Hair Algae Help!

[reefbobc]

I have green hair algae starting to grow in my tank and it's getting worse. I would like to get on top of it before it takes over. I'm starting to do frequent water changes and watching how much the lights are on. I know that there are certain snails and or crabs that eat this algae. What do you all recommend and where can I get them. Does anyone have any they might want to sell? Thanks!

 

[user 26995]

I was once told that hair algae grows fast when ammonia is present. I had some start and it got kind of bad in areas, what I did was frequent water changes, I added a phosban reactor and manually pulled the hair algae off and used a turkey baster to blast the detirtus and stuff out of it. It was only a couple months and there is no sign of it in my tank any more. And it was thick. Good luck.

 

[Xtremedave67]

there are some prior posts not long ago somewhere on here.....most say water changes...of course the algea eating live stock wich include tangs and angels.

and most often I saw posted is manually remove the algae. removing the nutrients that feed it....i.e refuge with macro?? skimming..etc...if I get froggy enough Ill look for other thread.

 

[Xtremedave67]

found this over in resource library.....

http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/a_thiel_080998.html

few other links to other things related to other algae and cyno etc...

 

[reefbobc]

I was once told that hair algae grows fast when ammonia is present. I had some start and it got kind of bad in areas, what I did was frequent water changes, I added a phosban reactor and manually pulled the hair algae off and used a turkey baster to blast the detirtus and stuff out of it. It was only a couple months and there is no sign of it in my tank any more. And it was thick. Good luck.

Thanks. I hope I get rid of it that fast!

 

[reefbobc]

found this over in resource library.....

http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/a_thiel_080998.html

few other links to other things related to other algae and cyno etc...

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[Crack31]

You should have no ammonia in your tank if it is completely cycled.

 

[freakin]

Here's what I learned

*Sufficient flow
*Manually removing as much GHA as possible is a good idea. The more scrubbing you do in the tank the more you are potentially spreading GHA so suck it out as you remove it during WC.
*Get 2-3 young emerald crabs to take care of GHA (juvi crabs are more likely to eat mostly plants). Get a few turbo snails as well (probably 2-3). Keep the GHA short or they probably won't eat it. Turbo snails can be bulldozers, so make sure rockwork and corals are stable.
*Absolutely only use good RO/DI water for waterchanges & topoffs. If you don't trust the source, get a TDS. Extra phosphates in your WC water are only going to increase/prolong the GHA problem.
*Do ~15-20% water changes every week to start out. Do smaller (5-10%) water changes in between as well if you have the time.
*Use GFO.
*Use GFO. Seriously. Chemi-pure elite (not regular CP) is a simple bagged product with both carbon and GFO in it. Make sure it has good flow through and around it. Regular GFO in a reactor would be better.
*Possibly use a nitrogen sponge product that you replace regularly
*Even better than a nitrogen sponge use an organic carbon source (like vodka dosing) and skimmer. You may want to use a beneficial bacteria boosting product for 2 weeks before dosing organic carbon, such as MicroBacter7. Absolutely invest in a good (high resolution) NO3 and PO4 test kit if you are doing this and monitor both carefully to ensure proper dosing amount. This is great for a tank even without nuisance algae. Your skimmer will work on overload and pull out thick gunk. Skimmer is 100% required for organic carbon dosing.
*Run a fuge w/ macroalgae if you can. Run the lights on a reverse lighting cycle to prevent PH bounce. The macroalgae should tumble in the water. Trim it as necessary.
*Don't expect the GHA to go away overnight, but take steps to keep it from advancing. You can get a good mag test kit and slowly raise your mag up to 15-1600 (no more than 50ppm/day increase). This is supposed to be a great way to take care of the GHA and also does wonders for coralline growth. I have not tried this personally so this is just what I've read.
*Make sure your bulbs aren't too old or the spectrum shift could be growing more algae. Consider replacing them if you're uncertain.
*Don't run your lights for too long.
*Don't put the tank in a room with a lot of natural sunlight.

 

[reefbobc]

Here's what I learned

*Sufficient flow
*Manually removing as much GHA as possible is a good idea. The more scrubbing you do in the tank the more you are potentially spreading GHA so suck it out as you remove it during WC.
*Get 2-3 young emerald crabs to take care of GHA (juvi crabs are more likely to eat mostly plants). Get a few turbo snails as well (probably 2-3). Keep the GHA short or they probably won't eat it. Turbo snails can be bulldozers, so make sure rockwork and corals are stable.
*Absolutely only use good RO/DI water for waterchanges & topoffs. If you don't trust the source, get a TDS. Extra phosphates in your WC water are only going to increase/prolong the GHA problem.
*Do ~15-20% water changes every week to start out. Do smaller (5-10%) water changes in between as well if you have the time.
*Use GFO.
*Use GFO. Seriously. Chemi-pure elite (not regular CP) is a simple bagged product with both carbon and GFO in it. Make sure it has good flow through and around it. Regular GFO in a reactor would be better.
*Possibly use a nitrogen sponge product that you replace regularly
*Even better than a nitrogen sponge use an organic carbon source (like vodka dosing) and skimmer. You may want to use a beneficial bacteria boosting product for 2 weeks before dosing organic carbon, such as MicroBacter7. Absolutely invest in a good (high resolution) NO3 and PO4 test kit if you are doing this and monitor both carefully to ensure proper dosing amount. This is great for a tank even without nuisance algae. Your skimmer will work on overload and pull out thick gunk. Skimmer is 100% required for organic carbon dosing.
*Run a fuge w/ macroalgae if you can. Run the lights on a reverse lighting cycle to prevent PH bounce. The macroalgae should tumble in the water. Trim it as necessary.
*Don't expect the GHA to go away overnight, but take steps to keep it from advancing. You can get a good mag test kit and slowly raise your mag up to 15-1600 (no more than 50ppm/day increase). This is supposed to be a great way to take care of the GHA and also does wonders for coralline growth. I have not tried this personally so this is just what I've read.
*Make sure your bulbs aren't too old or the spectrum shift could be growing more algae. Consider replacing them if you're uncertain.
*Don't run your lights for too long.
*Don't put the tank in a room with a lot of natural sunlight.

Thanks Freakin, I'll print this and read it!
But to my original question, are there snails that will eat this stuff as well?

 

[freakin]

turbo snails are supposed to eat it, but mine only eat the coralline off my glass (which I don't mind).

They occasionally get little bits of GHA off my rocks.

 

[thatguy559]

what are the tank parameters?

 

[hawker]

Turbo snails have done a good job for me. Cleared maybe 85% of it. They don't seem to like it if it is too long so I hand remove the bigger stuff.

 

[reefbobc]

what are the tank parameters?

I haven't checked in about a week. I'll measure when I get home and post them.

 

[reefbobc]

Turbo snails have done a good job for me. Cleared maybe 85% of it. They don't seem to like it if it is too long so I hand remove the bigger stuff.

My son has a turbo, maybe I'll borrow it for a while!

 

[thatguy559]

are you sure its green hair algae and not bryopsis? some confuse the 2

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&q=bryopsis&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=AxNSTOveMIzZnAfJuNCWBA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQsAQwAA&biw=1271&bih=664

 

[luisse25]

if u are already doing water changes then its good...cut your light hour and add lots of snails.....and yellow tang..if u just live close ill let u borrow our yellow tang...ours eats everything diatoms,cyano,red turf algae(favorite),hair algae,those brown algae and lately i have this crawling algae that is overtaking my rocks and it ate it...

goodluck and keep us updated

 

[luisse25]

if its bryopsis...thats hard to beatonly manual removal and raising magnesium can control the outbreak

 

[ICSO9131]

To start out I would recommend getting a snail for every 2 gallons of water and 1 red/blue/zebra/lefty hermit for every gallon of water.

This clean up crew will clean up the extra food that is fed and may also assist in controlling the algae.

As far as keeping your tank out of the sun light... I have my tank set up so the sun assists me in lighting up my tank. It's excess nutrients in your tank that's causing the growth of your algae and/or bryopsis.

Another note. One 30% water change does way more as far as clearing up your water quality than 6, 5% water changes. To the point... Do a 25-40% water change every other week. Skip wasting your time with a 5% water change.

 

[reefbobc]

if u are already doing water changes then its good...cut your light hour and add lots of snails.....and yellow tang..if u just live close ill let u borrow our yellow tang...ours eats everything diatoms,cyano,red turf algae(favorite),hair algae,those brown algae and lately i have this crawling algae that is overtaking my rocks and it ate it...

goodluck and keep us updated

What an offer!! You guys here are sooo cool! I only have a biocube 14 so your tang is probably too big for me, but thanks none the less!

 

[reefbobc]

if its bryopsis...thats hard to beatonly manual removal and raising magnesium can control the outbreak

I have a tiny bit of bryopsis but the biggest problem is the hair.
I just got home and scraped it all off the rocks as best as I could. Next I'll try the turbo snail and see if he can keep it off.