View Full Version : Mg and hair algae
speedykeys
12-01-2007, 7:48 PM
i had a hair algae problem about 6 months ago. its pretty much under control now but there are a few spots that i just cant get to to remove the algae. my lfs guy said that recently he found out that if you raise your mg levels to like 1500 it would be completely harmless to your tank and would basically dissolve the algae and it would just come right off. anyone heard of this? ive been dosing more often with tech-m and havnt really seen any changes or the results he told me i was going to get. what to do....?
I'd want to know the reasoning behind it before doing something like that.
schigara
12-01-2007, 9:57 PM
I remember reading about this about 3 months ago. The concentration was 1650 on mg though. I'll see If I can find the thread.
I think this was the thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=167632
EDIT: Nope that wasn't it, sorry..............still looking.
Mg level was set at 1550-1600
ChangDriX
12-01-2007, 10:25 PM
what causes hair algea? im starting to get some on my lr in a corner of my tank...
fsn77
12-01-2007, 10:49 PM
I'm not sure I understand how elevated Mg levels will rid a tank of hair algae. I would definitely be interested in reading the reasoning behind this. Without further understanding it, I would be cautious with how high you take the Mg concentration. An over-abundance / imbalance of certain ions can result in complications with other ions. I admittedly, however, do not fully understand the aspects of Mg chemistry in reef tanks enough to say if or at what level a problem could potentially occur.
schigara
12-01-2007, 11:30 PM
Ok, Here is the thread. Read and judge for yourselves.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1113109&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
schigara
12-02-2007, 1:04 PM
Looks like everyone on the thread over on RC that has boosted Mg above 1500 using Kent Tech M and had complete success getting rid of the Bryopsis.
I wish I had known about this 2 years ago when my tank had an enormous outbreak of hair algae that never went away until I broke the tank down to move. It almost made me get out of the hobby and I'm sure a lot of people have given up because of it.