Скачать или смотреть No Nitrate, No Phosphate, Hair Algae?

Hair algae has long been a battle for fishkeeper's and for the first time ever I encountered this issue. My reef tank is well established and had settled into doing really well with consistent perimeters. So why did I start seeing hair algae?

Well firstly you need to look at what your introducing into your reef. The two main elements are water and food. I tested my RO (reverse osmosis) water to see if a filter needed to be changed. TDS (total dissolved solids) read 0 which is spot on.

Next onto the next main element introduced to my fish tank. Food. At this point I realised I had recently changed to a smaller flake food which wasnt being completely consumed by the fish. This has been a huge nitrate source and the cause of the hair algae. Back to Vitalis Marine Flake I go!

When I tested my levels both my Po4 (phosphate) & No3 (Nitrate) was reading 0. So why am I seeing hair algae? well the answer is simple really. The hair algae in your display is working as a refugium. One of the best ways of naturally removing phosphate and nitrate. The algae in your display is using up all the excess phosphate and nitrate producing fields of hair algae. The good news is that its maxed out with no nutrients left to feed it.

Now to tackle the hair algae. Water change, scrubbing the rock with a toothbrush and ensuring i have enough phosphate media and that my skimmer is in an optimal setup to export waste.

The algae is now weak and pulling off the rocks easily, which is a good sign, due to low phosphate and nitrate. Next we will be wrapping the tank and introducing a significant sized CUC (clean up crew) of crabs and snails.

We will see in the coming weeks how successful everything is. Watch this space...