Green Grass

[DIVEPHOTO]

Hi Guys.. I have been fighting with this problem far a while .. did a 50% change and all the other usual things .. i even took all my live rock out and used a deck scrubber on them .. still this stuff keeps coming back , my LFS suggested green crabs . so i fired 2 straight in .. still as bad ..

SO

can anybody advise me on what livestock to purchase.. or the nearest supplier of an underwater lawnmower..

Thanks guys
i would post a pic .. but for some reason it seems to techy for me ???

 

[seffieuk]

Lets start at the top: What is causing the hair algae? Can we see your stats, know your photo period and stocking please, I cant remember, sorry

 

[woody88]

Nutrients must be high IMO (phosphate and nitrate) phosphate being the main culprit.
What are your water stats, what's your stocking level and what CUC do you have.

Are you running phosphate remover?

Or cheato?

I wouldnt bother testing for phos as the GHA will soak it up and give you inaccurate readings.

I would start by running phosphate remover, increasing your CUC (get an emerald crab), reduce feeding and the lighting period and remove as much GHA as you can from the rock, substrate and tank glass.

This is a slow process and not a quick fix.

If you check out the beginning of my journel you will see that my tank was completely over run with green hairy algae and it took me two months with the steps I took above to shift it.

It's been 2 months now since I had it and there ain't so much as a single strand in my tank now.

Good luck mate! It CAN be sorted it just takes time!

 

[lewiss]

I love the hair algae i have, keep my regal tang happy - she eats it (dont think is normally but she is a strange one! She's going to be going to my mum and dads tank soon, she's got to big now! Their tank is comprised of all my stuff now!! When i upgrade, i'm taking it all back!!


Errr, back to the question - a sea hare will do a marvolous job BUT they eat it all and then starve to death. Some local LFS do hiring service for this purpose. You use it and then take it back for a small fee. Normally their life span is pretty low in aquariums so morally theres a question of whether you should do this. I'll let you make your own decisions re this.

If i was you, i'd let it grow marvellously! or get to the source like Sef and Woody said.

Good Luck!

 

[DIVEPHOTO]

Hi Guys.. here are my stats

PH = 7.7
CA2 = 500 CALCIUM
NH3 = 0ppm AMMONIA
N02 = 0ppm NITRITE
N03 = 0ppm NITRATE
P03 = 0.25ppm PHOSPHATE
SG= 1.025

I realise my PH is low .. i have tryed everything that i know .. It's a 200 litre tank with 21kg live rock and also live sand , i have also been using WATERLIFE 8.3 buffer .. any ideas please

I have reduced my light to max 6 hours on

my livestock = 1 clown , 1 yellowtailed blue damsel, 2 green chromis, 1 algea bleanie , 2 emerald crabs. 3 red legged crabs , 4 snails, 1 shrimp..

i also have various polyps and anemmonies which are all fine

I have a fluval 305 external filter which i inherited with the tank .. i was thinking of setting it up as a sump??? ie.. take all the fluval media out and replace with fom small bits of live rock prob about a kg .. this should help with flow and easeir to add chemicals .. what do you guys think do-able or stupid idea ???

THANKS GUYS IN ADVANCE

 

[woody88]

The 2 emeralds on their own should be keeping the GHA at a low level.
What other CUC do you have (snails/hermits etc)

I'd ignore your phos reading tbh but if you are getting a reading you will have a chance of getting GHA.

Are you running phosphate remover?

This would make a huge difference as GHA needs phosphates to grow.

How often do you feed?

In regards to the low ph I used to use aragamilk to buffer ph and kh and it worked for me really well.

Now though I find that a good pro reef salt and good quality substrate will buffer ph to a good level (8.1-8.3)

Another way to improve your ph is to oxygenate the water. This can be done by having a powerhead aimed at the water surface to give good agitation.

As for the external. Rip out all the crappy media and drop some LR rubble, rowaphos and carbon in there in media bags.
Replace the rowaphos and carbon monthly.

Is your skimmer doing it's job properly and is it maintained regularly?

Any chance of a pic of the tank With the GHA in all it's glory.

A good scrub to remove the algae, phosphate and nitrate remover, reduced feeding and lighting, good weekly water changes with good reef salt and a good CUC will take care of it.

Have you read the start of my journel? If you follow the steps I took then the GHA will be gone and stay gone in no time! Lol

Word of warning! GHA is a potential time bomb! Yes it keeps nitrates and phosphates at bay and provides another alternative food source BUT if disturbed, it can release a lot of phosphates and nitrates into your tank very quickly causing alot of probs.

Get the rock out and scrub the #105### out of it!

 

[DIVEPHOTO]

Hi Woody

I use Kent salt with a PH 8.2 - 8.3
i feed once per day
what is GHA
external filter was about what i was thinking
i have a powerhead pointing to surface
skimmer seems to be working fine
CUC - 2 emerald , red legged hermits , algea blenny and shrimp ??
Oooh and i have taken the rock out a scrubbed it

can you suggest anything else

Thanks

 

[ALW]

GHA= green hair algae. My Yellow Tang got rid of mine

 

[DIVEPHOTO]

GHA= green hair algae. My Yellow Tang got rid of mine

that makes sense now apart from yellow tangs .. what else would you recommend

 

[lewiss]

red sea no3 po4 x? I think Seffie's trying it with results if u ask her about it?

Do you run a skimmer ?

And

Do you use RO or tap ?

 

[woody88]

Hi Woody

I use Kent salt with a PH 8.2 - 8.3
i feed once per day
what is GHA
external filter was about what i was thinking
i have a powerhead pointing to surface
skimmer seems to be working fine
CUC - 2 emerald , red legged hermits , algea blenny and shrimp ??
Oooh and i have taken the rock out a scrubbed it

can you suggest anything else

Thanks

The salt seems to be ok. As lewiss said are you using plain RO or tap [tap water is full of phosphates/nitrates/metals etc]
If you use RO do you test it as RO can contain phosphates and nitrates if the unit it came from has a knackered membrane.

CUC seems ok.Did you manage to remove all the GHA from the rock? Is it any where else in the tank as you need to remove as much GHA as possible otherwise it will continue to spread.

ARE YOU RUNNING PHOSPHATE REMOVER?

If not make it top of your priorities!

If you don't have any coral in your tank then may I suggest you leave the tank lights off for a few days as it won't do any harm.

Lastly! Read the beginning of my journel. You aint seen GHA until you take a look at what I was left with!

Can you get a pic up of your tank to give us an idea of how much GHA you have?

 

[DIVEPHOTO]

Hi Woody

I use Kent salt with a PH 8.2 - 8.3
i feed once per day
what is GHA
external filter was about what i was thinking
i have a powerhead pointing to surface
skimmer seems to be working fine
CUC - 2 emerald , red legged hermits , algea blenny and shrimp ??
Oooh and i have taken the rock out a scrubbed it

can you suggest anything else

Thanks

The salt seems to be ok. As lewiss said are you using plain RO or tap [tap water is full of phosphates/nitrates/metals etc]
If you use RO do you test it as RO can contain phosphates and nitrates if the unit it came from has a knackered membrane.

CUC seems ok.Did you manage to remove all the GHA from the rock? Is it any where else in the tank as you need to remove as much GHA as possible otherwise it will continue to spread.

ARE YOU RUNNING PHOSPHATE REMOVER?

If not make it top of your priorities!

If you don't have any coral in your tank then may I suggest you leave the tank lights off for a few days as it won't do any harm.

Lastly! Read the beginning of my journel. You aint seen GHA until you take a look at what I was left with!

Can you get a pic up of your tank to give us an idea of how much GHA you have?

I use RO from LFS so i would assume it would be fine .. will test
yes i use a skimmer and seems to work fine
i don't use phoshate remover .. but going to LFS tommorow and it's now on the list
i have polyps , mushrooms and anemmonies , so i cant leave the light off , but have reduced lighting to 6 hours per day

still ain't got the posting pics sorted yet
and i did scrub the rock till none GHA was visable

 

[woody88]

Hi Woody

I use Kent salt with a PH 8.2 - 8.3
i feed once per day
what is GHA
external filter was about what i was thinking
i have a powerhead pointing to surface
skimmer seems to be working fine
CUC - 2 emerald , red legged hermits , algea blenny and shrimp ??
Oooh and i have taken the rock out a scrubbed it

can you suggest anything else

Thanks

The salt seems to be ok. As lewiss said are you using plain RO or tap [tap water is full of phosphates/nitrates/metals etc]
If you use RO do you test it as RO can contain phosphates and nitrates if the unit it came from has a knackered membrane.

CUC seems ok.Did you manage to remove all the GHA from the rock? Is it any where else in the tank as you need to remove as much GHA as possible otherwise it will continue to spread.

ARE YOU RUNNING PHOSPHATE REMOVER?

If not make it top of your priorities!

If you don't have any coral in your tank then may I suggest you leave the tank lights off for a few days as it won't do any harm.

Lastly! Read the beginning of my journel. You aint seen GHA until you take a look at what I was left with!

Can you get a pic up of your tank to give us an idea of how much GHA you have?

I use RO from LFS so i would assume it would be fine .. will test
yes i use a skimmer and seems to work fine
i don't use phoshate remover .. but going to LFS tommorow and it's now on the list
i have polyps , mushrooms and anemmonies , so i cant leave the light off , but have reduced lighting to 6 hours per day

still ain't got the posting pics sorted yet
and i did scrub the rock till none GHA was visable

Id test the RO just to make sure. Yeah, pick up some phosphate remover. Rowaphos is about a tenner and should come with a media bag supplied.
If you empty your filter media out of the external filter annd drop some rowaphos, activated carbon and live rock rubble in there then that would be a great start. Also if you can get hold of cheato then put it in a media bag and drop it in your tank as this will compete with the gha for nutrients.

if your stuck on upolading pics then pm me and i'll guide you through it if you like.

 

[woody88]

Forgot to ask mate. Did you manage to sort things out with that fish shop in the end or are they still messing you around?

 

[DIVEPHOTO]

Forgot to ask mate. Did you manage to sort things out with that fish shop in the end or are they still messing you around?

Nope i got as far as the Director .. no joy £50 in vouchers .. take it or leave it .. still got the vouchers and they have banned me from buying fish .. as if it's my fault ??? such as life eh