Here is my 90 gal setup.

[twisted]

its all part of the cycle. once you get through it the clean up crew can usually take care of the hair and stuff. i added a lawnmower blenny to take care of the green and hair algae and he took care of all of it, i also think they are a really cool fish to watch. but yeah, just give it time and im sure someone will throw in pointers on how to grow a sponge farm out of hair algae or something sorry had to throw that in for when parrot stops by..... it eventually all goes away unless there is high nutes. but it can get really crazy unless you stay on top of water changes

[Parrothead]

Hey Chemguy,

Save me the trip back through your thread, where do you get you water for top off and water changes???

Too busy with the sponge farm to go back through it, Twisty will pay

[ChemGuy]

RO/DI water. Got a system from Melevsreef.
Sorry if I'm a bit paranoid
and
Thanks

[Parrothead]

RO/DI water. Got a system from Melevsreef.
Sorry if I'm a bit paranoid
and
Thanks

Just checking, let the tank do its thing, just keep an eye on the water parameters, and next week start adding your clean up crew, things will work their way out, remember your tank is still taking baby steps, you do the same with it

[twisted]

RO/DI water. Got a system from Melevsreef.
Sorry if I'm a bit paranoid
and
Thanks

we all get paranoid in the beginning when you do, think about the guys that started tanks before there were forums i went about 3 months before i became "computer savy"that was only a year ago...i found a whole new world on the internet....the guys well before me, i guess just spent alot of time at the fish store hitting every customer up with questions i guess that would have been called google search before the forums....just kick back and enjoy the water and do what parrot said. i agree about the reef packs, you are better off with picking oyour own. the reef packs come with too much i think. before you know it the snails you buy will reproduce and all your other little critters will make more.

[ChemGuy]

This will go away right??

[Parrothead]

is that growing on the rock??

Check your nitrates, if they are over 20 do a 10 - 20% water change, and start your clean up crew, try to remove as much as you can by hand, then do the water change, yes it will go away with your help;););)

[ChemGuy]

Ya growing on the rock all over the place.
NO3 tested 10 with a dip strip and 25 with another test.
I have 9 gal of water aging ... so a 10% water change tomorrow.
All other test look good.

[Parrothead]

start thinking about getting your clean up crew if you haven't started already, after your water change tomorrow would be a good time to start adding them, and remember to remove as much as you can by hand. You are doing fine

[gregony]

That's hair algae, it will go away, like Parrothead said. It's part of the tank maturing. Remove the bigger clumps, I'd recommend leaving the smaller ones, they'll turn into bigger ones, then remove them. This algae will probably be replaced by a shorter, almost impossible to remove algae known as bryopsis. Don't freak out. The clean-up crew will keep it under control (somewhat) until a macro algae can start up and steal the nutrients away from the bryopsis. Eventually you will have no bryopsis, no hair algae, and most importantly no cyano (red or green slime) - only macro algae. It takes time, not a few weeks, but months and possibly more than a year. No additive will make it happen any faster. Keep the water clean and let the tank do its thing.

[gregony]

By the way, that's some nice looking rock, I think you got a good start.

[zhenya]

By the way, that's some nice looking rock, I think you got a good start.

I'm not so sure I am ready to agree with this statement. It is nice shape and all but to me this rock must be full of nutrients that are stored in it, perhaps even PO4 and such, hence why this hair algae is proliferating.
May I ask where you got this rock from, ChemGuy? If it was a raw rock from an online vendor just transshipping it then you could have cycle it outside of the tank and deal with the hair algae there. If it came from someone's tank then I would question it's origins and how it was used.

In any case, as guys had stated already, you can combat it with some hand removal and clean up crew. I would try using a sea hare after couple of weeks if all other crew members fail to clean up this mess.

PS. Hair algae is not necessarily part of the cycle, as we know it, I never had any hair algae during or after cycle was completed. You may have it (if your rock is filthy and conditions are perfect for it to grow) and then again you may never see it. I never did.

[ChemGuy]

Here is where I got the rock from.
Discount Saltwater Fish, Coral, Invertebrates, Angelfish and Supplies
They said it was already cured.
Today I changed 10% of the water and added:
5 Nassarius Snails
5 Cerith Snails
5 Nerite Snails
2 Turbo Snails
Hope those were good choices.
Water parameters are all ok except for NO3 = 25
There was a problem shipping the rock it was delayed, so 5 days
in the box. I scrubbed the rock and washed it a few times .
Maybe still a lot of dead stuff ???

Thanks

[ChemGuy]

Anyone have an opinion on this?
Thinking of getting one.
AquaFuge External hang-on refugium with powerhead 25"L x 4.5"W x 12"T: Premium Aquatics
Thanks

[zhenya]

Anyone have an opinion on this?
Thinking of getting one.
AquaFuge External hang-on refugium with powerhead 25"L x 4.5"W x 12"T: Premium Aquatics
Thanks

If you don't have room in your sump to make a refugium in there I could see spending some money on this one. However, if you have a space in the cabinet (or next to it) I would suggest making refugium out of some 20-30g tank that you can pick up pretty cheap. Then it's just the matter of diverting some of the drain water into it and then making it drain into the sump or if you can have it above tank it can drain directly into the display. That would ideal, I think, because the live food that your fuge would produce wouldn't have to go through any pumps. It would be probably more involved in terms of drilling the tank and such but well worth it in the long run.
If you don't have time or patience to be bothered with making it yourself then go for it. Smaller refugium is better than no refugium at all. ;)

There was a problem shipping the rock it was delayed, so 5 days
in the box. I scrubbed the rock and washed it a few times .
Maybe still a lot of dead stuff ???

Well, if it was cured in their store than I don't believe there should be too much of live organisms in it, well except for bacteria, of course. Although some stuff definitely survives during cycling and most likely some of the polychaetes and such did, only to die during shipping...
I would try speaking to the vendor and see if you can get different rock to replace some of the rock kthat got wasted during their shipping process.
Were there any guarantees on their rock?
I never bought from this people so I don't know anything about them. Price is exellent but where this rock was collected is anyone's guess.

I can certainly understand why you are having issues with hair algae now...

[ChemGuy]

I do not have a sump at this time been thinking about it.

Also can't sea hairs nuke the tank with ink or whatever??

and Thanks

[Chasman]

ChemGuy

I have that HOB refugium on my 29gal. Mine came from EcoSystems but it's made by CPR. So it's the same thing. I put a small ball of Cheato algae in mine right at the begining. I also use Miracle Mud sand in it as that is what it came with. I think any fine aquarium sand would work as well. The Cheato has grown a ton since then as I have trimed out some twice now. I started my tank in early October and have had nitrate readings that are undectable and no hair algae and very little cyno type algae that only lasted about a week. I don't have a sump either.

As far as that goes I agree with Gene that a sump is probably a better way to go, BUT .... I can't complain about the results I've gotten with the little refugium and have no fear of floods. You do need some space behind your tank though. About 5 inches. Plus my auto top off dumps into the refugium at the exit end and works well.

By the way, the model I have has a skimmer built into it but they make them without it if you you already have one.

Chasman

[ChemGuy]

Any suggestions as to how to get Hair Algae off the live rock?
Just take the rock out and scrub it with a wire brush or what?
This stuff is stuck on like glue.

Thanks
Vin

[Parrothead]

Didn't you save the org. toothbrush you stole from the wife

That would work, I wouldn't use a wire brush though, a good stiff bristle brush should do it, make sure you rinse the rock in a bucket of saltwater before returning it to the tank, and give the clean up dudes alittle time first, unless it is overtaking the tank, at which point its time to steal the wifes toothbrush again.

[ChemGuy]

It has in my opinion taken over the tank.
The house is next I guess.
NO3 remains at 25, but today PO4 had a .5 reading instead of zero.
Where did that come from??
Doing a 20 % water change tomorrow.
This is making me crazy.

Thanks
Vin