help me kill the hair algae

I

imortal fish

New member
i just added new lights 1 month ago. i now have hair algae growing on some of my lr. i would like to remove the hair algae before it gets out of control . just not sure of the most effective way to do so.
 
getting rid of hair alage:
1. lower your phosphates
2. lower your nitrates

that will keep them at bay as that is what they feed mostly on. you can pull out as much as you can with your hands and then do a good water change as you work on lowering those 2 things
 
Nutrients are the main cause of algae. High nutrients = phos & trates

follow kau_cinta-ku's advice

Water change is easiest way to lower nutrients. Use RO/DI water in your salt mix.
 
Sometimes, the phosphates, when tested, will show up as "zero" but that would be due to the fact that the hair algae that you have is consuming what phosphates are available to it. If you get a "zero" reading after testing with your new kit and have no obvious explanation for the hair algae since your nitrates are showing 0ppm, then it's most likely the situation I mentioned. I don't believe you should have to resort to RO/DI water unless, when you test your tap water, it shows some elevated nitrates and or phosphates. If it does not, then address whatever it is right there in the reef that's making nutrients available to the hair algae. The measures are basically:
-reduce amounts of feedings of fish and coral
-increase the amount and frequency of water changes
-make sure your skimmer is operating efficiently or get a more effective one
-add a sump with a refugium to your setup
-vacuum your substrate

It wouldn't hurt to add a Phosphate Reactor if your efforts don't seem to be making a dent in the hair algae. Using a good quality medium like Rowaphos is effective.
 
I added a yellow tang to my system and he ate every last bit of the hair algae. My nitrates were only 10 when I had the outbreak.
 
Folks...we're talking about a 37-gallon tank here. Tangs to get rid of hair algae in a 37-gallon tank?
 
Tangs spend their entire life foraging for vegetation. A pygmy angel such as a flame or a coral beauty will do the same. Since you cant put more than one tang in your 37 gallon, you might try putting one of each(tang and angel) in. The tang itself would have no problem cleaning out all your hair algae. Once your algae is gone, you will need to keep a constant supply of dried seaweed available for him.
 
one way I took care of my small hair algae problem was to cover the hair algae with something to take the light away. I happened to have some shells that I placed over the hair algae, because all algae needs light to survive, so I took that away from them by covering them up.
 
i already have 1 clown 1 algea blenny 1 strawberry gramma and 1 manderin. will i be able to add a tang and angel. or will this be to many fish in 37 gal. i started removing hair algae using method from melevsreef. i like the sound of using fish to cure probblem but dont whant to over crowd tank. thanks for the info and best success on your tanks
 
You can certaintly add one with no problem. A 1" fish reguires 3 gallons of water. A small tang will take up 15 gallons max. I see you have only used 9 gallons at the moment. After the tang, you will still have 13 gallons left. You could add both, but I would stop there and I would add the other at least a month apart to let your biological load settle down.
 
I can't believe you guys are recommending a tang for a 37 gallon tank. Due what every you want, it is your money, but a tang will quickly outgrown a 37 gallon tank IMO. In nature, a yellow tang lives on a piece of the reef about the size of a football field. Sure, it might survive in a 37 gallon tank, but how would you like to live the rest of your life in a closet?...

I am not attacking anyone here, but just don't agree with the advice that is being given out. Adding more fish to this already maxed out system is not going to help the problem. *shakes head*....
 
I agree. The fish per gallon calculation is old school and all but useless. It depends on your fish. Tangs grow large and like lots of swimming room. Clowns stay close to home , but can be extremely aggressive about defending their space. Some clowns are more aggressive than others. If you mean you have a lawnmower blenny, they also grow large and I have read threads about them biting tangs. I assume this is as a result of competing for food. I think you should do some water changes, maybe get some turbo snails and see if you can improve your skimmer performance.
 
It's really amazing that a Tang that's small...now...can even be considered for a 37-gallon tank. What should be understood is that Tangs are one of the fastest growing species of fish. I bought a Chevron Tang only four months ago, which was at the time, the size of a quarter. It's now four inches long and growing. Tangs offer a great variety of color and they are often functional in getting rid of unwanted micro and macro-algaes but putting them in a small tank isn't fair to the Tang, or the fish that are the victims of it's territoriality. It isn't good reef-keeping, no matter how badly you might want one.
 
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