Time without lighting

[MizTanks]

I would like to place some of my HA infected LR into a bucket and treat it with Marin-Chem Stop Hair Algae~issue is that the LR I want to treat all have zoa/shroom on it. How long can these corals go without lighting before they become affected. I would really like to treat the HA outside of the tank.

[ReeferRob]

most corals can go 48 to 72 hrs. Good luck Jamie!

[Sir Patrick]

I will go 3 days- on any coral in my tank- without thinking twice! Some corals, I would go longer if needed- oncluding my zoas.

[handlevandal]

Can you rent a sea hare from a local lfs??? That will get rid of hair algae right before your eyes. My boss and I have shared the rental from Choice and he had it for two days and then I used it for two days. In that time all the HA was gone from his 90G and my 75G. I didn't really want to take 'Harry' back. As ugly as he was we really liked him, but since he'd eaten all the food we had for him it seemed appropriate to return him. It's a great service if you've got a local lfs who does that. Of course you've also got to figure out why it's there in the first place, but to get rid of a fresh batch the sea hare works like a charm.

[Tom@HaslettMI]

A few days w/o light shouldn't be a problem.

I would be more concerned with keeping them at DT temperature and maintaining the dissolved oxygen (DO) level. When the lights are off plants and algae stop producing O2, and all organisms (algae, bacteria, inverts, coral, ect.) will be consuming O2 and releasing CO2. In addition you'll likely see an increase in bacteria that are breaking down the dying algae further decreasing DO. So, I'd be sure to have a heater and a powerhead (creating lots of surface agitation) and possibly and air stone in the bucket.

My other thought is that you're not addressing the cause of the HA. It sounds like the HA is only a problem on a few of the rocks. To me this says these rocks probably have a lot of detritus build up in/on them or have a lot of bound up phosphate. Here are a few suggestions for addressing the cause...
Detritus build-up
1) During your next water change remove the HA rocks and dunk them in the old tank water and swish them around to remove accumulated detritus. You can also use an old toothbrush and remove as much HA as possible at this time.
2) Try to get more flow on/around these rocks to suspend and remove the detritus. Either adjust powerheads/return lines or occasionally blow them off with a turkey baster or small hand-held powerhead. This is not my preferred method as it just redistributes the detritus as opposed to removing it.

Bound PO4
1) Use a phosphate removing media in the DT.
2) I'd run PO4 media in the bucket if you decide to go the treatment route. It will remove the PO4 released from the dying algae and may pull some out of the rocks.

HTH,
Tom

[MizTanks]

I've tried the sea hare~didn't touch the algae and it died and my bristle worms made short work of it, they actually *pulled* the hare into a small hole and what was left of it I removed.

I do have a nano koralia~a heater and if needed an air pump with stone but I'm trying to keep the flow to a minimum so the Marin-Chem can stay put.

I've also used a tooth brush many times to remove the algae but it just keeps coming back~The LR comes from our LFS~IMO it is not very good LR and they use no type of filtration only movement

I am running Chemipure Elite and purgen in the DT along with LR/Cheato and nano led. I am sure that it's the LR~would the inner workings of the bristle worms cause the releasing of phosphates from the LR? I have several and a couple are quit big 4+"

Guess I got my work cut out for me this weekend~oh well~it's supposed to snow anyways and I don't canoe in the snow.

Thanks everyone for the input!

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Do you have the chem-marin in-hand? A quick look on Marinedepot gives me the impression that its reef-safe and only needs a few hours with the pump off to be effective. If that's the case then the bucket treatment could be reduced to overnight (with heater and may be just the air stone halfway down) or eliminated and just treat the rock in the DT. You should definitely look into it beyond my suggestion though, since I've never used it or read the label.

HTH,
Tom

[MizTanks]

Yes-I've been using the chem-marin for about a month-it works great with no effect on my corals.