hair algae

[nick96ss]

i'm starting to get a little hair algae on a rock on some on my back wall
my tank has been running 5 months now 30 gallon
my parameters are fine i use ro/di water i use pc bulbs which are a month old for around 6 hours a day
i have 2 clowns and 2 cardinals with a few shrimps and snails and hermits
i feed everyday just enough what they consume in 3 min
i run a fuge with chaeto and miricle mud and lr ....what can i do to get this under control

 

[Jan]

turbo snails are reported to eat it.

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

It could be a part of your tank's algae cycles. After a new tank goes through its initial nitrogen cycle, it will go through various algae cycles, as well (diatoms, cyano, hair, and eventually coralline). You can blast the hair algae with a turkey baster when you do your water changes. This will help to free up the detritus that gets caught in the algae, which will subsequently help feed it when the detritus breaks down.

Sounds like you are doing everything you can. How often are your water changes? Was the rock from someone else's tank?

 

[nick96ss]

thanks for the welcome
i'm going to enjoy this site
i allready had cyano outbreak .and yes the rock did come from someone's tank
i do 5 gallons everyweek , when you say blast it with the a baster is the rock out of the water ? and what about my back wall can i scrape it off

 

[Reeferdude]

Scrape and vacuum. It'll grow somewhere else if you don't remove it. Also if the rock was from another tank the ha may be embedded so you may have to brush it off or kill it by starving it with frequent water changes and less feeding, more filtration/skimming etc.

 

[mmkeeper]

Is your cheato growing fast? You might want to reduce the amount of food you are feeding them.

 

[nick96ss]

actually chaeto is not growing fast i also have caulerpa in the fuge
i feed a half cube of brine or mysis pretty much everyday when i don't i give cyclo-plees
is this to much ? i also forgot to mention my scooter blenny this is why i feed mostly brine and mysis he loves it

 

[mmkeeper]

Algae needs nutrients to grow you can cut back for awhile to allow the natural bacteria to catch up. By removing the hair algae and the macro as it grows your are exporting those extra nutrients

 

[nick96ss]

so feeding every other day ok
with the same amount i'm already feeding

 

[Snowboarda42]

Also, what lighting is on your fuge? If the lighting is insufficient, it won't grow enough, and therefore won't export enough nutrients.

BTW, what kind of skimmer do you have?
And what kind of flow do you have in the tank?

 

[nick96ss]

i believe it's a 13w but not 100 % i'll check in the morning

 

[twilliard]

my parameters are fine

Im sorry but I think this statement is incorrect.
If you have algae growing then something is off.
If you want to keep feeding with the same schedule you are using then I would look into a much better skimmer and more water changes.

 

[dnjan]

Out of curiosity, why are you feeding cycloplese? You didn't list anything that would eat that.

 

[nick96ss]

i have a few corals frogspawn , mushrooms ,and huge bunch of candy cane and xenia
this is what i was told i should do .....was i mislead ?

 

[dnjan]

How often are you feeding the cyclopese? That may be the source of your excess nutrients.

You probably don't need to feed the mushrooms (are they smooth or "hairy"?) The frogspawn and candycane can be spot-fed using a turkey baster, but don't need it very often.

By the way - that is a lot of stuff in a 30-gallon tank.

 

[nick96ss]

hairy mushrooms
i feed cyclo maybe twice a week

 

[Snowboarda42]

Do you have a Skimmer?

 

[nick96ss]

yes i have a typhoon skimmer got it from dr fosters smith

 

[NaH2O]

thanks for the welcome
i'm going to enjoy this site
i allready had cyano outbreak .and yes the rock did come from someone's tank
i do 5 gallons everyweek , when you say blast it with the a baster is the rock out of the water ? and what about my back wall can i scrape it off

Blast it with the turkety baster under the water. You don't need to move anything around to do this, just squirt at it with a turkey baster. In a larger tank, you can do this with a powerhead. You'll be surprised by how much junk gets freed up from the algae and the rock.

actually chaeto is not growing fast i also have caulerpa in the fuge
i feed a half cube of brine or mysis pretty much everyday when i don't i give cyclo-plees
is this to much ? i also forgot to mention my scooter blenny this is why i feed mostly brine and mysis he loves it

Watch feeding brine. It doesn't have the nutritional value that other foods will offer. Check out the fish forum for information on feeding and foods.

Im sorry but I think this statement is incorrect.
If you have algae growing then something is off.
If you want to keep feeding with the same schedule you are using then I would look into a much better skimmer and more water changes.

This is true to a point. The parameters may check out fine due to the algae using the nutrients, such as phosphate, but in reality there is a nutrient input feeding the algae.

nick96ss - what types of test kits are you using, and what are your paramters exactly. Have you ever tested for phosphates?

 

[nick96ss]

no i bought a salifert kit last night i will check phos and mag tonight