11 replies to this topic

[joey]

hey guys'

Just want to know the best way to remove green hair algae from live rock and glass.
Ive heard that manually is the best way?
but ive also heard that some fish etc can also help remove it.

im new to this, so please any help is wanted

Joe

[Riggers]

Hey bud,

If your getting hair algae have a look at the lights your using because this could be one of the reasons, I found when using T8's I had good soft coral growth but also a lot of hair algae. There are a few species that will eat it but for the most part you'll need to just pull the algae off...

Hope this helps mate
Nick

[joey]

cheers Nick,

im using t8's at the moment, but im getting some t5's soon, hopefully they are better

Edited by joey, 21 September 2011 - 04:32 PM.

[joey]

anyone know any effective algae eating fish species for marines?
might aswell try and get some

Edited by joey, 21 September 2011 - 04:37 PM.

[Neakit]

Lawn mower blenny is the safest, With algea problems the big problems start with your water quality not your lighting, check your nitrates and phosphates, With nitrates you should aim for 0 and with phosphates .04 is the level in nsw.

Other algea eaters are tangs, fox faced rabbit fish, snails and hermit crabs. Hermit crabs are known to kill snails for shells, foxface rabbit fish grow big and tangs need a lot of swimming area.
If you have a sump dont be surprised if you find the blenny does some pipe surfing.

**spelling

Edited by Neakit, 21 September 2011 - 07:24 PM.

[joey]

haha "pipe surfing", you make it sound fun.

umm, i do have a sump though,
ill have a look at some blenny's but like you said, ill have a look at my water first.

Cheers
Joe

[Riggers]

Your right about water quality simon but I think you'll find that lighting does play a major part as well as water temp, A warmer tank with T8 lights is an algae hotbed..... Tangs will more likely pick at the shorter algae from rocks and glass, also to keep tangs in tip top condition install a UV sterilizer in your return pipe to further increase water quality

Cheers
Nick

[Neakit]

a uv sterilizer does nothing for a marine tank let alone a tang, As we have argued before on lighting before Nick, the type doesn't make much of a difference. T8 still put out a broad spectrum of light just not as intense as a t5 or mh. Water quality is the biggest factor in any ailment in the marine aquarium. The temp of a tank has little to do with algea growth. If it has food it will grow. There are 2 choices, remove the light it feeds on or remove the nutrients it feeds on. I have seen an orsom tank kept under 2 2ft t8 fluros, the owner was a person on this forum.

[Riggers]

Did you know Nitrogen and phosphor are 'algae food' so yes simon is kinda right, what he's failing to mention is that there are 3 other things that control algae growth, Still water, stable weather patterns, warm weather.... did you also know that the most common type of algae, which is blue green algae, is actually a bacteria, that can be controlled with the use of a uv sterilizer.....

Joe If you want a crap tank take your advice from Neakit... Come on Simon I've said it before, do a bit of hard research before you start giving advice.....

[joey]

i can see the good in both your replies, and thank you guys for the information
no need to fight about it,
Ill do some research aswell and form my own opinions too

cheers
Joe

Edited by joey, 23 September 2011 - 07:48 AM.

[Neakit]

Blue green algea wont happen in an aquarium. Cyano is a bacteria and is best controlled by flow. As I said before a uv serilizer is useless in a marine aquarium, it kills beneficial as well as the bad. But it cant kill algea if the algea doesn't get exposed to it.

Removed comment

Edited by Neakit, 23 September 2011 - 08:08 AM.

[Riggers]

The problem is Joe that on forums you don't know who's sitting behind the keyboard giving the advice.. Your bang on with working it out for yourself and forming your own opinions and ways of doing things. Have a look for some articles by Neale Monks PHD, he has done some extensive research on algae in marine tanks..

And Simon I don't mean to have a go a ya, but I can't help it dude your posts irritate me, come on be factual, back up your claims, maybe try helping someone out instead of giving keyboard advice... Next time you post maybe do some research ey.....

These are some exerts from a link to an article I posted on here a while back

At a recent conference, Eric Borneman and Dr. Rob Toonen both spoke on topics that had as a major theme, the need for hobbyists to reason clearly and critically.
Unfortunately, valid and reasonable data are exceptionally hard to come by in this hobby, and thinking clearly doesn't seem to found in overabundance, either. What information is available is often hidden by obfuscation or comes from, at best, questionable sources. These problems severely impact the care of all of our animals.
Reef keepers, especially those new to the hobby, often assume that a lot is known about the organisms that they are trying to keep. This is not often the case, and as aquarists gain experience, they may gradually come to realize this. Initially, a budding aquarist generally will either take the word of the "instant expert" at their local fish store, or they will purchase one or more "reference" books to rely on. These books soon become infused with the divine authority of a reef god, and are literally treated as gospel. Unfortunately, most of the reef aquarium books are dubious sources of information at best. Anybody can publish one. Packaged in a pretty cover, it will sell. It will sell regardless of the content. These books are generally mixed compilations of lore, myth, and fact. Unfortunately, in most cases it is very difficult to separate the guess, from the fact, from the outright mistake.
The most important thing to remember is to develop a healthy dose of skepticism! Do not accept information without documentation. And make sure the documentation is from a reliable source. You DO need to verify sources, and you should not automatically trust unsubstantiated references.

taken from building a DIY BS o meter
By Ron Shimeck