I hate hair algae
 

Hi all,

So I have been battling a Hair Algae out break for the last little while, and am slowly going mad :evil: I have been reading any and everything I can about stopping this stuff. I have also been trying to figure out why this started in the first place. So I was reading through the RC forums last night, and came across a post that mentioned that hair algae problems are sometimes a result of the container that makeup water is made in. Specifically they said to ensure that the container is rated as "food grade". Now the funny thing is that I switched to a new Rubbermaid container about a month ago, and this is exactly around the same time that my Algae problem started to happen. Until last night I did not realize that the container might be the issue. At lunch I went over to home Depot to buy a new container that is "Food Grade" but did there is no mention of this on any of their containers.

Has anyone heard of this before? Can the container be a possible problem?

How can I tell if a container is "Food Grade"?

Any help would be appreciated. My next step is to hire a priest to exercise the algae demons out of my tank :biggrin:

Thanks
Martin

Here are the things I have done. Perhaps each has not been successful alone but maybe have worked in concert with each other to help combat the plague.

Get a better skimmer/increase skimming
Manual removal
Emerald crabs
RO/DI
Kent phosphate remover
Addition of kalk drip
Increased circulation
Increased water changes

I'm not really sure which of these has done the trick but I yard the stuff out every couple of weeks or so and I've noticed a gradual decrease in growth. Don't expect this stuff to go away overnight. I've been working on it for about 3 months now.

As for your container, I used a rubbermaid sump for quite awhile and use a rubbermaid garbage can for waterchanges. I don't really know about it causing algal growth though. I've always been successful at growing algae, with or without rubbermaid products :wink:

Christy :)

When I use to have fresh water tank, I would get my water from a well here in Delta. I got a sample in a glass jar and tested it for Ph, nitate, phosphate ect... No traces, I bought a couple of water containers from Canadian tire to store and transport the water. Shortly after I was using it I got a algae uotbreak. Talked to the LFS and they said phosphate, Took anouther glass sample nothing, but the tank off off the scale. Under the advice of the LFS I tested the water from the container at 1 day intervals. Low and behold, after 2 days the phosphate shot of f the scale. The container did it. Another LFS said that blue filter media would leak phospahte as well. Just so test the water before and after it has sat in the rubbermaid and see what happens.

Martin, have you tested your water (tank and make up) for phosphates? Nitrates?How much flake are you feeding your tank? I know very few people who didn't have a hair algae outbreak with a new tank but Christy's tank isn't new and it still happens to lots of other folks. I started to see some hair algae in my bow front and I added a fox face, he ate all the hair algae and calupera with in a couple days, he now eats flake, frozen, pellets (hbh breeder conditioner) and everything else I put in the tank but he still grazes all day on the rocks.
As far as food grade goes, I believe it's mainly to let people know the plastic wont leach out chemicals that can be toxic. Come to think of it I don't believe I've seen "food grade" on anything the last little while. If you want to check the container simply test your water source for phosphates and then fill the container and let it run for a couple days iwth a power head, then test that water for phospates. Don't take my rambling to mean that only phosphates contribute to hair algae though.

Doug

I have a 10g plastic bucket that was meant for winemaking that i use, it was definitly labeled foodsafe.

When it comes to water tests, I am a Saliferts best friend :smile: I test for most things on a very regular basis. Probably overkill, but does not take long and it's part of my routine. I have tested both my tank and my make up water for Phosphates and Nitrates (both are at zero). I don't feed my tank a lot of flake food, I always do a tiny amount and it is always gone in a matter of seconds. If they are still hungry I add a bit more. This goes with all the food I give the tank, and as far as I can tell everything always goes right away. My tank has been sent up for almost 2 years now, and this is the first bad case of hair algae I have had. I know that the test kit for Phosphate does only tests for one kind, so there is a possibility it is in the tank. I took Christy's advice and picked up some Kent Phosphate Remover, last night. I am hoping that this, combined with hand removal and a couple more water changes will soon make this go away.

I don't want to harp on this but I swear a fox face will sure help. I rather like them as a fish as well, just don't pet it.

Doug

Absolutely true. The buckets you get at a winemaking place are food grade. :mrgreen:

I would love to get a fox face but don't know if the tank can hold anything else right now. It's a 66 Gallon with:

2 Clowns
1 Yellow Tang
1 Flame Angel
1 Chromis
1 Goby
1 Bicolor Blenny
2 Mandarins

Yes that's a tough call, one thing to keep in mind is a number of those fish are small fish. Hey maybe you need a bigger tank.... want me to talk to your wife for you?

Doug