Calcium Reactor and Hair algae

[REEFRON]

I hooked up my Calcium Reactor about 3 weeks ago and I've started seeing some hair algae for the first time. My tank is a 110g with @125lbs of rock and lots of corals but only a hawkfish and a firefish under MH and PC's. The effluent has a PH of 6.65 and a KH of 29 and the tanks PH varies between 8.0 and 8.3. Could my reactor be causing the Hair algae? I'm using A.R.M. for media. Any ideas????

 

[danmhippo]

How long have your tank been setup?

 

[cubera]

dKH of 11 ain't bad at all but over 12 might be better for reducing nuisance algae. Just don't bump it up too fast. Also, it may take a few weeks for your system to become stable with the addtion of your CR. CO2 and slightly lower tank pH will produce minor algae blooms usually. This is normal. Different reactor media causes different things to happen. We like A.R.M. as it requires a bit less CO2 to maintain high effluent dKH. You won't regret adding a CR. Your days of drips and additives are over. Congrats! HTH

 

[REEFRON]

This tank has been up for 10 months but was seeded with sand and rock from a 3 year old tank. I'm testing Nitrates and phosphates now to see how they compare prior to the reactor.

 

[myreef]

What are the parameters in your tank for ALK? My effluent ALK is about 45-50. I would raise the ALK and I bet you see your hair algae dissapear. I had a slight hair algae problem about a month or so agao and I raied my alk and it took care of it. HTH

 

[REEFRON]

KH in the tank is 11, isn't that about right?

 

[jdeets]

It could be triggered by phosphates released from the media. All Ca rxr media will release some phosphates into the system as it dissolves. Usually it's not a significant amount, but that could explain your hair algae outbreak. Test your effluent for phosphates and let us know what the level is and what media you're using.