
When you say your levels are "good"....what are they exactly?
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I agree with Wonton, if you started with tap water, it can take a while for problems to go away once you switch to RODI. It will take patience, but you will get there. It doesn't sound like you are doing anything *obviously* wrong.
blando
Reefing newb
but it has been like months every sense i switched tho like 3 months or so now.. and my nitrates are 0... its pure yellow. so i dont kno.. ill have to get a phosphate test kit again because for some reason i missed placed it lol..but feels like still spreading and i dont have my old water any more lol i try take a toothbrush to the rocks that have it and try to get it off of it.
Be aware that phosphate test kits are horribly unreliable. At best they can give you a positive or negative reading. No way can they accurately give you a concentration. You can count on them being wrong 50% of the time too.
If you have to spend money to buy a Phosphate test kit, I would suggest that the money would be better put to use buying some phosban. It does not have to be run in a reactor, though it works much better that way, but can be bagged and placed in a high flow area. The bag comes with the phosban so its not an extra cost.
If you have to spend money to buy a Phosphate test kit, I would suggest that the money would be better put to use buying some phosban. It does not have to be run in a reactor, though it works much better that way, but can be bagged and placed in a high flow area. The bag comes with the phosban so its not an extra cost.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Do you have any Mexican turbo snails? They are big and they are usually machines when it comes to eating green hair algae. You only need like 1 per 20 gallons or so.
blando
Reefing newb
i dont have turbo snails i have i forgot what they are called but smaller than a turbo snail. I didnt get a turbo snail because i heard they nock over corals and stuff so they told me to get these snails but i dont seem them ever eating the hair algae.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
You probably have astraea snails. Those guys tend to stay on the glass. Turbo snails do have a bad habit of knocking stuff over, but they are great cleaners.
blando
Reefing newb
maybe i will just get one see how they do.. u think should stick one in the sump lol seem ther ei hair algae in there because doesnt it spread?
LoveJC03
Reef Enthusiast
It may go away on it's own eventually, you can pull it out with your fingers to help. We had diatoms, hair algae then cyanobacteria. It took a while for the hair algae to go away, but it did. Also, whenever we saw it we picked it out of the tank.
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