Hair Algae Problem

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I have a hair algae issue too. Probably wouldn't be so bad if I added something to the tank that ate it. As posted earlier CAE's do nothing for it. Most of the above posts were a bit too technical for me, but did anyone come to a conclusion of what causes hair algae outbreaks as opposed to other forms?
 
ringfinger said:
:rocket:

Good gravy....I just got my pH controller in the mail today. I went through the calibration procedure twice using the pH7 packet, distilled water, and white vinegar. Everything was consistant and seems to be working perfectly!

Now for the problem. It tells me that my tank pH is actually 7.5 giving me Co2 levels of 9ppm!

Question, when you turn off the controller, do you need to recallibrate it? Mine was working just fine, then since I have the diffuser going into my intake of the filter, I turned it off to do filter maintenance, then turned it back on when I turned my filter. But now my reading says 7.0, and went to 6.9, even after turning up my CO2. i tested with the AP and my AP kit tells me 6.4. So my question is did you turn yours off at any time, and if you do turn it off, do you have to recallibrate it?
 
What a night... Ya, I turned it off. Then I went out and bought a whole list of grocery items to help calibrate(I'm a little paranoid about getting it right the first time). I think I have it accurate now, although I DO NOT believe that all distilled water is created equal. I don't dare turn it off now lol!
 
ringfinger said:
What a night... Ya, I turned it off. Then I went out and bought a whole list of grocery items to help calibrate(I'm a little paranoid about getting it right the first time). I think I have it accurate now, although I DO NOT believe that all distilled water is created equal. I don't dare turn it off now lol!

All distilled water is not equal. I've tested different brands with different PH results.
 
when I had mine calibrated it was also reading 7.5-7.6 in my tank. then I cranked open the Co2 and bombed it down to 6.9. (it mives so fast for the first bit).. after I added a proper reactor I set it down to 6.5 and that is where it sits now.

Distilled water can still pick up contaminents. most bottles will have a TDS on the side, the best I've found was a water with a name like "glacier" or something. it had a TDS of 4ppm 2 of which are KH. not enough to make a difference.
 
If interested, here's progression pics of that alage on P. stellata "fine leaf." Only difference is maintained dosing. (Induced the algae after slacking and having N bottom out.)

Some hanging around the stem on 3/12
pstellata_fineleaf060312.jpg


3/21.
pstellata_fineleaf060321.jpg
 
Thanks for the pictures. That looks like a very mild case of exactly the kind of algae I was dealing with. I always thought my No3 was close to 10 when I was probably hitting bottom weekly without knowing it. Since dosing up to a safe 20ppm the algae has completely stopped growing. I can't thank you enough for bringing the fun back into the hobby for me. :lol:
 
Glad I found this thread...I am having the same problems. Interestingly, the afflicted plants all came from the same store, and are the only plants affected with that type of algae (I've got other algae on other plants, but these are the worst). I was thinking of trying bleach but the plants affected are pretty fragile (Rotala, Ambulia and Wisteria) so I might just ditch them and get more since it would be a long uphill battle for my SAEs to get rid of what's there. I have been testing NO3 almost daily and consistently get the same answer, which makes me doubt the test kit. I think i'll up my NO3 dose as well as add some P (scary!) and see what happens.

Here's a hint for anyone who needs good quality DI water....if you live near a college or university, their biology or chemistry labs should have a DI system. I'm sure that for a few plant/algae/fish pathology samples for their undergrad teaching labs, they'd be happy to give you a few gallons. I am lucky in that I have an unlimited supply of DI water right out of the tap where I work...and I know it's good since I use it as a blank on my nutrient analyzer (measures down to 0.01 parts per billion....when it says zero, it means zero!)
 
Increasing No3 and Po4 during a major hair algae outbreak was scary at first, but not after I saw how well it works. :) Now I am dosing Po4 every 1-2 days because my tank rips through it so fast. No new algae growth to speak of.
 
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