Hi. I have a big problem which is my own fault. I have a lot of green hair algae. I have heard of many different ways to combat this problem but none of them seem to do the trick.
I have also heard of a Mexican hermit crab that will eat this type of algae. Before I invest that kind of money in but a few crabs do you know of a sure fire way to get rid of this algae?
I pull it off of the rocks and corals once a week but it spreads to other rocks and corals by the next weeks "harvest" comes around.
I am also about to move to the Atlanta area and was wondering which store was a good one that has reasonable prices in the area. I know about Pices Pets in Jonesboro but I will be living on the north side of Atlanta and that is a pretty long drive.
Any help will be appreciated,
Seth Floyd Jr.
Seth:
Micro algae grow as a result of either of two nutrients being in the water in too large a quantity:
1. green micros grow when there is too much phosphate in the tank water
2. brown micros grow when there is too much silicate in the tank water
Both can come from internal and external sources meaning they can be either generated inside the tank itself or they are added by the hobbyist (often unbeknownst to him or her).
When these nutrients are high, micro algae grow profusely and harvesting them does not solve the problem
What happens when you do this is that you remove a quantity of algae but you kill off a number of them too that are not removed.
When dead algae start to decompose and break down they add phosphate and silicate to the tank, depending on the kind
Of course this process then leads to the growth of more algae since the basic building blocks for growth (Phosphate and Silicate) are there.
This can be baffling as you keep pulling algae out and as fast as you pull them out other ones grow.
The reason is that when you pull these algae out you also contribute to the increase of PO4 and SiO2 as explained and that makes more of them grow. Sort of a catch 22 situation.
There are several ways to deal with this though :
1. Eliminate all outside sources of phosphate and silicate and make sure you do not add any to the tank. To do this you need to check the water you use for them, the salt, the additives, the carbon (often leaches phosphates) and so on. Eliminate anything that adds nutrients to the water by switching to another brand or if it is the water by treating it and removing the phosphate and silicate
2. Eliminate or minimize internal sources: clean up detritus you see, remove uneaten food, do not overstock the tank, do not overfeed, put algae eating fish in the tank are examples of what you can do.
3. Water changes with water that not contain PO4 and SiO2 will help you lower their levels. When the levels go down algae start to die off. Siphon those out. Do not let them die offf in the tank or you will again contribute more nutrients which will result in more algal growth.
4. Use compounds that remove PO4 and SiO2 to lower the levels even further.
5. Use Hermit crabs (blue-legged ones are excellent).
6. Perform water changes if the levels are real high right now to lower the ppm concentrations to more manageable numbers using one of the other methods described.
What I also suggest that you should do is go to our web site http://www.athiel.com and then scroll down the main page till you see the link on the left to the Saltwater Library
In the Saltwater library (there are over 400 free articles there and two of my books that you can download for free) read as many articles on algae as you can (read them all is best).
Some are in the Product Related Section and some are in the Water Chemistry one and some are in the General one.
Read up on algae and on how to use the products that reduce PO4 and SiO2 and you will get the problem under control.
Do not scrape algae off the glass as that just kills them and adds more PO4 to the tank (or silicate is the algae are brown which means they are diatoms). Use a sponge and wipe from bottom to top, then rinse the sponge, then go to the next area and wipe from botton to top, rinse, etc. Keep doing this until you have wiped off all algae from the panes. Doing it in this manner you will reintroduce far less algae in the water and thus lower the amount of PO4, resp. SiO2 added to the water when they die off.
There are articles in the SW library that deal with all of that. I suggest you do a lot of reading and you will learn how to control the nutrient levels so that no algae grow.
When you have the levels real low and no algae grow you can use the addition of limewater to the tank to control phosphates.
Hopefully this answers your questions. The reading will help a lot more though. I also suggest that you consider joinging our reefkeeping mailing list (check our web page http://www.athiel.com at the top for details on how to join).
Glad to hear you are moving to this area. Check my private email to you for names of stores.
Albert