Im conceding..

[Rainer]

Conceding my tank to the hair algae, been fighting it for about 4 months now. Water changes of 20% every week and a half to two weeks, Marine SAT, phosphate media, chemi pure elite, testing all the time, removing all my rock and scrubbing them in salwater, trying to get every bit of hair algae out of the tank when cleaning and it all just comes back in a week or so. Phosphate stays in my tank permanently even though Ive tested everything i put in it and nothing tests positive for phosphate.

Thanks for the help when i asked, my aunt has a tank that my critters will go to.

 

[cthegame]

What kind of water do you use? Tap or RO?

The way i fight algae is increasing water changes. Once every week and a half is not putting up much of a fight. I would increase it to smaller water changes (x2 per week). Run less lights and physically remove as much of the algae as you can before each water change.

 

[dustin_P74]

and remember if you kill off all the algae but dont do a water change your leaving them a food source in the tank and theyll just come right back

 

[JAG107]

Read up on carbon dosing (sugar, vodka, or vinegar). Google it, Reef central has loads of info on it. I dose 3/4 tsp of sugar daily and have 0.03ppm phosphate on a salifert test. Also, grow some chaetomorpha algae in a refugium, take away the hair algae's food supply that way. Cut back your light cycle. Most corals only need 4 or 5 hours of light per day anyway (depending on your lights). Are you using granular ferrous oxide for your phosphate media? The aluminum stuff sucks. Try weekly water changes, even smaller ones twice weekly. What are you feeding the tank? Do you rinse your frozen cubes before throwing the food in? Just some ideas...

 

[Melonbob]

Two words

Sea Hare

 

[yote]

You just been fighting it 4 months??
I didnt give it time:D The first year or so is probably the worst when it comes to algae outbreaks.It takes time for the tank to stabilize and actually be able to use up excess nutrients.

 

[acerhigh]

Sorry you've had so much frustration.... believe me I understand your pain!

you need to make sure you have something in there that will eat it as well...... the sea hare is one idea...... mexican turbo snails work wonders...... I know a 55 is questionable on a tang..... but a small tang...... yellow or hippo would probably help too...... I had algae I could pull out by the handful even a year after I had my last tank set up......... then I got a white cheek tang and it was gone in a week......

 

[Rainer]

I RO water for filling and saltwater from LFS that ive tested.

Have a small clump of chaeto in fuge with lights on all the time.

I thaw frozen food out then dump water and feed prolly every 4 days, afraid to overfeed and feed algae, poor hungry fish....

Tank is over a year old, prolly a year and a half. Went to Hawaii last august to get married, spent two weeks there with a friend filling the tank and feeding. One of my registered mated pair of clownfish got caught in the overflow and died while I was gone. Tank hasnt been the same since, had a little hair algae then now it covers all the live rock and the back glass.

My tank is only 55g and I cant even have half the fish I want, if its going to be this much work (scrubbing all live rock every two weeks) to keep it clean I'd rather not do it.