Grrr, Persistant Green Hair Algae

[Gregcoyote]

Die off of any kind will set it off.
Buildup of detritus in areas you can't clean also can cause an issue.

As I mentioned before, eliminate as much excess organic material you can without starving the fish. Then use a phosphate absorbing material like GFO or Phosgard to outcompete the algae.


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[dmolavi]

Yeah I will toss in a fresh Phosguard pouch and see what that does for me.

 

[Sniperhank]

I'd even check the TDS of your water. Maybe it's time to change filters or resin.

 

[dmolavi]

Changing them out is on my list, but my TDS is 0.

 

[Ingy]

Phosguard in the reactor for me as well. 160 gph. Water rodi is new system and tds is0.


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[dmolavi]

I added two phosguard pouches today after my PWC (which still had zero phosphates). I also scrubbed off about 80% of my rock in a separate bucket of new saltwater and rinsed thoroughly. The only stuff I couldn't clean were the ones that are sitting on the floor of the tank, so I had to pick them as well as I could with my hands.

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[Gregcoyote]

Probably too late but always rinse Phosgard before using.


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[dmolavi]

Yeah it gets hot when you first get it wet.

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[dmolavi]

Oh, and FWIW, I cut my lighting in half, to about 4hrs a day. I was able to siphon most of the gunk out of the sand too during my PWC yesterday.

I tested my water, and, as usual, everything shows up exactly where it should be. Obviously, the algae is consuming the phosphates, which is why it's reading 0.00 on my Hanna checker. I'm hoping that by scrubbing it off and getting the Phosguard running, I will finally beat the problem.

 

[Ingy]

I'm gonna start a new thread for algae turf scrubbers. I think I'm gonna pull most the rocks from my sump and shift things around to accommodate a scrubber. Nothing else is working.

As for lighting, 2 weeks ago I pulled about half my rocks from the DT and put them into a separate, covered tank to try and kill off the algae with total darkness. Checked again today and there's still freaking green lush algae on the rocks. Sure its slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) disappearing, but it seems to me that reducing lighting schedule is about as effective as yelling at the algae. I mean, seriously, the curing container is aerated (because it has a lid), circulated, heated and magnesium dosed, and still there is plenty of algae. I would have expected to see it die off and nitrates to slowly rise. NOPE!!

 

[dmolavi]

Would the use of a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution to kill off the algae have any negative side effects on the rock (ie, killing the BB residing in/on it, etc)?

 

[Ingy]

Hmmm, that might work in my curing bucket

Peroxide saves my Tank! With pics to Prove It! - Disease & Pest Treatment - Nano-Reef.com Forums

 

[dmolavi]

Hmmm...There is a linked post there that talks about dosing 1mL per 10 gallons per day. I might give that a shot, maybe start at 0.5mL to see what happens. I have a skimmer so it should be able to suck out any DOCs that arise...

 

[Ingy]

I'm gonna do a h2o2 bath on my curing rocks tomorrow. Here's a pic after 2 weeks in the darkened bucket. And this rock was turned the other way up too, so it's getting even less light than almost none.






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[dmolavi]

Get a stiff bristled nail brush and scrub first....

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[Ingy]

Unfortunately the gha, despite its immortality, is nothing compared to the tougher purple coarse algae that I have. And a mere wire brush does nothing for that. Dynamite is nigh on ineffective. I have even removed a few small rocks from my system and put them in the sun for a couple months. Then I burned the dry algae, rinsed it and put it back in my sump, away from the light. A coupe weeks later I remembered to check and the godlike algae was back. It wasn't on other sump rubble, just those few pieces.
I removed it and threw it in the bushes.

Wire brush he says! Ha.

Chemical warfare is my next try


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[dmolavi]

Hmm, maybe I don't have GHA. It's green and hairy, but I was able to scrub it out with this brush from Target:
NAIL BRUSH 02586 TRIM CONTOUR : Target

 

[dmolavi]

Also, I did a 1mL dose of peroxide last night. I took photos, and will continue to do so, for about 10 days. I have 15 gallons net in the tank, so I should be doing 1.5mL, but I'd rather start with less, especially since I scrubbed off a lot of the algae. If, after 10 days, I don't see any improvement, I'll increase to the suggested 1.5mL for 10 days.

 

[Ingy]

It does sound like GHA you have. I have it too, but I also have this purple, stringy algae that must have its roots buried in the center of the rocks.

 

[Bray84]

Would the use of a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution to kill off the algae have any negative side effects on the rock (ie, killing the BB residing in/on it, etc)?

Peroxide will most likely kill all the bb. I've used it on some turf algae and the rock that I've treated turned white. I would try do the treatment out the tank and rinse the rock with loads of water to make sure I'm not putting anything in the tank.


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