Need HELP fighting Hair Algae!

J

Justin144

Butterfly Fish
#1
#1
My tank is fairly new only a few months old. I understand there is going to be an algae outbreak but I am just so sick of looking at algae!
I have it in my sand bed and on my rocks im afraid it will start covering my corals soon. Anyone have any advice or past experience how to get rid of this nasty algae?
I cant do a tooth brush as my rocks are all connected by epoxy and want to keep them where they are.
My tank is a 38 cube .I have about 20 astreas 6 margaritas few hermits sand star a blenny and yellow tang (I know I know tang police) these guys all munch on the algae and stay fat but its still growing everywhere.

I need some help before I quit this hobby of rage lol.
Thanks
 
zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
#2
The hair algae is not gonna go away until your tank has gotten more mature (6 months to a year). However, there are things you can do to significantly reduce how much you see.

1. Manual removal. Remove as much as possible by hand (water changes are a good time for this) to export as much nutrients as possible.

2. Run a refugium (if you arent already). Cheato will compete with the algae for nutrients and bring growth down significantly

3. Feed less. Less feeding means less nutrients for algae to consume. Just to give you an idea, I feed a heavily stocked 125 gallon tank (2 tangs, 1 angel, and 10 medium sized fish) the equivalent of 1 cube of frozen a day plus a small sheet of nori.

4. Reduce your photoperiod. Since you have corals, your lights need to be on at least 8 hours a day, but if you are running longer, you can reduce that

5. Use more blue and less white. Depends on the lighting you have, but if you can replace white spectrum with blue, your corals will still thrive, but algae will grow slower

6. Pull out more skimmate. You throttle up your protien skimmer to a more wet skim, which will require you to empty it more often, but will pull out more crud. If you dont have a skimmer yet, get one.
 
R

robert.talarico

Tang
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#3
#3
zombie;326964 said:
The hair algae is not gonna go away until your tank has gotten more mature (6 months to a year). However, there are things you can do to significantly reduce how much you see.

1. Manual removal. Remove as much as possible by hand (water changes are a good time for this) to export as much nutrients as possible.

2. Run a refugium (if you arent already). Cheato will compete with the algae for nutrients and bring growth down significantly

3. Feed less. Less feeding means less nutrients for algae to consume. Just to give you an idea, I feed a heavily stocked 125 gallon tank (2 tangs, 1 angel, and 10 medium sized fish) the equivalent of 1 cube of frozen a day plus a small sheet of nori.

4. Reduce your photoperiod. Since you have corals, your lights need to be on at least 8 hours a day, but if you are running longer, you can reduce that

5. Use more blue and less white. Depends on the lighting you have, but if you can replace white spectrum with blue, your corals will still thrive, but algae will grow slower

6. Pull out more skimmate. You throttle up your protien skimmer to a more wet skim, which will require you to empty it more often, but will pull out more crud. If you dont have a skimmer yet, get one.
Click to expand...
I agree with with 99% of this post but the part about the hair algae not going away until the tank matures. Um... No. Hair algae is not part of the cycle process.

Reduce feedings. I would consider getting a reactor. Either run GFO or if you have a skimmer consider bio pellets. Do all the research before you try the pellets though.
 
SkyDiv3r17

SkyDiv3r17

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#4
#4
Yeah take zombies steps!

Use a toothbrush and just rough all the algae off the rocks. Then do a water change and suck up as much as you can.
 
zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#7
#7
robert.talarico;326965 said:
Um... No. Hair algae is not part of the cycle process.
Click to expand...
If the OP purchased only very mature live rock (several years old) with little to no die off in the process, then hair algae is not a noticeable part of a maturing tank. If any of it was dry or not mature, then I would consider excessive hair algae growth a normal part of the maturing part of the cycle since it takes a long time for beneficial bacteria to take hold in the anerobic zones of the rock where it can put a dent on phosphates and nitrates.
 
Dr.DiSilicate

Dr.DiSilicate

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#8
#8
Wait wait, slow down. Hair algae isn't part of a natural cycle! It is an indication that something is a bit out of whack. What's your Params? Find out if you don't know. Lighting schedule and type? Water movement? Feeding schedule? And importantly.... Are you using RODI water. How old is the filter. Young tanks are more prone to algae problems but don't need to have them. I think most aquarists are more observant as the tank ages rather than the tank maturing as time goes. Using GFO or any other chemical process has risks and most aquarists are better off looking at simple husbandry practices first.
 
J

Justin144

Butterfly Fish
#9
#9
Thanks for all the info guys.
I have new Leds over my tank and is programmable so I did lower it to only 30% at most throughout the day and isn't on as long as before. My params are all in check. Im assuming my phosphates are a little higher( don't have a phosphate kit).
I just built a new sump/refuge and have aton of chaetos and im running a small thing of BRS GFO in a media sock. along with a lot of Carbon. Skimmer is in check
I will try to get some of it off manually next WC
I use RO but im sure I could replace my filters.
And I have a ton of flow. This was suppose to be an SPS tank I have 1 mp10 and 3 smaller koralias for more random flow and no dead spots.
I only feed a little bit of Mysis once a day, my clown and goby need it my other fish are mowing the algae and are fat as a cow lol

... in that case all im thinking is that either my phosphates could be high. or Like zombie said about the cycle.

What could be a beneficial invert to add that eat this algae? I head Sea hares or turbo snails
 
zombie

zombie

Dolphin
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#11
#11
Turbos, astreas, and trochus are good, but none of them will really touch the GHA unless its really short (
 
SynDen

SynDen

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#13
#13
Many people new to the hobby get to this point and many of the quit at this stage. Heck I almost quit at that stage, but I stuck with it and eventually won the battle against the GHA. Took 6 months but eventually I won. Have patience and keep you params in check and feeding only what is needed and no more. Upgrade equip if you need it and eventually you will win the battle if you stick to your guns and learn as much as you can along the way.
Believe it or not the GHA is actually providing a very useful service to you in that it is exporting all the excessive nutrient in the tank, rock and sand. Pulling out the large tufts of GHA will then remove it completely from the tank. It can take quite awhile for it to export all of it though, especially that in the rock, but eventually, if you dont add to it, it will exhaust the supply. When it does your tank will then reach a well established point.
 
deboy69

deboy69

Nurse Shark
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#15
#15
What are your nitrates at? Just because they are low doesn't mean they are truly low because they are being consumed by the algae and are giving you a false low reading. Same goes with phosphates.
 
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Frostyfish

Frostyfish

Goby
#16
#16
Turning your lights off for 3 days will help also. It won't solve your problem, but it helps. Get as much as you can out of your aquarium in the 3 days then do a 20% water change. I had an outbreak of GHA and cyano and I noticed a big impact on the GHA and cyano after the 3 days of darkness then reducing the time the lights were on. I had my lights shut off a few times during the day from 30 min to an hour for a couple weeks. Keeping your phosphates and nitrates down along with a reduced photo period and frequent water changes should get rid of it.
 
SynDen

SynDen

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#20
#20
Try testing for them an hour or so before the lights come on, might help get a better idea of what they are actually at
 
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