[icemark]

Thanks for the input.

I have had a hair problem in my 60 Gal for almost a year, but the only that that seems to be working is only using DI water.

Don't know if I am ready to do all that you did though.

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Mark

Play Well

[ravenmore]

I really don't recommend it - running live rock under tap water is likely to kill a lot of stuff on it besides the algae - things you want to keep.

Algae is never the problem but rather a symptom of the real problem excess nutrients. If your tank is young - it's just to be expected while the tanks ecosystem balances out the nutrient load.

I'd try a lawnmower blenny next time. You'll only need one, and he'll likely clean the tank within a week - regardless of how bad your problem is. Remember though, any algae eaten by a fish will re-release the nutrients it absorbed back into the water column. It might be a good idea to introduce a fast growing macro algae to outcompete the hair algae for nutrients.

hth,
-Mike

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I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything.

Website

[FISHme]

I just have to post because for the past year or so I have had HIPPIE HAIR SYNDROME [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Over the past month or so I have completely eliminated it [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Anyone that has a hair algae problem knows how good it would feel if their tank was rid of this NASTY sight.
I took on some drastic measures to accomplish this feat.
My selinoid switch was not shutting off my R/O unit properly so I switched that unit off and connected to my new Kent unit and add a new DI. This unit is an auto top off and also fills my 50 gal mixing tub.
Then I removed approx 10 lbs L/R at a time and brushed it with a scrub brush " UNDER THE TAP WATER FAUCET" ( YES !! )
I contiued this process every 2-3 days keeping an eye on my amonia and nitrite, which spiked ever so slightly during this process.
I removed 90% of the rock ,about 70 lbs or so and placed it into a 50 gal sterilite tub plumbed to the system . This tub has a lid so keeping it closed keeps light out.
The inlet to this tub is supplied by a magnum 350 which I filled with black magic carbon along with the pre filter (this way no loose hair from the rest of the system will re-enter the tub).
I left the rock in there for a little over a month and did 1 or 2 water changes over that time period.
Then rock retained the corraline that was on it but the hair was completely GONE.
I also had a mangrove sump with a 3 inch sand bed also connected to this system. I removed the sand bed ( this had alot of bristle worms , spagetti worms and alot of corraline growth but the sand bed seemed to be a nutrient catch).
Next , during this time I also was pulling the hair off the rocks in my algae sump ( lighting 24/7 ) . There are 2 larger boulders in this tub so I really didn't want to have to remove them . Well after a few weeks the hair started to subside, turning brown as I pulled out as much as I could.
Next, I built a couple caulerpa containers out of egg crate and got some caulerpa growing in the system.
Normally I don't use prefilters except only in the magnnum 350 when using carbon. During this clean up I used pre filters on all the overflow returns and changed them every couple days.
Now, I replaced all the L/R into the main tank , all the purple crraline is still growing [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Before I did this clean up I was cutting down on the feeding thinking this was a cause for the HAIR , the fish and inverts would chew on the rocks but the hair kept growing.
Since this overhaul I am able to feed every day , boy are my fish happy to see me feed them daily again [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img].
Anyway, so far so good.
I just thought I would post this for anyone with a HAIR problem , this seems to have done the trick although DRASTIC for me it was a delightful project to see the final result of a hair free, corraline full system [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Most of the pictures on my site have been taken since this cleaning.:
http://community.webtv.net/MarkPelsk...LTWATERAQUARIA

[FISHme]

Hey Mike,
I Know this was a drastic measure but In the past I just scrubbed it in a tub with aquarium water .
I had done that several times over the past year or so and the hair just grew right back.
I believe my main problem was the malfuntioning R/O unit.
This particular tank has been up and running about 3-4 years, I loose track of time with my tanks [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]. Anyway , my other parts of my system that are all plumbed together contain LOTS of the other life that will just re-seed the cleaned rock.
If you check out my site you can see the recient photos taken , things are really looking great .Oh , the latest fish shots are pretty good also.
I did have a Lawnmower Blenny but he didn't work. I lost him to a powerhead that I left off while cleaning the freekin hair off the screen catch [img]/ubb/frown.gif[/img]
All I can say is that I am really tickled pink to be rid of the nasty ness.
I have also been boosting my Ca level and the coralline is growing crazy !!! [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]


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><> ><> FISHme <>< <><

[ravenmore]

I can understand the frustration - I'm currently battling a bit of cyano (stubborn stuff). Unfortunately it may not cure your problem if you still have excess nutrients building up in your system. I'd look at nitrates. What kind of substrate do you have? Crushed coral and filters with bio media can lead to a rapid build up of nitrates. I noticed that you had a dsb in your sump. Something I might recommend would have been a deeper sand bed with very, very fine grained sand. Depth of at least 4" (6" would be preferable), a lot of macro algae (need a light over it of course), and a good detrivore kit (I like spaghetti worms in particular to eat sand detrius to keep your sand bed from becoming a nutrient trap). The macro algae WILL eventually outcompete the hair algae for nutrients - particularly if you maintain a longer light cycle over the sump than the tank. Side note - another benefit of a dsb (the main benefit for me IMO ) is that the fauna in the dsb produces planktonic organisms that feed the corals.

One good thing about your scrubbing is that it essentially exported all the nutrients the algae had absorbed out of the tank. [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Anyway - hopefully you're done with your hair algae and this is all just academic now anyway. [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

-Mike

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I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything.

Website

[FISHme]

Just updating :
Just about a week now since I replaced all the rock from the lightless sump into the main tank and all is CLEAR . No hair !!!!
My coralline is finally growing very nice and I am feeding fairly heavily every day.
I will keep posting updates .
I believe most of my problem was the original R/O unit not funtioning properly.
Later,
[\[\ark