Best way to remove hair algae from corals

[RaymondL]

I've tried to pluck as much hair algae from my corals using a tweezers and my fingers - the majority of the green hair algae is on my zoanthids and green star polyps.

I was thinking of using a soft tooth brush on these corals to dislodge the algae - is this okay, or is there a better way?

Assuming that I get things balanced out, if I leave it as is would the hair algae eventually just die off even though they are clinging on the corals and rocks?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I've heard crabs can pick at the algae (I can not confirm this as I do not have crabs in my tank)

 

[Timfish]

Hair algae will disappear on it's own IF the corals are able to compete successfully against it. Unfortunately hair algae is dumping lots of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC, aka cabon dosing) into the water that can create anoxic condition in the coral's surface mucus layer (SML) as well as promote pathogenic shifts in coral microbiomes. So it's best to try to remove as much as possible. I use small diameter steel straws to gently siphon off algae. I also will use H2O2 in a syrenge to apply it directly to the base of hair algae to try to kill it (plucking it off typically leaves teh base attached that will continue to grow). You d need to be careful as these processes are disruptive and will affect some corals negatively. When I use these techniques I do not use more than 1 ml H2O2 per gallon and when siphoning no more than 10% once weekly to try to keep stress to the corals to a minimum.

 

[Roatan Reef]

I've tried to pluck as much hair algae from my corals using a tweezers and my fingers - the majority of the green hair algae is on my zoanthids and green star polyps.

I was thinking of using a soft tooth brush on these corals to dislodge the algae - is this okay, or is there a better way?

Assuming that I get things balanced out, if I leave it as is would the hair algae eventually just die off even though they are clinging on the corals and rocks?

Yesss..toothbrush and soft pipe cleaners, get a small fine mesh net and catch as much as you can, then do a water change , and suck up any excess debris. I speak from experience.

 

[Miami Reef]

I've tried to pluck as much hair algae from my corals using a tweezers and my fingers - the majority of the green hair algae is on my zoanthids and green star polyps.

I was thinking of using a soft tooth brush on these corals to dislodge the algae - is this okay, or is there a better way?

Assuming that I get things balanced out, if I leave it as is would the hair algae eventually just die off even though they are clinging on the corals and rocks?

How big is your tank?

 

[VintageReefer]

Follow this guideline and the algae will be killed without harming the coral

peroxide dipping guidelines

I used to reference a table created by Justin Credible that specified the amount of time you could dip a coral in a particular hydrogen peroxide solution organized by the various genera of coral. Unfortunately the link to that chart no longer works. Does anyone have a copy that they could post...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[RaymondL]

How big is your tank?

Small: 15 Gallon