derbesia

Question
QUESTION: so the algae is derbesia, do you know what could have caused this? do you know who would munch on it or how to get rid of it forever? thanks!

ANSWER: NICK, NICK, NICK,

you got Green Hair Algae???!?!?!?!

And you ask
How to get id of it forever????'

I guess i would have to quote a good friend of mine...

"pbitawa"

hehehe, and no, please dont do that... hehehe  ... and yes, your going to have to search for it..

nothing is forever unless you quit...

AS for how to control it, you can log onto ReefCast.org and read/watch the great podcasts...

But basically, you will have to pinch it off, and toss the bit into a bag, and then rinse your hand, then pinch a little bit off, and repeat...

gotta try to keep it from floating around as much as possible...

You can also use TURBO and ASTREA snails...

You will have to keep 'reminding' the snails to clean up that area... so, if they 'stray' off the GHA, pick them up, put them back onto the area with the GHA.


This iwll try to get rid of what you got, but the bigger question is how did you get it???

Chances are you have an elevate phospate or silica or both  in your tank...

Where do you get your water for TOP OFF and for saltwater?   Can you test the Fresh Water??? (TDS meter, cheap at HD or other stores or eBay)

What type of sand do you have???

Anyways, please let me know what you got, and if you have trouble finding the 'quote' above...

you can also log onto my new forum at www.thelittleocean.com   we have a bunch more new members and Im sure you can find others there that have had to deal with GHA before and might be able to offer some tips...


till then


Bill

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: no idea what the "pbitawa" means but i have nature ocean crushed coral , ro water and 6 astrea snails. i guess 12 Mexican turbo snails couldn't  hurt or help hehe. and what do you mean don't get rid of it? it grows like weeds! btw i am all ready committed to reef central.com so sorry. but where would the phosphate come from and what is silica?

ANSWER: My typos are getting bad... who boy..

PBITAW = Pour Bleach in Tank and Walk away...

It is a quote from MELEV, from www.melevsreef.com  (He's on RC as well)

The intent from that quote is that there is no way to GET RID OF or FIX THINGS...

Basically he is meaning that almost everything has to be dealt with and it will take work to get rid of it and work to keep whatever IT is away...

As for the GHA,  Keep plucking and rinsing your fingers, then pluck some more, and rinse.. the idea is to keep the GHA short, and not all bushy... then just keep moving the snails onto the clumps of GHA, (green hair Algae)

If you have some slightly larger snails, those are better... I have 2 in my tank and they are 1-1/2"  to 2"  snails...

they will mow down most everything, but even they have to be reminded where i want them to work...



Also, check your phospates and silica if you can, if not ask your lfs if they can test for you..

sometimes tap water or pour quality ro/di water will contribute to phospate issues like this, (not saying you have phospate issue, but rather GHA issues)


The GHA will grow a way, with some effort... but it will every day, you will have to do something...

good luck, and please keep me posted...


Bill

And yea, RC is a great resource for information, but i find the behaviour/attitude and messages posted from the moderators to be a bit 'high and mighty' for my tastes...  I also know that the only information you can get on that forum is 'approved' by the moderators, which in many cases is great, but I do wonder why I can not hear information from people the moderators dont like...

Anyways, i participate in several forum around the country, (and now world) and find it intersting on how geography has an affect on methodology and equipment...

i.e. In Europe, they dont use Sand substrate... Crushed Coral for them...

anyways, please keep me posted on your progress, and if you want, you can check out the chatroom at www.thelittleocean.com,  it opens in a seperate window and you can shrink it to fit in the corner while you read up on RC



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks but what is silica again? phosphates? thanks!

Answer
sorry,  I guess i assumed again..

Silica and phospates are elements/compound that can be found in water...  There are tests for them, although the phosphate tests are a bit 'all over hte place', with results, it will hopefully give you some guide as to where your water perameters are.

Typically I dont test routinely for things like these, but when things occur and symptoms presnt themselves, they help point us to different conclusions ...

So, i fyou dont have test kits for Phosphates or Silica, try to find someone who does, or maybe your lfs, (local fish store), can test the water sample for you.

both of those sbstances will contribute to GHA, and other algaes...

they are typically brough into the tank by using un-filtered water, or poorly filtered water...  So, although yo umay add 'conditioner' or otehr product, those are mostly for 'declorination'...

not purification..

there are products that 'remove' or lower phosphates and stuff, but that is getting rid of the symptom, not the cause...  You may use them, but you must address the cause or you will continue to have GHA/algae issues


good luck

bill