Finally came here to get help ( Green Hair Algae issue)

[mrsalnj]

Whats up guys, after 2 months of trying to fix it my self I came here for some experienced advice. So my reef tank been up and running for a lil over a year now and these past 2 months I been dealing with a gha outbreak.Its a 40 gallon breeder with a 30 gallon sump.I am running gfo and carbon as well. Its very annoying my water parameters are fine my phosphate as of last night was 0.02. I been hand picking the GHA off the rock. I have been reading on the peroxide method and was thinking to do that as my last resort.Its annoying because my star polyp has been closed for 3 days. Tank stock is 2 clown fish, 1 six line wrasse , 3 chromes, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 sand sifting star fish and 1 Nass and 2 turbo. Any advice or help thank you in advance.

 

[Brew12]

If you are sure it is GHA and not Bryopsis, I would use Vibrant from Underwater Creations.
https://www.uwcmn.com/vibrant-liquid-aquarium-cleaner

Odds are it will start clearing your tank in days. Otherwise, H2O2 will work a little slower, or you can get an Algae Turf Scrubber to run in you sump to help.

A more natural solution would be to add a Dolabella Sea Hare. They are safe in that if they do die they don't release toxins into the tank like most cucumbers. You would need to pull it after a few weeks or it would starve in a smaller tank like yours but it should clean it quickly.

Hope you like those options, and feel free to ask any other questions!

 

[mrsalnj]

I will post a picture of my tank tomorrow and I have been picking it off my rocks and it looks like hair lol

 

[fish farmer]

If you are sure it is GHA and not Bryopsis, I would use Vibrant from Underwater Creations.
https://www.uwcmn.com/vibrant-liquid-aquarium-cleaner

A more natural solution would be to add a Dolabella Sea Hare. They are safe in that if they do die they don't release toxins into the tank like most cucumbers. You would need to pull it after a few weeks or it would starve in a smaller tank like yours but it should clean it quickly.

Hope you like those options, and feel free to ask any other questions!

I'm a natural fixer myself. I have GHA in my system, mostly due to neglect. So far more routine water changes, siphoning and picking off rock and the addition of a lettuce nudibranch and a decent sized crew of snails and blue leg hermits and they have been doing a great job of mowing it down. I have a 29 gal system and I recently threw in about 60 snails and hermits from Reeftopia.

 

[Brew12]

I will post a picture of my tank tomorrow and I have been picking it off my rocks and it looks like hair lol

Sounds like hair algae. If it is Bryopsis it will have fern like fronds on it. Some strains have larger ferns, others have very small ones towards the end and looks like dense patches that are 1"-2" long. Fluconozale is the most effective treatment for Bryopsis imo.

 

[mrsalnj]

Sounds like hair algae. If it is Bryopsis it will have fern like fronds on it. Some strains have larger ferns, others have very small ones towards the end and looks like dense patches that are 1"-2" long. Fluconozale is the most effective treatment for Bryopsis imo.

yea its defiantly gha and I will try the methods you have provided I really like to stay away from adding additional chemicals to my tank and go more for the natural route . I also will go add a big clean up crew as well this weekend.

 

[Brew12]

yea its defiantly gha and I will try the methods you have provided I really like to stay away from adding additional chemicals to my tank and go more for the natural route . I also will go add a big clean up crew as well this weekend.

I understand that concern!

Just as an FYI, Vibrant is a bacteria product, not a chemical algaecide.

Keep in mind that your GHA is absorbing nutrients to grow and pulling them from the water. If you get rid of the algae in the DT you will need another way to remove those nutrients. Make sure you have a plan for that as you move forward!

 

[mrsalnj]

I understand that concern!

Just as an FYI, Vibrant is a bacteria product, not a chemical algaecide.

Keep in mind that your GHA is absorbing nutrients to grow and pulling them from the water. If you get rid of the algae in the DT you will need another way to remove those nutrients. Make sure you have a plan for that as you move forward!

im running gfo and carbon, I also have a refugium with chaeto and I will be doing water changes once a week. anything else you recommend with be helpful to me. Thank You

 

[Brew12]

im running gfo and carbon, I also have a refugium with chaeto and I will be doing water changes once a week. anything else you recommend with be helpful to me. Thank You

Nope, if all goes well as the GHA dies or gets eaten the Chaeto should start growing faster. What kind of lighting cycle are you using on the chaeto?

 

[mrsalnj]

Nope, if all goes well as the GHA dies or gets eaten the Chaeto should start growing faster. What kind of lighting cycle are you using on the chaeto?

light turns on at 9pm and shuts off at 7am .

 

[Brew12]

light turns on at 9pm and shuts off at 7am .

Sounds good. I would consider going 5pm to 7am (depending on your DT lighting schedule). Personally, I like my fuge lights to come on right when my DT lights start dimming to moonlight and leave them on until an hour or two after I start ramping up to daylight.

 

[mrsalnj]

here is my light schedule for now I am still seeing what my frags respond to. so it turns on from 8am-9:10ish as you can see it starts to ramp down at 6:30pm

 

[Brew12]

here is my light schedule for now I am still seeing what my frags respond to. so it turns on from 8am-9:10ish as you can see it starts to ramp down at 6:30pm

In your situation I would run my fuge from 6:30pm to 8:30am. But, that is just my opinion, just like there are many ways to fight GHA there are plenty of philosophies on how to light a fuge.

 

[mrsalnj]

im going to give it a try , won't know unless I try. Thanks for the help I really appreciate it

 

[Travis Stewart]

im running gfo and carbon, I also have a refugium with chaeto and I will be doing water changes once a week. anything else you recommend with be helpful to me. Thank You

Obv all will recommend using RODI after if not already using with a TDS meter reading 0. I have had all algaes known to man and really noticed a change when adding more cleanup crew when needed, and making sure you are only feeding enough to let the fish eat. I also turn off pumps so I make sure along food is eaten! Remember nothing good happens fast so stay patient. Also make sure you using an adequate skimmer

 

[mrsalnj]

Obv all will recommend using RODI after if not already using with a TDS meter reading 0. I have had all algaes known to man and really noticed a change when adding more cleanup crew when needed, and making sure you are only feeding enough to let the fish eat. I also turn off pumps so I make sure along food is eaten! Remember nothing good happens fast so stay patient. Also make sure you using an adequate skimmer

hey, I am using rodi water and it does read 0 I replace the filters when needed. I just ordered a clean up crew and I do have a protein skimmer as well. now turning off the pumps I can start doing . Patience is key to everything even life, I tend to lack patience lol

 

[Ranjib]

GHA issues are likely due to nutrient imbalance. If you can keep up with water changes,,, with time it will be addressed. Vibrant is a great bacterial solution for this. ReefFlux , or any other fluconazole based chemical treatment is also a nuclear option. But I will advice them only as last resort.

 

[mcarroll]

How is corline algae growing?

 

[mrsalnj]

How is corline algae growing?

None at all

 

[brandon429]

Without knowing anything about nutrients, you have a correctable situation solely because this is a nano and not a full size tank (accessibility) all you have to do is post a full tank shot pic. If you have a sandbed, it must be cleaned correctly and made cloudless. Use ro di or distilled for topoff and make water. That w handle nutrient issues

Don't dump peroxide in the tank it's not how we do it. Post pics

Yes to peroxide and next time don't use it last

Everything mentioned above regarding controls is correct, but they are installed after you work the tank. Not before

They're poopers

need to have the tank de clouded, before adding more waste producers if ever. I don't use any, and I don't have to work algae off my rocks either. the key is to guide the tank early until coralline and coral take over, and reject the algae off all the spots. we fix nano tanks without ever knowing nutrient levels; only a clean sandbed or no sandbed is needed, and a system small to access.

Waste producers go in the corrected condition tank or they contribute to the issue in many smaller reefs lacking dilution for the new waste loading. They'll make you need to clean the sand again one day, faster than last time before they were added retroactively
Much of the new grazer waste gets stored right into the sand...you have an easy tank to fix and we haven even seen it yet. Clean up crews are incidentals, I don't use em. No need, but they're ok to use in some settings. Peroxide is applied directly to algae, not tank water, to kill it off during the tank cleaning and reset.