Green Hair Algae!! Please help!!

[Austin Lee]

Alright here it is - another algae post. So let me set up this situation for you...

I am running a 20 gallon long that has been up for about two-three months total now (including the cycling process). I have a great current USA light, along with two clownfish and a zoanthid coral in my tank. I have two 425 gph powerheads and a hang on back filter as well as a great heater (the brand is slipping my mind right now). That's my gear. Here's my problem:

IN THIS ORDER:

I struggled initially with a diatom bloom that went away rather quickly.

The diatom bloom was swiftly followed by cyanobacteria (we're talking 2-3 days later).

Last but certainly not least - the cyano was followed by green hair algae.

To be clear green hair algae is the ONLY problem I am currently having with this tank.

So, I invested in a goby, as well as bulked up my cleanup crew. I'm running with an emerald crab, three red leg hermits, three blue leg hermits, and four snails. When this didn't work at all, I added some chemicals after them having high recommendations both online and in store (the name of this chemical is also slipping my mind and I am not currently near it).

It's been six days of running the chemical in the tank and I have seen no results besides it making the algae easier to "weed".

PLEASE HELP. Have you had this problem? If so, what can I do to save myself from it keeping in mind that I do not have a sump at the present time?

Any and all help is much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Wiz]

First I'm guessing you need to lower your nutrients. Might be feeding to much or just need time for better bacteria growth. Second, imo chemicals are almost never good. I would slow feeding, keep hand removing as much as possible and maybe get a few more cleaners. Snails preferably. Remove the rocks that are easy to do so and scrub them with a tooth brush. Manual removal has always been my prefered method.

 

[Russ265]

po4>no3 ime

 

[manny mandarin]

I had similar problems in the end I got manual I removed rock and gave them a scrub with a toothbrush in old aquarium water whilst doin a water change that gave the cuc a chance to keep it in check. Sometimes less hrs of light helps as well my lights are only on between 5-10pm that way we can enjoy the aquarium and keep algae down

 

[gtbarsi]

Have you tested your water, if so what are your NO2, NO3, and PO4 levels?
How often are you replacing the filter pads in the HOB filter?
How often are you doing water changes and how big of a water change are you doing?
What is the TDS of the source water you are using with your salt mix?

 

[beachsidereefer]

I tried numerous chemical treatments with no results. I bought a SeaHare and problem was solved in less then 2 weeks time. Just keep a close eye as it will starve once it finishes eating all the algae so line up another home through your local reef club or LFS.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

Wish you luck OP. I went from Cyano > GHA > back to Cyano. Not sure what is causing it or how to get rid of it for good. I gravel vac, feed one cube of food a day, have undetectable PO4, and still have this issue.

I am just living with having nasty looking sand forever lol

 

[Russ265]

Wish you luck OP. I went from Cyano > GHA > back to Cyano. Not sure what is causing it or how to get rid of it for good. I gravel vac, feed one cube of food a day, have undetectable PO4, and still have this issue.

I am just living with having nasty looking sand forever lol

try just mixing the cyano in the sand if it is a newer tank.
itll eventually go away

 

[ReefMadScientist]

try just mixing the cyano in the sand if it is a newer tank.
itll eventually go away

Will try that Thx Russ. I used all my chemiclean which seems to not work anymore. I am taking maybe a quarter pound of sound out every water change trying to get rid of this. I am just happy my algae rock issue is gone.

 

[Austin Lee]

Thanks for all the help guys! The algae today is less green and more dark brown so maybe that means it is being starved and the treatment is working? Going to do a 20% water change today and try to remove some of the algae manually

 

[Austin Lee]

Wish you luck OP. I went from Cyano > GHA > back to Cyano. Not sure what is causing it or how to get rid of it for good. I gravel vac, feed one cube of food a day, have undetectable PO4, and still have this issue.

I am just living with having nasty looking sand forever lol

The product I have used is Bacter m clean. According to my research it will kill gha and prevent cyano from returning after gha is gone. Maybe I am being impatient and it will die off this week.

 

[Russ265]

The product I have used is Bacter m clean. According to my research it will kill gha and prevent cyano from returning after gha is gone. Maybe I am being impatient and it will die off this week.

bacter clean m doesnt kill cyano. i know. i tried it last week for dinos at the advice at my local forum.
didnt make a dent in cyano or dinos.

it did chew in to turf algae pretty good. had a dust storm of trash and amphipods swirling in my tank for a few days.

it could possibly outcompete cyano but i bailed on it after 1 light cycle showed no decrease in dino growth.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

The product I have used is Bacter m clean. According to my research it will kill gha and prevent cyano from returning after gha is gone. Maybe I am being impatient and it will die off this week.

This stuff?

 

[Russ265]

This stuff?

that is it. itll loosen trash and debris in your tank. eats turf algae fairly well barring your phosphates are low.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

I also dosed two cap full of Microbacter7 but noticed nothing. I thought maybe adding more beneficial bacteria will help eat up whatever the Cyano is eating to stay alive.

 

[Russ265]

I also dosed two cap full of Microbacter7 but noticed nothing. I thought maybe adding more beneficial bacteria will help eat up whatever the Cyano is eating to stay alive.

imo. all tanks have cyano. just spread throughout the tank. (im speculating)

just stir the sand bed weekly and it dies back.

if chemiclean isnt working you may have other issues at play.

 

[brandon429]

100% fact all standing bodies of water including a street puddle can have monerans in it, and if the system has any sort of consistent nutrient and maturity it has some for sure, and they've either expressed or not as a community based on variances.

Every form of reef invader except cyanobacteria and GHA are requisite hitchhikers, meaning, once truly killed, they cannot get back in regardless of nutrients. lack of this stance for 30 yrs is why we have algae problems exactly the same now as we did in 1999, its no different by and large. no real dents made using old standards. gfo fixed up a good 18% of the outliers tho.


Some requisites not thoroughly removed and are dormant in substrates/rock crevices, but when truly removed a requisite hitchhiker must be physically brought back in to spurn again

cyanobacteria are in all reefs, all the time, and either express or do not. they get in through aerial vectors and standard contamination vectors just like other bac. The only way any aquarium on the planet can be without cyanobacteria is if its prepares using aseptic technique, controlled inoculants, and positive pressure lab setting.

the reason they do not express in my tank:
-i make my own rules on how to care for a dsb, since the old rules foster cyano.
-id burn them out if they did show up mean
-id siphon them out and they do show up when i get lazy on water changes, they are my mine canary saying 'hey dude, put down the drone and do something to this system'

 

[Russ265]

100% fact all standing bodies of water including a street puddle can have monerans in it, and if the system has any sort of consistent nutrient and maturity it has some for sure, and they've either expressed or not as a community based on variances.

Every form of reef invader except cyanobacteria and GHA are requisite hitchhikers, meaning, once truly killed, they cannot get back in regardless of nutrients. lack of this stance for 30 yrs is why we have algae problems exactly the same now as we did in 1999, its no different by and large. no real dents made using old standards. gfo fixed up a good 18% of the outliers tho.


Some requisites not thoroughly removed and are dormant in substrates/rock crevices, but when truly removed a requisite hitchhiker must be physically brought back in to spurn again

cyanobacteria are in all reefs, all the time, and either express or do not. they get in through aerial vectors and standard contamination vectors just like other bac. The only way any aquarium on the planet can be without cyanobacteria is if its prepares using aseptic technique, controlled inoculants, and positive pressure lab setting.

the reason they do not express in my tank:
-i make my own rules on how to care for a dsb, since the old rules foster cyano.
-id burn them out if they did show up mean
-id siphon them out and they do show up when i get lazy on water changes, they are my mine canary saying 'hey dude, put down the drone and do something to this system'

+1 my experience as well. drone too. lol