FluxRx

[dmh41532]

I’ve got a hair algae outbreak in my 24 cube. Not too bad yet, but it’s getting there. The store said to try turbo snails and after a month nothing. They aren’t eating it, my urchin doesn’t either. The said the other option is more extreme but said fluxrx will kill it. What’s everyone’s experience with it on green hair algae?

 

[Reefer Brent]

I’ve got a hair algae outbreak in my 24 cube. Not too bad yet, but it’s getting there. The store said to try turbo snails and after a month nothing. They aren’t eating it, my urchin doesn’t either. The said the other option is more extreme but said fluxrx will kill it. What’s everyone’s experience with it on green hair algae?

Goes away then comes right back was my experience. Small consistent water changes. Scrubbing with toothbrush. Copepods and more copepods. I like a very small undersized dose of microbacter weekly but too many chems prolongs the uglies. If you have sand then get nassarius snails and a tiger conch. Trochus and astrea snails for the rock.

 

[Formulator]

This is just my opinion, so take it or leave it… I wouldn’t put that in my tank if you paid me a million dollars. You need to get your nutrients under control, and put in some good old fashioned elbow grease to scrub rocks. Also get a pincushion urchin. Maybe rent a sea hare if your LFS has one.

That said, some people have great success with it. You just need to manage nutrient export when all that die off spikes them. Also keep an eye on Alk. Some people have lost SPS with flux use. For me its not worth the risk, but maybe I’m just old fashioned and stubborn in my ways. I don’t add anything to my tank that wouldn’t be encountered in the ocean.

 

[Pistondog]

I’ve got a hair algae outbreak in my 24 cube. Not too bad yet, but it’s getting there. The store said to try turbo snails and after a month nothing. They aren’t eating it, my urchin doesn’t either. The said the other option is more extreme but said fluxrx will kill it. What’s everyone’s experience with it on green hair algae?

Get tuxedo urchins. I have 4 in 3 tanks, all will eat gha.
Tried fluxrx. Went away, then came back as others said.

 

[UMALUM]

I think if you list a little more about your system it will go a long way. E.g.
Tank age
Current p04
Type of rock
Livestock " coral "
If it's bound phosphate then it will keep returning until that's addressed.

 

[dmh41532]

I think if you list a little more about your system it will go a long way. E.g.
Tank age
Current p04
Type of rock
Livestock " coral "
If it's bound phosphate then it will keep returning until that's addressed.

Tank is a little over a year old, po4 is close to zero, I use phosguard. Nitrate is around 5ppm. I use purigen. Idk what kind of rock. It was dry rock. I have some acros, miliporas, and some unknown sps.

 

[dmh41532]

Get tuxedo urchins. I have 4 in 3 tanks, all will eat gha.
Tried fluxrx. Went away, then came back as others said.

My urchin wants nothing to do with it. Heck it’ll only eat one brand of seaweed…

 

[dmh41532]

This is just my opinion, so take it or leave it… I wouldn’t put that in my tank if you paid me a million dollars. You need to get your nutrients under control, and put in some good old fashioned elbow grease to scrub rocks. Also get a pincushion urchin. Maybe rent a sea hare if your LFS has one.

That said, some people have great success with it. You just need to manage nutrient export when all that die off spikes them. Also keep an eye on Alk. Some people have lost SPS with flux use. For me its not worth the risk, but maybe I’m just old fashioned and stubborn in my ways. I don’t add anything to my tank that wouldn’t be encountered in the ocean.

This is just my opinion, so take it or leave it… I wouldn’t put that in my tank if you paid me a million dollars. You need to get your nutrients under control, and put in some good old fashioned elbow grease to scrub rocks. Also get a pincushion urchin. Maybe rent a sea hare if your LFS has one.

That said, some people have great success with it. You just need to manage nutrient export when all that die off spikes them. Also keep an eye on Alk. Some people have lost SPS with flux use. For me it’s not worth the risk, but maybe I’m just old fashioned and stubborn in my ways. I don’t add anything to my tank that wouldn’t be encountered in the ocean.

Im generally not fond of chemicals either, but it’s been going on long enough that I’m willing to try. I’ve been trying to manually remove it with each water change, but it’s not giving in.

 

[Pistondog]

My urchin wants nothing to do with it. Heck it’ll only eat one brand of seaweed…

Do you feed your urchin?

 

[Spare time]

Works well

 

[dmh41532]

Do you feed your urchin?

I do. It will only eat green seaweed.

 

[Formulator]

I do. It will only eat green seaweed.

Stop feeding it! It will quickly get over its pickiness and solve your hair algae problem in a matter of weeks if you also address the water chemistry. What are your nitrate and phosphate levels?

 

[Spare time]

Stop feeding it! It will quickly get over its pickiness and solve your hair algae problem in a matter of weeks if you also address the water chemistry. What are your nitrate and phosphate levels?

I've never had any urchin eat hair algae lol

 

[gbroadbridge]

I’ve got a hair algae outbreak in my 24 cube. Not too bad yet, but it’s getting there. The store said to try turbo snails and after a month nothing. They aren’t eating it, my urchin doesn’t either. The said the other option is more extreme but said fluxrx will kill it. What’s everyone’s experience with it on green hair algae?

The solution to green hair algae is elbow grease and a toothbrush.
Rinse and repeat.

Once you have it cleaned up then you can try urchins to keep it under control.
They're unlikely to eat long stuff.

 

[Formulator]

I've never had any urchin eat hair algae lol

I wish I had photos, but my single pincushion urchin cleared an entire 120g tank of GHA in about 3 weeks.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I wish I had photos, but my single pincushion urchin cleared an entire 120g tank of GHA in about 3 weeks.

You won the lottery.

When it croaks have it gold plated and mounted

 

[Formulator]

You won the lottery.

When it croaks have it gold plated and mounted

I don’t know… it was recommended as a solution by another reefer on here who had the same experience. I think a lot of folks gravitate towards the prettier tuxedo urchin. Maybe the pincushion has a better appetite for GHA?

 

[Pistondog]

I do. It will only eat green seaweed.

What @Formulator said.
Why eat the peas when cake is served.

 

[argonaut]

FluxRX contains Flucozanol. Flucozanol blocks the synthesis of the cell membrane building block ergosterol. Fungi produce a particularly large amount of ergosterol, which is why it is a good fungicide. Very few plants also produce ergosterol, including Bryopsis and some other filamentous algae. It only works on these plants. For all other organisms, the agent is completely ineffective, so there are no undesirable short or long-term effects. In the worst case, it will not work because your algae do not produce ergosterol.
I tried FluxRX twice to fight GHA. But it did not work for "my" GHA. But there were no side effects at all.

 

[Sdbuehler1]

I had the same experience as others, I had a massive outbreak of GHA at about the 2 year mark in my 100 gallon which I understand now is because I used only dry rock. I tried one dose of FluxRX and it only knocked back the GHA some but then I did a second dose a month later and it wiped out all of it. I didn't experience any side effects but a few months later the GHA started growing back in all the same spots. I have added several urchins, turbo snails, a sailfin blenny and a bristletooth tang and they are keeping it in check now. Some turbo snails bulldose right through GHA and others don't seem to touch it. The turbo snails I got recently from reefcleaners seem to love it.