I may be dumb...hair algae

[kcharm]

I think I did this for the challenge of it. I bought some LR for my tank yesterday. It looks great except for the hair algae. I do have the facilities to cook the rock so, I added this to my tank, which is far from established at this point, thinking biweekly water changes (5 gallons each), at least daily turkey bastering, and just really watching my water quality.

The tank is a 29g that I started in mid November. Yesterday morning there was about 12 pounds of rock, today there is about 35ish (just a quess). There is a yellow tail damsel 5 or 6 or 7 astrea snails, and (I took this on trade for 15ish astreas) a colt coral frag and some star polyps associated with that frag. Filtration is still not everything I want and consists only of a Fluval 204 cannister.

ASAP it will be a 29 gallon sump with a fuge and the new ASM mini skimmer. Flow at the moment comes from the fluval through a spray bar along the bottom and 2 Eheim aquaballs. It will be through the same spraybar via a Mag7 (maybe 9.5) from the sump AND a Mag5 CL with 2 nozzles shooting into the back corners getting what the spraybar is missing and then to nozzles shooting from the front top corners of the tank towards the rock.

What are my chances of beating this problem that hasn't reared its head yet that I know I've gotten myself into?

 

[t_lynde]

I'm a bit confused.
You bought some live rock with hair algae on it? ( just scrub it well before adding it, cooking it is your best bet.)

Or you think you might have a hair algae problem in the future. ( everybody will have some hair algae in a new tank. just manually remove, get a good cleaner crew increase flow and wait)

Or your going to turn it into a sump in the future for an unspecified tank.:?:
in which case I don't understand the question. (see suggestions above)




T

 

[kcharm]

Sorry, I was trying to avoid questions so I gave ALL of the info I had.

I bought it with hair algae on it. I tried picking it off, but it's rather stubborn stuff. I'll try scrubbing harder tonight or tomorrow. I wish I had someplace to cook it, but that just ain't gonna happen.

I don't 'think' I'll have a hair algae problem...I'm certain of it! I just want to make sure that plan of attack was a good one...lots of water changes.

I added the tank details to make see how rushed I should be in switching it over to the goal setup versus the current setup. I'll try to clarify here...

Current setup:
29 gallon glass, Fluval 204 with the return running through a spraybar along the bottom plus 2 Eheim aquaballs for current.

Future setup:
29 gallon glass with 29 gallon glass sump with fuge. Main tank with a sloped starboard (actually black PVC) BB. Mag7 (or 9.5, not sure which yet) return from sump running through the spray bar (there will be a siphon break). An additional Mag 5 with 4 outlets, 2 hitting the rear corners to get the stuff that stuff that the spraybar won't plus 2 inlets at the front top corners aiming back at the rock.

Hope that clarifies things a little better.

It sounds like if I give this new stuff a good scrub, the challenge I thought I was getting myself into won't be as big of a challenge as I originally thought.

 

[Ed Hahn]

Another Oppinion..

Hello Kcharm.
Years ago when adding rock to my old 125, I was told to put in a small amount of rock, let it cycle for about 8 weeks. Then add up to 15lbs more go another 6-8 weeks. I believe the reason for that was to let the rock develope enough where it filters, then add more until I felt I had stable environment. I believe people rush their tanks more than often not letting their rock do the work. I want to stay with simple plan of letting rock develope slowly, adjusting to light, flow, then trying to maintain good flow around rock adding more. Again, I would never add more than 10-15lbs in any tank if it were me. That is unless you knew it was completely cycles and aged well. If you can get Rock that is Matured and algae free with lots of coraline you are most likely still gonna have a small algae bloom. That is due to changes in light, flow, water paremeters. Again, if you can find rock that is matured, already cycled you are most likely cheated, but play it safe and go the at least eight weeks to cycle. I believe if people could be patient they would have less problems.
Years ago, we did not have the good Protien skimmers we do today. The filter socks to trap the waste when needed. People relied more on Live Rock for filtration with good flow and no dead spots and proper water changes. I think people need to be reminded sometimes that Live Rock does a lot more work than we realize.

I believe if you do water changes with same temp as in tank, same salinity, do not overfeed, Learn that foods need to be rinsed if live with RO water. If you want to go better, go RO/DI. Learn which additives contain phosphates. No dead spots for food build up, Test things until you learn the needs of your tank, add things slowly may it be chemicals, rock, animals, They will have less problems.
I swear by Salifert. I do not add anything that is a mixed chemical. For example Strontium and Calcium mix into a tank that only needs Calcium. We learn that all things such as Mag, strontium, calcium, alkalinity, etc work together. If you overdo one product it may effect your tank where it wil deplete another product trying to balance itself out.
I hope that any of this mumble jumbo helps you, Its been drilled into my head by people I trust and I believe it. I can never say thanks enough, you know who you are.
wishing you luck, good flow around your rock, good lighting cycles, stable temps, good water paremeters and healthy animals.
sincerely,
Ed
Ps,..Can you tell I am off work today, full of BS as usual, and want to talk fish?..

 

[kcharm]

And I have nothing to do at work today!

Thanks Ed, I'm paying for RO/DI and my salinity and temp are close to the tank salinity and temp when the water is added. When changes are needed, they are made slowly.

I have been alternating between water from the sound (I get it from the Seattle Aquarium and then add salt to make it match my tank) and using IO. I know you shouldn't switch it up, but, well, I do.

The 'mumbo jumbo' is everyday talk to me, I'm just used to dealing with the natural environment of a stream or ocean rather then being confined to a glass box. For testing equipment, I swear by borrowing meters for the weekend from the office

I have been adding things slowly, This is the 4th input of rock I've done. It was a little heavier then intended, but not too much heavier.

I think the change to a sump and refugium will, in the end, by very helpful for this. I am, however, beginning to relax about the impending hair algae. It was going to happen whether I knowingly added it or not. There are many problems to come in the setting up of my tank. I'm sure aiptasia will show up eventually. I'm sure other little evil hitchhikers will be there as well. I'm sure that there will be other things that I haven't totally thought through and will have to redo (already done that, hence the addition of the sump). It's good to know that I've got a group of folks I can ask question of.

 

[Ed Hahn]

I need to back up. If your tank if s 29 gallon tank. Your tank is going to be even more sensitive to changes due to size. That 15lb Live Rock ratio was for 125 gallon size tank. You would want to add even less, then work from there. I am sorry if I mislead you.
The only thing Dumb, is not asking questions or following without learning. You always have choices.

 

[Stilcrazy]

You bought some live rock with hair algae on it? ( just scrub it well before adding it, cooking it is your best bet.)

I'm confused ... what do you mean by cooking live rock?

 

[kcharm]

I was concerned since the live rock is from an established tank that scrubbing might do unwanted damage.

What do you mean, what do I mean by cooking? Cooking is the curing of live rock for several weeks to several months in the dark allowing time for all of the algae to die and to rot (along with any other dead stuff) and for the bacteria populations to increase in support of removing all of that rotten stuff. And I have no place to do this.

The rock is in the tank. I'm due to switch from one of the 29s to the other in the next couple of weeks and I'll scrub the rock real well then.

Also, I'm not certain that what I've been calling hair algae is actually hair algae...not sure what it is. There is some hair algae, but not much. This stuff is long and stiff and branched. The little bit of hair algae seems to be growing in little tufts. Until I saw these little tufts, I didn't realize that this wirey stuff was different.

 

[Curtswearing]

The only thing Dumb, is not asking questions or following without learning. You always have choices.

Ditto

I would rather have hair algae rather than Bryopsis ANY day of the week. Scrub both off but NOT IN YOUR TANK. There's very little in the way of grazer's that will eat Bryopsis. When you do your next waterchange, keep the old water in a bucket. Scrub it in there. Then rinse with some saltwater that you didn't scrub the rock in before putting it back in your tank. You don't want to have any of the fragments from the Bryopsis or HA left on the rock when you put it back into your tank.

BTW....there's an interesting thread going on in the Advanced Forum about LR right now that you might find interesting. It's guaranteed to generate a headache but it's interesting nonetheless.

 

[kcharm]

I don't think it's bryopsis. I just looked that stuff up and boy am I happy it's not bryopsis. It's branched but nearly as much as any species I saw. It's wirey and hard but none seem to be longer then about an inch. If I could figure out how to take a decent picture of the stuff I'd do that. But I can't seem to get my camera to focus on it. I could get a nice pic with my old film SLR I bet, but not my digital.

 

[Curtswearing]

I heard you say, "Wirey" and made an assumption. Bryopsis is definately stiff.

If you can't take a pic, can you draw it using a painting program?

If not, can you find it in the Algae ID pages?

 

[kcharm]

It looks something like Ancanthophora spicifera. It has a course wirey texture and is attached REALLY REALLY well to the rock. It branches like this Ancanthophora. The hair algae comes right off when I pick it off, not like this stuff. The discription with the photo describes this stuff as brittle, the stuff in my tank is not brittle at all.

I'll be very persistent with getting it off of the rocks when I swap the tanks (when I make the current tank the sump and the other tank the display).

In the middle of writing this it occured to me I could photograph this stuff outside the tank. So here's a shot with it on the back of a business card.

 

[Curtswearing]

I think you might have it. Horge Cortes-Jorge described it as gristly-brittle and that it spreads by fragmentation. I would completely agree with him. I think that he was saying that it is gristly but if you disturb it too much, you will get fragments. That is a bad thing if it occurs while in the tank. That's why I would recommend heavy scrubbing be done in old waterchange water.