Hair Algae - "Vanish"

[fishgeeksrus]

We just purchased a product called Vanish for our hair algae problem. Has anyone ever tried this product or know anything about it. We are on our second day of treatment and so far nothing I can't tell any difference.

[Ninong]

Sorry, I've never heard of it.

Who makes it, what's in it and how does it work?

[fishgeeksrus]

Well lets see...

It is made by Coral Reef Specialties, It does not say what's in it. It kindof looks like pee. I am trying not to touch it. hah hah, little scared.

Instructions,
Remove carbon and any other chemical filtering medium from the tank. Shake well. On 1st and 2nd day of treatment add two drops per gallon. On the 3rd day add four drops per gallon. Continue treatment until all undesirable growths have been eliminated using the fours drops per gallon dose. Typically 5 to 6 days of treatment may be necessary.

While treating remove any loose or dying material from the aquarium so it cannot break down and add more nutrients to the water (nitrates and phosphates). You may wish to use some nitrate and phosphate removing compound to keep both levels low during the treatment.

When treatment is complete. Perform a 25% water change. Reinstall your chemical filtering media.

Before adding any drops, dilute them in hot water to prevent fish from confusing them with food drops. After drops have mixed with the hot water add the mixture to the tank.

[Ninong]

I searched four of the largest online hobby vendors using "Coral Reef Specialties" and "Vanish" and came up with nothing. I searched both of those terms using Google and MSN search and came up with nothing except Vanish Toilet Bowl Cleaner.

Was this purchased locally? Was it recommended for use in reef tanks? Did the people selling it have any clue about the ingredients? Do they use it in reef tanks themselves? I don't recall reading any posts on any of the boards touting such a simple solution for eliminating hair algae. If it works and if it is completely reef-safe, I think it would be better known.

I hate to sound so negative but even products that claim to be reef-safe very often are NOT reef-safe. A good basic safety rule is to NEVER add anything to your tank if you have no idea what it is or how it works. Don't forget that the symbiotic zooxanthellae in corals, Tridacna spp. clams, anemones, etc., is also algae.

[fishgeeksrus]

Yes, it was purchased locally. The LFS said that he tried it and it worked but also said that other people have bought it and said that it did not do anything. He said that it is not suppose to harm corals. We are so discusted with the hair algae at this point we are willing to try anything. Almost enough to make us quit the hobby. This is the second time in a year. UGh!

[Lendogin]

an old toothbrush works wonders, my tank was covered from top to bottom with hair algae, I scrubbed every rock and now it's looking pretty clean. There is still some coming back but it's not as bad as before. I know it can be frustrating but there isn't an instant cure for this problem. You have to nail it at the source (bad water, salt mixture, old lightbulbs.) Only then will the problem dissappear and not return.

[fishgeeksrus]

Well, no luck. We completed the treatment and it didn't do anything but kill one of my frags. UGh. The hair algae is getting a little out of control. I guess we are going to tear it down and bleach everything. I may try of scrub the rock with a tooth brush, but it will probably come back. ugh What to do?

[patsfan1130]

Well, no luck. We completed the treatment and it didn't do anything but kill one of my frags. UGh. The hair algae is getting a little out of control. I guess we are going to tear it down and bleach everything. I may try of scrub the rock with a tooth brush, but it will probably come back. ugh What to do?

Often times large amounts of nuisance algae is due to high levels of phosphates.
I am going to assume you are not using RO/DI water & I highly recommend you do. other common reasons can be overfeading & excessive photo periods. At this point I would scrub everything with a clean toothbrush and then be sure that the water you use for your fish is phosphate free.

Mark

[fishgeeksrus]

RO is all that we use. Maybe it is time to replace our pc actinics. Can actinics cause this growth? If we scrub everything wont it just come back?

[patsfan1130]

RO is all that we use. Maybe it is time to replace our pc actinics. Can actinics cause this growth? If we scrub everything wont it just come back?

Hair algae is almost always a nutrient exporting problem. I doubt very much your actinics are the source here. A little more info will help....How often are you feeding? Do you run a protein skimmer? What kind of filtration do you use? How many fish are in the tank? Do you have any type of cleanup crew in there? How often do perform water changes?

All of these could possibly be the problem. I would test for phosphates & silicates first. I would be willing to bet you will find one or the other (If not both present). clean ALL of the rock really well,perform a 25-30% water change (Be sure you are replacing with purified water and be sure SG & temp are the same as tank water). clean any & all power filters. Our fish live & die by the water we put in our tanks

[fishgeeksrus]

We normally feed every day to every other day. I did start overfeeding when I introduced a new fish into the tank. We have 5 fish. I have an assortment of hermit crabs and snails. I have a crappy sea clone protein skimmer. Maybe it is not doing a good enough job. We went about 6 months without doing any water changes. We started doing a 6 gallon water change every two weeks about a month ago. A couple of weeks after that we noticed the hair algae growing.

[patsfan1130]

We normally feed every day to every other day. I did start overfeeding when I introduced a new fish into the tank. We have 5 fish. I have an assortment of hermit crabs and snails. I have a crappy sea clone protein skimmer. Maybe it is not doing a good enough job. We went about 6 months without doing any water changes. We started doing a 6 gallon water change every two weeks about a month ago. A couple of weeks after that we noticed the hair algae growing.

How big is your tank? what are the 5 fish? I recommend 10-15% water change every week. some people go every 2 weeks or once monthly but I have always had little to no problems doing weekly changes. I would get a better skimmer. Seaclones are not very good. 6 months is a very long time without any water changes. If you are dilligent in keeping your equipment clean and performing water changes, I would be willing to bet your efforts will pay off with a much healthier and better looking tank.

[fishgeeksrus]

55g with about a 10g sump. We have a gold maroon clown, lawnmower blenny, purple tang, sunburst anthias, six line wrasse and a snowflake eel. Water changes are debated here locally. We didn't do them for a while then started. I want to get a new skimmer but we are trying to get the new tank up and running. I was going to take everything in this tank and transfer it to the new one. Now I don't want to take the chance of introducing it into the new tank.