Hammonsadam
New member
What reef fish definately eat green hair algae? I have yet to see it...at least see it make a difference.
Hair Algae
- Thread starter Hammonsadam
- Start date
SecretiveFish
Member
I have not seen one either. It is rumored that the sea hare eats it, but I never tried one of those. If you are dealing with this stuff, the only surefire way to get rid of it is two-fold: nutrient removal and manual removal. Sorry, I do not think there is an easy way out of the problem.
Magician8642
New member
Just My Experiance
Just My Experiance
This is just my experience over the bast 5-10 years on it. But I am just one person. Agree, disagree, just use what works for you.
I had it for years, and it still peaks up randomly. The common things you will read are: sea hare, good cleanup crew, too much feeding, water changes, lawnmower blennny, or a tang that keeps grazing rocks so it won't start to grow.
Sea hares do work, but in my experience, only about half of them survive. And if it does, it will clear out most of the tank, starve, and the algae will re surge after it is gone.
Both having a good cleanup crew (the appropriated number of snails and crabs) and a fish that cleans all the rocks use the same idea of not letting the hair algae start in an area. But still doesn't cure the problem. Margarita snails are said to specifically target hair algae, but have never worked for me.
Water conditions seem to be a main thing. Most say they test Nitrates and Phosphates (the most common excess waste indicators), but they do not show high levels. However, if the hair algae is growing as usual, it will use up all the available waste in water. Therefore, test kits would not show it.
Most tanks always have small amounts, but it's a combination that most believe keeps it in check. When I upgraded my tank and basically did over a 50% water change, all my hair algae died off immediate for a few months...but then came back. I lowered the time my lights are on during the day. I added a refugium so beneficial macro algae could compete against the hair algae. I also replenished my cleanup crew, and still do frequently. I started running a reactor with phosphate removal media to get any that might build up. Some also say that keeping your Alk levels up, more around 10, can keep hair algae down. My biggest savior I believe was my skimmer. I do not think I had my first one calibrated to be pulling the most waste possible for the tank. Then when I upgraded, it was undersized. So I upgraded to an OVER sized one, and then kept turning it up to pull as much waste as possible, right before pulling normal tank water.
Basically, if you research you will hear a hundred different things. Simple things like get a lawnmower blenny, to more extreme ideas like start vodka dosing and bio pellets. However, the problem seems to be simple. There is too much nutrients for the hare algae to thrive on. Whether you put less in your tank, find biological ways to get rid of it (such as cleanup crews or refugiums), or mechanical ways (such as reactors and skimmers), it all comes down to the same thing. If they hare algae really didn't have condition it needs, it wouldn't be growing like it does. The fix is specific to the tank. Good luck!
Just My Experiance
This is just my experience over the bast 5-10 years on it. But I am just one person. Agree, disagree, just use what works for you.
I had it for years, and it still peaks up randomly. The common things you will read are: sea hare, good cleanup crew, too much feeding, water changes, lawnmower blennny, or a tang that keeps grazing rocks so it won't start to grow.Sea hares do work, but in my experience, only about half of them survive. And if it does, it will clear out most of the tank, starve, and the algae will re surge after it is gone.
Both having a good cleanup crew (the appropriated number of snails and crabs) and a fish that cleans all the rocks use the same idea of not letting the hair algae start in an area. But still doesn't cure the problem. Margarita snails are said to specifically target hair algae, but have never worked for me.
Water conditions seem to be a main thing. Most say they test Nitrates and Phosphates (the most common excess waste indicators), but they do not show high levels. However, if the hair algae is growing as usual, it will use up all the available waste in water. Therefore, test kits would not show it.
Most tanks always have small amounts, but it's a combination that most believe keeps it in check. When I upgraded my tank and basically did over a 50% water change, all my hair algae died off immediate for a few months...but then came back. I lowered the time my lights are on during the day. I added a refugium so beneficial macro algae could compete against the hair algae. I also replenished my cleanup crew, and still do frequently. I started running a reactor with phosphate removal media to get any that might build up. Some also say that keeping your Alk levels up, more around 10, can keep hair algae down. My biggest savior I believe was my skimmer. I do not think I had my first one calibrated to be pulling the most waste possible for the tank. Then when I upgraded, it was undersized. So I upgraded to an OVER sized one, and then kept turning it up to pull as much waste as possible, right before pulling normal tank water.
Basically, if you research you will hear a hundred different things. Simple things like get a lawnmower blenny, to more extreme ideas like start vodka dosing and bio pellets. However, the problem seems to be simple. There is too much nutrients for the hare algae to thrive on. Whether you put less in your tank, find biological ways to get rid of it (such as cleanup crews or refugiums), or mechanical ways (such as reactors and skimmers), it all comes down to the same thing. If they hare algae really didn't have condition it needs, it wouldn't be growing like it does. The fix is specific to the tank. Good luck!
JSeymour
New member
Rabbitfish will eat just about anything, including hair algae. Problem is, they're opportunistic feeding habits can sometimes include LPS and soft corals.
All of that said, nutrients are your problem and adding another fish will not help lower nutrients, it will only make them worse. Magician covered alot of this but, I'll second it.
Make sure your skimmer is working properly, meaning a full cup of skimmate atleast every other day.
Are you using RO/DI? Many local water supplies are saturated with nitrates and phosphates (including many other compounds you don't want in you tank) during the winter. You'll want a TDS meter to determine when your media is exhausted.
Buy/build a media reactor and add some GFO. You'll need to be able to accurately measure phosphates, Hanna makes a great one.
Install a Algae Scrubber or refugium for macroalgae. Nothing outcompetes algae better than other algae.
The biggest thing to remember is none of these are going to solve the problem overnight, think weeks to months before you see the results you want.
All of that said, nutrients are your problem and adding another fish will not help lower nutrients, it will only make them worse. Magician covered alot of this but, I'll second it.
Make sure your skimmer is working properly, meaning a full cup of skimmate atleast every other day.
Are you using RO/DI? Many local water supplies are saturated with nitrates and phosphates (including many other compounds you don't want in you tank) during the winter. You'll want a TDS meter to determine when your media is exhausted.
Buy/build a media reactor and add some GFO. You'll need to be able to accurately measure phosphates, Hanna makes a great one.
Install a Algae Scrubber or refugium for macroalgae. Nothing outcompetes algae better than other algae.
The biggest thing to remember is none of these are going to solve the problem overnight, think weeks to months before you see the results you want.
