my one aqua pod with my angler has alot of green fern like algea. i had some when it was set up . it grew out of control so i scrapped and scrubbed the tank then washed it with viniger and some bleach. i then reset tank up and with in 2 months it is back with avengence. so what is the best way to keep it coming back?
Search Google for “Bryopsis images” keeping in mind there are many species and also many hobbyist who will positively identify something by having a random person who they’ve never met make a post on some random forum.
If you used vinegar and bleach… did you may have reintroduced it to your tank from another system? Most algae won’t live through that and they don’t often float into the tank. Are you sure this is an algae and not a bacteria? I need a bit more info.
The first thing that comes to mind is phosphate control. Keep in mind rocks come to “life” inside and out when in our aquariums for extended periods of time. Bacteria live on the inside and when the rock is bleached all of this dies. Life is full of phosphates with become leached into the rocks and slowly leach out. A tank with 2ppm Phosphate will have 0ppm after a 100% water change, but likely close to 2ppm again after a week or so as the rocks leach phosphates back into the water.
What kind of photo period are you running? Do you plan to keep anything photosynthetic in the aquarium? If not perhaps try some cheap dim LEDs, only on for a short period of time when you’re mostly likely to be around to enjoy the tank.
Frequent water changes is the most important and a good phosphate remover, and reduced lighting(if possible) can help.
Best of luck.
I’m also experiencing an algae problem of my own right now. The ever-dreaded GHA. It’s not spreading ‘rapidly’ and I think this is due to the fact that my phosphate levels are seemingly near zero, but it’s not going away either. I think this is partly due to the fact that I don’t have enough turbo snails to keep up with the tank (only two on a 50 gal w/ 20 gal sump) which I plan on correcting today. What I wanted to ask was, I read somewhere that a good way of getting rid of the stuff was to pull it out by hand as often as possible, rinsing your hands in between chunks in order to prevent releasing floaters into the water. Anyone ever done this before with any success, or am I just going to cause it to run rampant in my tank?
Since about December I have been noticing more algae and the need to clean the glass more frequently. I used to think this was caused by the holidays and my tank maintainence slacking off a bit. But this year I religously maintained my tank even better than normal( water change every 5-7 days instead of 7-10). And still had algae problem. All parameters are regular and steady(PH8.2/SG1.026/Amonia 0/nitrate 0/nitrite 0/phosphate 0/ alk 9/calcium 460/mag1500 always runs this high). Run 1 cup GFO and dose 2.5 ml vodka,sugar,vinegar. I think it is due to ambient light from the sun. Tank sits across from a window that the sun really shines in on during the winter months due to the suns low angle in the sky. Going to tint that window next winter just to see if it makes a difference.Iit is now beginning to subside. I keep fair to good notes on my tank and have seen the same thing last 4 years.
[quote=“martinfaimly, post:1, topic:5173”]
my one aqua pod with my angler has alot of green fern like algea. i had some when it was set up . it grew out of control so i scrapped and scrubbed the tank then washed it with viniger and some bleach. i then reset tank up and with in 2 months it is back with avengence. so what is the best way to keep it coming back?[/quote]
if its byropsis use kent tech m elevate magnesium to 1700 over a period of a week or two, within a day or two of 1700 ppm it will turn clearish/white. believe me it works!!! I had it before and tried everything read up on reef central and found some posts about kent tech m and i tried it and was amazed. You need tech m cant use any mag supplement, they say it has some unknown element in it that kills it. I had snails, shrimp, crabs, lps, softies, and i think i had some sps but not sure… once it turns white siphon out and its done, will not come back i would keep mag levels up a week or two more to make sure you can find a gallon of it for $20 or less
alexzobi
Pulling it out by hand can certainly accelerate the process and I would recommend it. It’s a lot better then just staring at it from the other side of the glass wishing it away. Bubble algae spreads real easy and you have to be careful with it, but “hair algae” is almost always present in aquarium system so it isn’t really what I consider a pest species, but more of a symptom of a particular chemistry issue.
Mburke
Your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate are not 0. If they were the hair algae wouldn’t be present. If they were there is a good chance most of your corals would be dying. What you mean is that you are not able to detect any of these elements with your low resolution hobby test kits. If your testing pH with a test kit just don’t waste your time, if your testing pH with a probe make sure it is calibrated correctly. All this being said some forms of “hair algae”(hundreds of species can fall under this common name) seem to survive under low nutrient levels and stable pH.
You also mention adding Vodka is your skimmer collecting tons of gunk? Adding Vodka likely won’t help much with out an active quality skimmer.
dunk this method certainly can work, but a week or two at these levels has often not been enough. All of this is of course anecdotal experiences by random forum posters(heck Kent Marine could be posting to help sell their products), but I have heard from many sources that 4-8 weeks is what is recommended for eliminating this type of algae.
Also keep in mind if this worked for you it may not work for others. Not all hair algae is Byropsis and not all Bryposis is created equal. Byropsis is actually the genus not the species. There are over 60 species in this genus.
Running lower nutrients always helps, but in some cases will not eliminate the “hair algae”. Read up carefully on whatever you plan to do and make sure you understand what you are getting into. I always recommend trying to ID what your working with and lowering the nutrients first.
Jon I agree. It worked so well for me, it’s about the only thing that worked for me that I read lol I was so surprised it worked. I thought it was hair algae but it wasn’t long strands but strands with hairs off it like a fern I had it real bad. After 2 days of 1700 mg it was gone. I considered it a miracle it worked so good. It is worth a try. There are no negatives to it at least with my exp. with it. Po4 and trates can be low and still have algae issues because the algae is consuming the nutrients. Keep at it it should go away
I find myself reading ways to rid my tank of the beginnings of a HA outbreak. Turns out that the woman was feeding some of our spring starter plants by spraying (leaf feeding) them with miracle grow. It’s amazing how that stuff finds it’s way into the tank. Now if only I can convince her to change her horticulture techniques . . . verdict_in
how about drip irrigation with a watering can. instead of spray. yeah Miracle Grow is what i used to grow green water for rotifers and feed the tank. works great. nitrates and phosphates .
UPDATE!!! This is crazy and i have no explanation. as i stated i cleaned tank with razor then hot water and bleach, then removed sand and went bare bottom. Algea returned with vengence. So saterday i decided to take sand from bucket outside and rinse it out and put it back in tank. Monday morning i am clean as a whistle. Go figure that thats all it took.
Uhhhh??/ IDK? There was something in the sand?