Green hair algae

[Supermario91]

Ok so this is the first time I’ve ever posted anything on a forum so here it goes, I have a major issue. Maybe not to most but to me it is, I have a hair algae issue that has gotten out of control, I’m worried it’ll choke out my zoas and my more favorite corals , I’ve tried everything and nothing seems to help. Now I looked into fluconazole and I’ve seen sooo many people have success with it but here’s the thing I can’t find the 200mg capsules but I have found the 100 mg tablets, any suggestions before I go ahead and go with the 100mg tablets

that’s the most recent photo I have but I can take more detailed photos of the issue

 

[dbl]

First, welcome to R2R. I moved your thread over to the algae forum as you will get a better response there.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Welcome to R2R!

Few questions...

How old is the tank?
Tank size?
How many fish?
How much do you feed?
How long are your lights on?

 

[Supermario91]

Welcome to R2R!

Few questions...

How old is the tank?
Tank size?
How many fish?
How much do you feed?
How long are your lights on?

Tank size is a 40 breeder
Tank has been up for alittle over 6 months maybe more , currently have 4 fish, I feed them every other day maybe every two days, my lights are on in total about 10 hours

 

[chris k.]

Flucanzole is more for bryopsis than gha. It killed my bryopsis, however didnt do much to my gha. You need to find the reason you are getting gha, then you will be able to control it.

 

[Supermario91]

Flucanzole is more for bryopsis than gha. It killed my bryopsis, however didnt do much to my gha. You need to find the reason you are getting gha, then you will be able to control it.

I’ve gotten everything tested by two different lfs and everything comes back perfect, I have a mix between live and dead rock, I do weekly water changes about 5 gallons, I top off with rodi water, I don’t dose anything, I tried picking it off with no luck, I’ve tried algae products and nothing, emerald crabs barely do anything for me, hermits nothing, lawnmower Blenheim nothing, even my sailfin tang, well he tries but still not enough

 

[reeferfoxx]

Can you get a close up picture of the hair algar. Also what kind of rodi do you have? Do you have a TDS meter?

 

[Supermario91]

I’m currently at work I don’t have close up pics of the algae itself and I don’t have a tds meter and I get my rodi water from my lfs

this is the closest I have of the algae that’s on my phone

 

[JohnnyReef]

Turbo snails may help keep it under control while u work out whatever is causing it

 

[Leadfooted]

Start calling Local Fish Stores and find the closest that has a Seahare and two emerald crabs. That'll clean it up quick and naturally. Others can help you find the source of the issue.

 

[lazlodawg]

Here is where I bought my mine. After a week all of my bryopsis was gone completely. It has been 6 months and there has been no reaccurrance.
https://www.payless-petproducts.com...less-petproducts.com/fluconazole200.html#2691

 

[Supermario91]

Start calling Local Fish Stores and find the closest that has a Seahare and two emerald crabs. That'll clean it up quick and naturally. Others can help you find the source of the issue.

I have 6 emerald crabs and so far 3 as far as I know died out of nowhere and the emerald crabs didn’t really put a big dent into the gha

 

[Supermario91]

Turbo snails may help keep it under control while u work out whatever is causing it

How many turbo snails do you suggest for a 40 breeder?

 

[JohnnyReef]

How many turbo snails do you suggest for a 40 breeder?

I have 5 in my 45 cube so I think you’d be good with 4 or 5. They did a good job for me with my gha

 

[reeferfoxx]

I don’t have a tds meter and I get my rodi water from my lfs

It's not uncommon to receive poor water quality from a LFS. Often times they supply water to many reefers and they themselves inadvertently neglect water quality.

If you don't have proper test kits to measure no3 and po4 or you rely on your LFS to test parameters, you'll be fighting nuisance algae for a long time. Otherwise you can pick up a ATS or algae turf scrubber to offset algae growth to a confined area for easy removal. If you do have proper no3 and po4 test kits, test the water coming from the LFS. Chances are it has measureable amounts of nutrients helping fuel the algae growth.

Also, the growth in your picture isn't all that bad. A simple toothbrush can help remove most of that. Then snails will be more likely to help keep growth under control.

 

[Supermario91]

It's not uncommon to receive poor water quality from a LFS. Often times they supply water to many reefers and they themselves inadvertently neglect water quality.

If you don't have proper test kits to measure no3 and po4 or you rely on your LFS to test parameters, you'll be fighting nuisance algae for a long time. Otherwise you can pick up a ATS or algae turf scrubber to offset algae growth to a confined area for easy removal. If you do have proper no3 and po4 test kits, test the water coming from the LFS. Chances are it has measureable amounts of nutrients helping fuel the algae growth.

Also, the growth in your picture isn't all that bad. A simple toothbrush can help remove most of that. Then snails will be more likely to help keep growth under control.

That’s an old picture I don’t have any recent ones but it’s a lot worse then that, ima have to start testing the water because they get filtered ocean water so idk if that means anything or not, I’ve been a freshwater guy for 10+ years and I’ve only been with saltwater for less then a year

 

[Supermario91]

I have 5 in my 45 cube so I think you’d be good with 4 or 5. They did a good job for me with my gha

I have a couple turbo snails and a trochus snail and they don’t seem to put a dent in the problem

 

[reeferfoxx]

That’s an old picture I don’t have any recent ones but it’s a lot worse then that, ima have to start testing the water because they get filtered ocean water so idk if that means anything or not, I’ve been a freshwater guy for 10+ years and I’ve only been with saltwater for less then a year

Welcome to the dark side!

If you are familiar with with co2 injected planted tanks, this is similar if not easier. Initial cost is absurd but eventually settles down and becomes easier on the wallet. Much like anything else in life, depending on someone else isn't always the answer. Salifert test kits in the Ca, Alk, Mg, NO3, and pH are perfectly acceptable. Avoid the Salifert PO4. Hanna Checker (ULR) Phosphorus checker for po4 is/should be the standard in accurate po4 readings.

Bulk Reef Supply provides RO/DI units at an affordable cost. For my 30 gallon, I replace ro/di filters once a year with weekly 2.5-5 gallon water changes.

I have a couple turbo snails and a trochus snail and they don’t seem to put a dent in the problem

Snails don't like bush. They like small nubs.

 

[Supermario91]

Welcome to the dark side!

If you are familiar with with co2 injected planted tanks, this is similar if not easier. Initial cost is absurd but eventually settles down and becomes easier on the wallet. Much like anything else in life, depending on someone else isn't always the answer. Salifert test kits in the Ca, Alk, Mg, NO3, and pH are perfectly acceptable. Avoid the Salifert PO4. Hanna Checker (ULR) Phosphorus checker for po4 is/should be the standard in accurate po4 readings.

Bulk Reef Supply provides RO/DI units at an affordable cost. For my 30 gallon, I replace ro/di filters once a year with weekly 2.5-5 gallon water changes.


Snails don't like bush. They like small nubs.

So pretty much just cut the algae smaller and the snails can take care of it

 

[Supermario91]

So pretty much just cut the algae smaller and the snails can take care of it

I’ve looked into an ro/di system I just haven’t bought it yet, I’ve done co2 planted tanks and had success with it but got bored so I broke it down and now I have a saltwater reef, I still have freshwater tanks but more simple with bigger fish, I need a good test kit and a Hanna checker also just haven’t pushed myself to get it