# red hair algae



## Trillion (May 10, 2004)

my algae cycle seems to be baing of a little bit.... but I've got this one rock that dosent seem to wanna let he cycle end.

it keeps getting red hair algae on it no matter what. just cleaned it off last night, ad this morning it had new strands on it already.

if I let it grow it looks like carpet on the rock, its pretty, but is it good?


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

Take a pic and have a look. Are you sure it's not cyno? You'll need to increase flow to that area. Take the rock and soak it in freshwater for 30 minutes.


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## Trillion (May 10, 2004)

sorry to sound stupid ( once again) but what's "cyno"?

If its good, I hope that's what it is.

it looks pretty, but I don't know if its good

here's a pic


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## Trillion (May 10, 2004)

Any one?

Please help!


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## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

cyano is actually a bacterium, it is not good, and is uaually a sign of excess nutrients in the system. The is the same as all algeas with the exception of corraline, it can be used as an indicator of weather or not your alk/ca levels are proper.


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## Trillion (May 10, 2004)

rbp 4 135 said:


> i can post pictures up later of my skimmer that usues them mj 1200 from the seaclone and the collection cup, all you need is some pvc glue a drill and a saw. This skimmer works extreemly well. i'll post some picures later.


 I don't know how I can have too high of a nutrient level I don't add any thing but tap water conditioner, and salt to my tank.

All my params are fine but my ammonia is a little high.
is there a way to check alkinity?

is there a way I can prevent this red hair algae build up?


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

DONT USE TAP WATER NOOB!

READ READ READ! RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!

i knew this was gonna happen. tons of problems cuz not enough research.


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## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

tap water has minerals and additives that will provoke algae blooms.


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

Your adding phosphates and other junk with tap water, Add that to the curing liverock without a skimmer and you get algea.
Have you looked into buying Ro from a store?


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

jiggy said:


> DONT USE TAP WATER NOOB!
> 
> READ READ READ! RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!
> 
> i knew this was gonna happen. tons of problems cuz not enough research.


So what should you use then? 30 bottles of water from a grocery store?? 
Tap water just needs to be cleaned and de-chlor-ed before adding it to a tank for a water change right?


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

RO/DI water. dont argue with me if u dont even know wtf u r talking about.


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

jiggy said:


> RO/DI water. dont argue with me if u dont even know wtf u r talking about.


Im not f*cking arguing with you, you see those question marks? That would make those sentences questions. It was a legit question, get off your power trip and what is RO/DI water.


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

thebluyak said:


> DONT USE TAP WATER NOOB!
> 
> READ READ READ! RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!
> 
> i knew this was gonna happen. tons of problems cuz not enough research.


So what should you use then? *30 bottles of water from a grocery store?? * 
Tap water just needs to be cleaned and de-chlor-ed before adding it to a tank for a water change right?
[/quote]

ok mr. sarcastic

ro/di is water filtered through an ro/di filter


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## Trillion (May 10, 2004)

jiggy said:


> RO/DI water. dont argue with me if u dont even know wtf u r talking about.


ok ok, calm down blood sport, I remember asking some one if it was ok to use tap water as long as I put a tap water conditioner in it, and who ever said itd be ok.

Hopefully that's what's causing my zoos to bleach.I won't use it any longer at al, as amatter of fact I'm gonna make a pitstop after work to get some water.

do they sale ro water at walmart?

let me know before I get off work! please

if not where is it usually sold at?


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

tap water wont cause zoos to bleach unless u have really bad tap water in ur area..
im not sure if they sell it at walmart but they should sell it at ur lfs.
ro is not the same as ro/di


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

Soak and clean the rock in fresh water then increase flow to that area. Looks like cynobacteria and I can see it spreading on to the sand.


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## Trillion (May 10, 2004)

jiggy said:


> tap water wont cause zoos to bleach unless u have really bad tap water in ur area..
> im not sure if they sell it at walmart but they should sell it at ur lfs.
> ro is not the same as ro/di


which one is better ro or ro/di?

what does the /di stand for?

what is the best kind of water for me to use , and why is it steal bad to use tap water if I use conditioner?

will these changes prevent my red hair algae?


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## nick007x (Sep 9, 2005)

tap water is fine to use, as long as you add conditioner. i don't know what the hell jiggy is talking about. ro filters are great, but by no means necessary. there are plenty of other, cheaper ways to get the kind of water that will work for your set up

edit: the excess nutrients are from excess food/waste in your tank (not anything you're adding). that would explain the high ammonia, as it should be zero. get the tank cleaned and cycled properly, and then see if there's still a problem


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!

ok master.









this guy is a joke, dont take him seriously. u r no longer allowed to post without my permission.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

you can get a ro unit off ebay for $60 some. best purchase i ever made. most lfs charge $.50/gallon of ro water. i have made thousands of gallons with $60 only.


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## frake (Apr 17, 2006)

as far as i know, ro/di means purified water where you could buy from local supermarket or something. Better to put generous amount of anti chlorine if your going to use a tap water.


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## nick007x (Sep 9, 2005)

jiggy, why you insist on being a jackass, i don't know nor care.. you can't honestly tell me that an r/o unit is a _necessary _ part of an aquarium, or that he _must_ use an r/o filter to clear up his problem. that's hillarious.

oh, and 60 bucks is a great deal, but they're usually 2 or 3 hundred


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

RO/DI will remove phosphate and other minerals in the water whereas conditioner will not.


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## RedBelly Dom (Mar 22, 2005)

Are you guys talking about just saltwater?? Or are you not supposed to use tap water with fresh water aquariums too??


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

RedBelly Dom said:


> Are you guys talking about just saltwater?? Or are you not supposed to use tap water with fresh water aquariums too??


I know it's confusing. This thread is under Piranha Hobby-Water chemistry but the pic Trillion posted is of saltwater.


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

nick007x said:


> jiggy, why you insist on being a jackass, i don't know nor care.. you can't honestly tell me that an r/o unit is a _necessary _ part of an aquarium, or that he _must_ use an r/o filter to clear up his problem. that's hillarious.
> 
> oh, and 60 bucks is a great deal, but they're usually 2 or 3 hundred


its a must in my opinion. anyone can say that you dont have to use this and that. you dont HAVE to use liverock, you dont HAVE to use metal halides, you dont HAVE to use a skimmer, but if u wanna keep a successful tank, why not just do it right?.. cuz u wanna cheap out on a few bucks?.. if u dont wanna spend the $, dont get into the hobby. thats like a guy getting a ferrari and then buying ebay parts for it.


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

jiggy said:


> jiggy, why you insist on being a jackass, i don't know nor care.. you can't honestly tell me that an r/o unit is a _necessary _ part of an aquarium, or that he _must_ use an r/o filter to clear up his problem. that's hillarious.
> 
> oh, and 60 bucks is a great deal, but they're usually 2 or 3 hundred


its a must in my opinion. anyone can say that you dont have to use this and that. you dont HAVE to use liverock, you dont HAVE to use metal halides, you dont HAVE to use a skimmer, but if u wanna keep a successful tank, why not just do it right?.. cuz u wanna cheap out on a few bucks?.. if u dont wanna spend the $, dont get into the hobby. thats like a guy getting a ferrari and then buying ebay parts for it.
[/quote]
I believe RB Dom is confused about the thread. Because of the thread placement under "Piranha-Water Chemistry", he's assuming Trillion is talking about freshwater.


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## nick007x (Sep 9, 2005)

we're talking about a reef????? thank you for the clarification!!
I know nothing about saltwater exccept that you find it in the ocean. 
jiggy, i completely appologize.... you're absolutely right, you can understand my confusion as i thought we taking about the necessity of r/o in freswater tanks.....
i know that they're necessary in saltwater, and i completely agree with all points--


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