hair algae

[parrot1012]

several times i took as much as possible the rock and corals out and scrubbed them w/a toothbrush pulled what i could off w/forsceps one of my maxima about a 7 inch clam was almost engulfed in it took him out scrubed him clean thought i was doing good then within 2 weeks its back during that time i put fresh gfo in but this stuff is a nightmare i tryed the sea hare i went to an importer i know to get me them put 3 in the tank and none would touch it, thinking maybe sporto0 might have an idea just hate the thought of trying to remove all the substratre but i have a second tank of lps and that has a sand bed and i like that look better just changing sub sounds like a nightmare also

 

[sporto0]

"just hate the thought of trying to remove all the substratre but i have a second tank of lps and that has a sand bed and i like that look better just changing sub sounds like a nightmare also"

I wish I could tell you it was easy to change out the substrate, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it a nightmare, with some thought out preperation, ie: tubs, heaters, power heads, & pre-made up sw, it can sure help make the process smoother, it took me 14 hours to do but my rock was bad, scrubbing them was the worst part of it (time wise). I can tell you when I was done, the feeling of joy & accomplishment made it worth while.

 

[Angel*Fish]

What Sporto had looks very much like bryopis. When you have bryopis or some other fibrous turf algae the only cure is to try the Mg treatment, toss out the rocks it's living on or cook them hard. They may actually have to be killed down to base rock. You can't starve it out by limiting nutrients or stop it by turning off the lights. This is a serious problem and there is no simple fix unless the Mg treatment works for you.

I would google bryopis - though since there are like 300 species, you may not see yours. If the stuff you have is not soft, slimy, typical hair algae that easily falls part in your hands and you have to yank it to get it off, you don't have "hair algae".

You should also dump the crushed coral. Some big rubbermaid containers are going to be helpful. Good luck.

 

[parrot1012]

angel fish when you say it (hair algae) doesnt come off easy you have to rip it out, then if its not hair algae,what i have you have to rip it off i use forseps and some of it does have to be ripped off so maybe this isnt hair algae? if so then what the hell is it and what do i have to do to get rid of it or am i facing ripping down the tank & replacing the substrate which is probably what i am looking at because nothing else seems to be working.

 

[MJT82]

What about your water flow? How much do you have? Do you have dead spots where detritus may have a chance to build up? I have read several sources that indicate that your phosphates are low/non-existant with testing because the algae is using it up for fuel. I took care of my hair algae problem when I was a newbie by water changes with good quality RO/DI water and high flow. Make sure that when you do your water changes that you try to vacuum any dead spots or crevices on the rock that may hold detritus... You'll be surprised how nasty it gets!

 

[MJT82]

Also, is there any way you can get a picture posted of the problem algae? That would help!!

 

[ihavtats29]

if its growing you do have a issue with water quality it is feeding off of something, the reason your tests are reading good is because the algea is absorbing and feeding off of it . rabbit fish will eat hair algea along with turbo snails , tangs and other herbivors fish , if you have bryopis the mg treatment is the only way i know of like angel fish said above

 

[parrot1012]

my camera stinks at aquarium shots tryed to get pix but useless i found a post under dryopis from slojmn from 2004 that shows good pics of the same algae in my tank they id ed it as hair algae (bryopis) flow is not an issue have tunzes probably running around 5000 gph i know the algae is feeding off something, phosphate iam sure but dont know where this fuel comes from to grow such a crop there is a lot of this stuff

 

[sporto0]

i feel your pain parrot, however i am pretty certain that the "fuel" is coming from 8 yrs of detritus & gunk buildup in the crushed coral. also, most of my algae was hair algae, i had 2 small patches of a type of bryopsis, the tech m magnesium raised to 1800-1900 killed the bryopsis i had, the gha remained & flourished.

 

[joesig]

i feel your pain parrot, however i am pretty certain that the "fuel" is coming from 8 yrs of detritus & gunk buildup in the crushed coral. also, most of my algae was hair algae, i had 2 small patches of a type of bryopsis, the tech m magnesium raised to 1800-1900 killed the bryopsis i had, the gha remained & flourished.

+1 on the "fuel" either from 8yrs of build up from the crushed coral and in the rock. vodka does work to compete for phosphate in the rock, tech m does work but it will not kill derbesia algae, only bryopsis.
my recommendation is
water changes.
tec m to 1600 you will see results in days!
vodka (read up on this one and follow instructions)

!get rid of the coral substrate!

better yet, if you can cook half your rocks then do the other half. but takes a long time.

 

[Angel*Fish]

my camera stinks at aquarium shots tryed to get pix but useless i found a post under dryopis from slojmn from 2004 that shows good pics of the same algae in my tank they id ed it as hair algae (bryopis) flow is not an issue have tunzes probably running around 5000 gph i know the algae is feeding off something, phosphate iam sure but dont know where this fuel comes from to grow such a crop there is a lot of this stuff

In the hobby common names make things confusing - it's in everybody's best interest if we do not refer to bryopsis as hair algae. It's important to recognize bryopsis early before it spreads. "Hair algae" is easy to control by controlling nutrients - bryopsis is not. The only cure for bryopsis is 1) to try the Mg treatment 2) toss out the rocks it's living on or 3) cook them well. They may actually have to be killed down to base rock.

You can't starve bryopsis by limiting nutrients, phosphates or lights. This is a serious problem and there is no simple fix unless the Mg treatment works for you. Many people have had to throw out their rocks and start over. It is tough stuff and controlling phosphate will not solve the problem.