Green hair?

DSB · 10-30-2005, 09:20 PM

How about if I just let it grow. Will it eat itself to death? (run out of food)

xtopher · 10-30-2005, 10:44 PM

I don't think so. As it grows I believe there is die off which will fuel more growth

Loverotties · 10-30-2005, 11:24 PM

Yes thats right!

Geoff · 10-31-2005, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtopher

I don't think so. As it grows I believe there is die off which will fuel more growth

true, but a combination of the two is your best bet. let it grow for a bit than when you do a water change pull as much of it off as you can. this way you are exporting the nutrients that it has bound up.

G~

carman34l · 10-31-2005, 02:34 AM

then the nutrients brought within the water change will bring in more nutrients for it to feed.... cook the rock, get it out of your tank....

Geoff · 10-31-2005, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carman34l

then the nutrients brought within the water change will bring in more nutrients for it to feed.... cook the rock, get it out of your tank....

what nutrients will you be bringing in with the water change?

G~

yardboy · 10-31-2005, 04:54 AM

The ones your wore-out RO/DI let in from your city water laced with phosphate?

skeety · 10-31-2005, 07:25 AM

Interested in this thread as well.

Just bought some LR for the nano tank build off...GOREGEOUS rock, but has some clumps of Hair Algae on it. I'm currently curing it in a tub...and was hoping if I pull as much off when the clumps get big...by the time the rock's cycled, it will have ate all the nutrients thus starving itself and dying off.

So far...this thread leaves me to believe that might or might not be the case...meaning we haven't seemed to reach a conclusion.

Definitely taggin' along.

VWD · 10-31-2005, 07:30 AM

Cure the rock with a good skimmer and brush as much off as you can, Cure without lights. A few week or more.I don't know if that will work, sounds good to me, That what I would do.

Geoff · 10-31-2005, 09:46 AM

it is all about removing nutrients. you can either do it the short way, cooking the LR, or the long way. siphoning out detritus during water changes and yanking off any new algae growth. they both will work it is a matter of how long you want it to take, and if you have the room or ability to take your entire system down.

G~

rangerfan · 10-31-2005, 11:43 AM

i had the same theory that i brought up in the think tank and was quickly shot down by spanky. look in the think tank under the thread rock cooking theory

DSB · 10-31-2005, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff

true, but a combination of the two is your best bet. let it grow for a bit than when you do a water change pull as much of it off as you can. this way you are exporting the nutrients that it has bound up.

G~

That's what i've been doing.

DSB · 10-31-2005, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff

it is all about removing nutrients. you can either do it the short way, cooking the LR, or the long way. siphoning out detritus during water changes and yanking off any new algae growth. they both will work it is a matter of how long you want it to take, and if you have the room or ability to take your entire system down.

G~

"it is all about removing nutrients" I've been working very hard at that (poor fish are starving) skimming like crazy, water changes, yanking it off, cleaning the rock with a tooth brush, ect. I'm getting tired of it and it cost $$$$. I bet I've gone through 200g of ro/di and salt in the last 2 weeks alone.

Geoff · 10-31-2005, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSB

"it is all about removing nutrients" I've been working very hard at that (poor fish are starving) skimming like crazy, water changes, yanking it off, cleaning the rock with a tooth brush, ect. I'm getting tired of it and it cost $$$$. I bet I've gone through 200g of ro/di and salt in the last 2 weeks alone.

it is the long way. it will work, but may take a month or so. i remember doing this every 6 months or so back in the mid 90's when the rage was CC sand beds. you would get cyano and hair all over the bottom. for about a month i would have to siphon almost daily the SB and anywhere else there was cyano/HA. it would clear itself up then i would get lazy and several months later it was all back again.

you can slow down on the water changes. just replace the amount of water that is removed due to the siphoning of the HA. the skimmer should be doing the rest. it is the removing of the biomass that is doing the most good.

with my 125g i could easily get away with only a 5g water change once a week to remove the detritus that was building up in the tank. i am sorry if i came across in saying that sheer water volume exchange would help the situation.

G~

DSB · 10-31-2005, 04:03 PM

I'll keep plugin away! Then today I findout my ID has been stolen and accounts in my name opened in 9 states!