Hair Algae

[Thisseemsfishy]

Is there any sure cure for Green Hair Algae? I've read many opinions about it, but I was curious if anyone knows a sure-fire way to get rid of it?!?

55g Std.

Ca- 500
PO4- .1-.2
Mg- 1320
NO2- .05
NO3- 20ppm
pH- 8.5
Alk- 3.2-3.6
Amm- 0ppm
Temp- 80

 

[tozzi]

Get your phosphates lower. Do lots of big water changes, Try out a sea hare

 

[garygonzales]

a yellow tang did the trick for me

 

[tozzi]

I have a naso, tomini, and a yellow. None of them will go near it. Hit or miss with the tangs.

 

[jim.l]

The truth is, if you have hair algae, you have a nutrient problem that you need to fix. Are you testing or having your tank water tested? If you get the nitrates and phosphates down, it will go away. Weeding it out is necessary if you have a lot because it is a resouvoir of nutrients in itself.

 

[Fish4Me2]

Water changes using water that you're sure has 0 TDS, manual pulling and removal of the algae, reduced light cycle, and making sure that you've gotten out any debris that could be giving the algae extra nutrients to feed on and grow. I found that siphoning the bottom of the tank, and blowing out my rocks regularly seemed to help.

 

[happyclam]

the method that worked for me is manual extraction, nutrient contol, and patience. When in started getting really nasty, I would pull out as much of the algae as I could with my fingers, then give the rocks a good scrub. I did this 1-2x a week, and eventually it started popping up less quickly. Also, I started feeding only with rinsed mysis and nori instead of pellets. This helped quite a bit, as my skimmer is pretty inefficient. I started doing weekly 10% w/c with GFO in a media bag. And finally, patience. It can take a while for the algae to go a way, but it is just one of the cycles of a new tank, and eventually it should go away.

 

[Thisseemsfishy]

Is an 18g per week WC to much?

 

[StealthRider]

no that is more than enough. make sure the water has no tds though. clean up crew will help with algae as well.

 

[bpiermat]

Need GFO reactor....to reduce phosphate, live rock can leech phosphate

 

[mixedreeferhead]

get nitrate and phosphate levels in check. Lots of water changes... double/triple check your fresh water source. Get 3 or 4 Mexican turbo snails ($3 a piece). In less than a month hair algae will be gone.

 

[Thisseemsfishy]

Thank you all for your help, I will double my WC and check my source water for now. I will get some snails if the LFS ever gets any in.

 

[chathomas]

when I had my hair algae during my initial cycle nothing helped but I bought a lawnmower blenny who ate the 12 inch long hair immediately. I'm telling you amazing. I was using GFO and still am. I do 20% weekly. I am completely stocked with LPS and SPS and haven't seen any hair again. The lawnmower once he had completed his task after a few weeks, did die 4 months later. He would not eat prepared foods. He will be missed. He was the best worker ever. I also quit getting water at LFS and started making my own RO/DI. just couldn't trust his water after that mess