How I beat hair algae

tprize

New member
So about 6 months ago, I started my battle with Hair Algae. I beat it, and wanted to share my story. The first sign of the algae was pretty minimal, I figured that my cleanup crew would take care of it.



Truth be told, I was moving soon, and had cut down on maintenance. So about a month after the move, the tank looked like this.



I was a little frustrated, so I tried the method everyone had talked about, raising my MAG with tech M. After about another month, it looked like this.



I was incredibly frustrated. Everyone talked about how it just melts off, and mine was growing!. I kept up the MAG level thinking maybe, it just takes time"¦ nope.



After reaching out to RC, and my local forum INDMAS, I decided to do a shotgun approach of all the advice.
Here is the list of things I did to fix the tank, it took about 2 months to win.
1. I purchased a new cleanup crew including hermits, and a emerald crab.
2. I used Phophate Rx.
3. I manually removed as much as I could.
4. I got a much better media reactor, and started running 50% more Phosguard.
5. I did weekly water changes.
6. I used prodibio bioclean
7. I changed my sandbed. (The old sand trapped to much food.)

This gave me multiple tools to remove the algea.
1. Physical: Hand removing, cleanup crew, lack of stagnant food.
2. Chemical: Phosphate Rx, Phosguard.
3. Biological: Prodibio, Water changes.

Here it is today, and I am glad I did not quit reefing because of this, because the tank is beautiful.

 
Great tank! I don't have as major outbreak ATM luckily so the cleanup crew I will get will clean it up: starfish for cleaning the glass, and a hermit for cleaning the rocks from it.
 
2 lettuce and a sae hare would have had that gone in 5 days

Hi,
I am battling GHA as well and I just bought a Sea Hare from my LFS and it doesn't seem to like being on the rocks. When I put it on my rock work where all of the GHA is, it ends up back in the sand. Do they eventually feed on the rocks or do they just like sand?

Thanks.
 
Glad you posted this as I am struggling with this problem as well. My new reactor should be here in a few days hope it helps out.

Did you use a scrub brush to remove the hair algae or did you pick it off with something else?
 
Glad you posted this as I am struggling with this problem as well. My new reactor should be here in a few days hope it helps out.

Did you use a scrub brush to remove the hair algae or did you pick it off with something else?

I simply pulled as much as I could, I tried a bristle brush but it started tearing up the rock.
 
how I beat it,
Went Bare bottom
Added a GFO reactor.
Reduced photoperiod from 10 hours to 7.5 hours.

Never had another issue. In fact I only get a light coat of algae on my glass every 3-4 days vs the daily scrubbing I used to do
 
how I beat it,
Went Bare bottom
Added a GFO reactor.
Reduced photoperiod from 10 hours to 7.5 hours.

Never had another issue. In fact I only get a light coat of algae on my glass every 3-4 days vs the daily scrubbing I used to do

I would have gone bare bottom, but I love the look of sand.
 
I also love the look of sand. And have enough hair algae to make me want to cancel the company I have coming in 3 months. I have Phosphate RX. Was concerned to use it. Did you only use it for 4 days and then not again?

Shelley
 
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