PhosGaurd

I have a relatively new tank, around 6 months old, and have had problems with Hair Algae...phosphates were at zero but I figured the HA consuming it could be giving me a false reading so I put some phosgaurd in a filter bag in the sump...my question is that if it is in fact phospates causing the HA then how long until I see it subside?

 

Bump

 

6 months is way too young to have an anemone, assuming that is the tank in your avatar. The HA will use up your NO3 and yout PO4 and give flase readings, like you said. When I first erradicated 90% of my HA, I saw a bit of spike in my NO3, from 0-40ppm in a week. The bacteria caught up and naturally lowered to 10ppm. If you have the means, you may want to dedicate a portion of your sump and make it a little fuge so you can house some macros in there to consume the bad stuff in your tank.

 

good point tigermike. when you pull out the hair algae, replace it with something to take up the nutrients. not only do you protect the tank for nitrates like he said, but it makes it harder for the other stuff to come back.