hair algae on my lr.........some tips needed

[michael99420]

and the last one

[michael99420]

bump for help

[michael99420]

bump

[Jimbo]

Didn't see any snail butts in those pics... I have some of the big turbo's and 12 of them keep my 40g spotless.

[Mrs_Phishnoob]

Think ya need some snails...we put like 50 Turbo's and 15 Nassarius in Mr Phish's tank and there is NO algae to be seen.

Plus we cut the lighting back to 6 hours then increased it an hour each week...dunno if that will work with those softies in there though.

[Jimbo]

Even with snails your going to need a way of removing there poop from the tank or the nutrients will just be recycled back. A good skimmer would help. Removing the sand and vacuuming the bottom once a week until it's under control is another option. It's all about husbandry, clean everything once a week, a big task but the results will be worth it.

[Phishnoob]

My sand bed is about the same depth as yours and I vacuum it weekly and do about a 15% water change. The Nasarrius snails churn the sand meanwhile and I really am in favor of skimming a lot. I cannot remember who it was now but when I started it was mentioned to keep the skimmate looking like tea.

There is pretty much zero algae in there despite us prolly feeding too much.

[Goofy]

I am new to this forum and I chose this thread to start with. Hello folks, I'm Goofy, and I love the husbandry and reproduction of the earths creatures, reef habitants expecially. I agree with Witful. Looks like it's still cycling. Most newcomers to this hobby, as I myself did, try to stock too fast and some also, as I did use household water which might not contain nitrates or phosphates, which I doubt, but also contain plant fertalizers from run off and who knows what else. Use R/O water if you can. My advice is to let things sit for a few months. Don't touch it and let it run. Keep it clean mind you and do 10 to 20% water changes every month, because as Jimbo says, husbandry is the key. Most people reccomend 1 turbo snail per gallon as 1lb live rock per gallon. These guys work wonders as do Nassarius Snails for sifting your sand. You will find that just lettting is sit, it will cycle through your algae issue.

I hope I helped some.

Goofy.

[Alice]

Welcome Goofy!