Trying to understand hair algae...

[One fish]

Do show tanks get hair algae? I am thinking if you start all dry rock and quarantine and dip that zero hair algae will enter your tank.
I never had a problem with algae since I started my tank. Then 8 months later I bought some sps on a rock from someone in my local club and my tank is now covered in gha. Is it like a disease that once you get it it will always be in your system?
The pictures you see here with tank of the month and other show tanks, have they ever had green hair algae or do they make sure it doesn't enter their system.
Thanks a lot everyone..

 

[tkeracer619]

The simple answer is yes. Almost all of them have gone through it at one point or another. It is part of a healthy ecosystem.

What fuels it is excess nutrients. Specifically nitrates and phosphates.

So if putting a frag into your tank caused a hair algae explosion you can be sure your tank has excess nutrients. It is simply the first one to take hold.

Things like corraline algae will out compete it for surface area but to rid the tank of it having predators along with better nutrient export are key.

 

[Sk8r]

Limestone rock and aragonite sand may contain a varying amount of phosphate. Add salt water, and some spore of algae floating in from the environment or on equipment or live rock or whatever. Algae uptakes the phosphate and multiplies like mad. You can tell where the phosphate is coming from strongest by where your densest algae grows.

The only way to extract phosphate is GFO or some adsorbent material or chemical treatment designed to get it out: GFO is cheaper and more effective than pads, IME: also lanthanum chloride, which has to be used properly. Ask in Reef Chemistry.

Unfortunately rock soaks very slowly. Time is involved.

 

[texdoc77]

Limestone rock and aragonite sand may contain a varying amount of phosphate. Add salt water, and some spore of algae floating in from the environment or on equipment or live rock or whatever. Algae uptakes the phosphate and multiplies like mad. You can tell where the phosphate is coming from strongest by where your densest algae grows.

The only way to extract phosphate is GFO or some adsorbent material or chemical treatment designed to get it out: GFO is cheaper and more effective than pads, IME: also lanthanum chloride, which has to be used properly. Ask in Reef Chemistry.

Unfortunately rock soaks very slowly. Time is involved.

So how long is "very slowly". I have Texas Holey rock, aragonite and LR from petco and my LFS to start my tank. I have been working on nutrients and have phosguard in my canister filter. My PO4 levels have been 0 on my testing, but as I have read that does not mean anything if the algae is taking it up, and the more I learn maybe it doesn't mean anything anyway but that is a discussion for the reef chemistry forum. I assume we are talking months??

 

[Sk8r]

Months, sometimes, sometimes only a few weeks. Rock varies. Idaho holey is spectacularly full of it---ask me.

The good news is once you get rid of the phosphate once and for all, you could drop a hair-algaed rock into the tan and the stuff would quickly die, leaving the rock bald as an egg. Bubble algae appearing or cyano or both is frequently the next stage of annoyance, but it comes and it goes, too.

 

[One fish]

Thank you both for the replies, good stuff to know!

 

[ca1ore]

I think that no amount of quarantine or 'sterilization' will prevent algae spores from getting into your system. Key, IME, is to both manage nutrient levels and employ herbivores.

 

[CStrickland]

I read something somewhere about algae spores in the air many miles from any water source. Also, something like Cyanobacteria or Dino's or diatoms can come in even if you keep all algae away. Imo it's better to make your tank a bad home for algae than to try to keep it out.