Question about green hair algae...

[fasteddie99]

I have been fighting GHA for a couple weeks so far and it hasnt gotten much better. I just started using Marine SAT last week and have been doing 10 gal weekly water changes so I think I am in the right direction but my coral banded sgrimp ate my cleaning crew. I am heading to the LFS in a few hours to buy some more but I am not too sure which cleaners would work best. I just did a major scrubbing on all the LR with a toothbrush yesterday in a separate bucket of RO and while the hair is at its shortest I want to throw some blue legged hermits, and a few snails in there tonight. I have a lettuce nudibranch in there as well but it is too much for this little guy.

Any recomendations?

 

[Sk8r]

First, I'd trade the CBS for more cleaning crew. They can also eat fishes. Personal prejudice there.

What you're experiencing is normal for a new tank. The phosphate that comes with live rock, dry rock, sand, or tap water etc. is fertilizer; so is nitrate, that comes with cycling. Or tap water. And the few plant bits that are almost guaranteed to come in with anything living, like your rock---or, I swear, just float in the air, have taken off and are multiplying.

Two things can restore your tank to the way you planned it to be: well, three. First, use ro/di water as your topoff and salt mix water. Second, either set up a refugium (planted tank) in your sump to absorb phosphate and nitrate or get a GFO (granulated ferric oxide) reactor to absorb the phosphate (they're cheap, as reactors go, about 50.oo) and watch the algae die out.

This is but the first of many tank nuisances: it does prove your tank is on schedule and alive.