Green Hair Algae

[TerribleTanks4Me]

Help! I have been fighting what I’m certain is Green Hair Algae for weeks on end. I was told to brush all the algae off and do water changes and all of the sudden it took off (which is why we determined some form of GHA). I have been battling it and have had horrible results to the point I’m thinking about starting over.

How do I get rid of it, or if I do start over how do I go about the process? I have a 32 BioCube that’s been set up for over a year. Every time I go to the fish store they tell me I need something different and frankly I don’t have the money to drop $300 every month to not solve the problem. I’m almost to the point I want to sell the little tank and start my 110 gallon system.

Any help would be great!

 

[Dennco2000]

Need more info, type of light, duration, nitrates, phosphates? 1 year old tank you should have a good cycle by now. Post a pic

 

[TerribleTanks4Me]

Lighting is on from 10am-8pm with a ramp up and down and full daylight from 11-7. Phosphates were at 1 and nitrates were almost un readable. I’ve been told that the algae masks the readings but I’ve done it multiple times and come up within minimal amounts difference. Ammonia is zero as well and feeding is every 3 days roughly. Let me know if you need anything else! Thanks!

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Read the threads on here about dosing H2O2 daily to fight GHA. It might help you.

 

[TerribleTanks4Me]

Read the threads on here about dosing H2O2 daily to fight GHA. It might help you.

Thank you!

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and firstly welcome to R2R!

Before adding any chemicals, you need to establish the route cause of the green hair algae otherwise it will just keep coming back.

It’s generally caused by raised nutrient levels of nitrate and phosphate in particular (in my experience) and just to complicate it further, these readings can be falsely low as they are used as food by the algae to grow. So they could show zero.

What are your tank water parameters and what are you doing to control nutrient levels, water changes GFO, etc.

Also we’re is your new saltwater coming from, is it 0TDS RODI water you make yourself or is it from LFS?

 

[sikorskys]

Your problem is caused by insufficient nutrients export.

Feed less, WC more, add some snails and algae-eating fish. Fuge, NoPox or algae-scrubber will work also. You'll be fine in a three to six months period.

Chemicals may work faster, but they won't eliminate the root issue (too much nutrients in the water).

 

[laverda]

I agree with everything that has been said so far. I will add you do not have much live rock to help with processing nitrate. I would defiantly add some more. Do you have a sump? How are you removing nutrients?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Reduce daylight ir go more blue, increase clean up crew and is tank at or near a window?

 

[Retro Reefer]

First thing I would do is order this..

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/quick-crew-30-gallon

Then get yourself on a regular maintenance routine cleaning tank and doing water changes (only with 0 tds water) it’s best not to let nuisance algae get that out of control.

 

[reefwiser]

The best cleaner for hair algae is the Blue Leg Hermit crab. They will remove the algae fast. Years ago when they where first introduced to the hobby I did a group buy for my club. I had a thousand of them in a Rubber maid 100 gallon sump with a couple hundred pounds of live rock with hair algae all over it . In two days it was all gone and amazing feat.

 

[TerribleTanks4Me]

Hi and firstly welcome to R2R!

Before adding any chemicals, you need to establish the route cause of the green hair algae otherwise it will just keep coming back.

It’s generally caused by raised nutrient levels of nitrate and phosphate in particular (in my experience) and just to complicate it further, these readings can be falsely low as they are used as food by the algae to grow. So they could show zero.

What are your tank water parameters and what are you doing to control nutrient levels, water changes GFO, etc.

Also we’re is your new saltwater coming from, is it 0TDS RODI water you make yourself or is it from LFS?

I’ve been doing weekly water changes with water from a local fish store. Basically 10 gallon water changes each time as that’s what they recommended. I do have Chemipure Elite in the back and had a small protein skimmer but that went to wayside when not a single person could tell me if it was truly working properly. Basically from what I could tell it was dumping everything back into the tank. Next I was told to get a GFO for the tank but of course they didn’t have the size I needed and would have to special order it. I have used Vibrant as well but only in weekly doses. Other than that I have a ton of cleanup crews and my snails continually die off. I’m at a loss and the local store that was the best around and helped the best closed down. I appreciate your help!

 

[michael giordano]

I would just buy a bag of new sand. Bake my rocks and chemical clean them. And then restart my tank. You have a ton of hair algae. Then I would re-work my system with more flow and proper maintance (skimmer, replace socks every three days, and cut my light schedule in half)

 

[RobZilla04]

You could ditch it and start your 110g build. However if you aren't certain or able to solve the GHA problem in this 32g system, you'll likely have the same problem come back in the 110g.

Nutrient export and limited input is a good start, along with weekly water changes. Get an RODI and make water at home. Why travel to the LFS and pay gas, water, and time both ways when the RODI will pay for itself in a few months with avoided trips back and forth.

DONT go dumping tons of chemicals into the tank. Manual removal, scrubbing, and nutrient export through skimming, water changes, or a fuge. It take patience and determination!

 

[SPR1968]

The reason I asked were the new water was from is because if it isn't 0 TDS RODI water (and many LFS's don't sell it this good) everytime you do the water change your introducing more nutrients into the system and potentially making the situation worse. 0 TDS means its pure water with nothing in it and many of us make it ourselves with a RODI system.

I don't think increasing the clean up crew will make much difference as many wont touch long GHA in my experience (although @reefwiser says the blue hermit may work above) and in any case we need to find the source of the problem and then fix it otherwise the issue will just keep reappearing, whether you start a new tank or whatever. So we need to go back to the basics.

Most people use skimmers as part of their nutrient export so it should work and just needs emptying (and make sure the skimmate doesn't go back into the tank which you mention) and as far as GFO goes, this is most effective when run in a reactor. If you just drop a bag in somewhere its not going to work very well if at all.

If the snails are dying off, this may be because of some of the chemicals you have been adding.

Basically you need systems in place to remove nutrients from the tank whatever they may be.

And if your doing 10g changes at a time in a 32g system, this is likely to make the inhabitants unhappy unless the water exactly matches, which is probably wont.

 

[reefwiser]

Its not a may work they do work on hair algae. Snails do not even touch hair algae and natural methods work better long term than chemical means as they never stop eating the algae. An glean the rocks constantly of any algae after the major out break occurs. You need balance in the aquarium of export and import of nutrients and this type of algae occurs when the balance is tipped to far in one direction. You can swing the other way and cause a Dino out break that is just as bad as a hair algae one. So you must follow the coarse of action that is balanced.

 

[shollis2814]

I got burned by H2o2-well my tank did. It does work, but makes your tank more volatile if you have to adjust something like alkalinity or pH. Do your research fully before dosing peroxide. I agree with other posters that until you find the root cause (mine was sporadic overfeeding), it will only come back. Some things that have worked for me:

• I think your photoperiod is too long.
• get some bulk filter padding. Cut a strip the width of your powerhead and just long enough to wrap around. Secure with a rubber band. When you do some manual removal, this will trap some of the floating bits. Rinse as needed.
• Get a dedicated toothbrush and brush your rocks. I would tie this with a water change. Dip and brush the worst rocks with the toothbrush and rinse in old water before putting back in.
• Do a 3-day blackout. Turn off all lights, wrap your tank with black lawn garbage bags. I mean every crack. Cut them down the sides and make a big enough bag. Tape up gaps where light can get in. Don't peek for 3-days. Then you need to do a pretty big water change (like 50-75%) becuase as that algae dies off it will release the nitrates and phosphates they have been utilizing/storing.
• Nassarius snails can help plow through the substrate and keep that turned over. You might get lucky with an emerald crab that will snack on GHA. I've had some that would and some that wouldn't.
• Find why your nitrates are so high and work to reduce or this will happen again.

 

[saintsreturn]

With the level you have in the tank, restarting or moving on may be your best option. Unfortunately, you can beat this but it will take time and that is something that is difficult for most when you have invested this much already.

I tried it all, spent a fortune, and then found a member on the two sites i frequent who changed the way i think about it. So here is my take.

First and foremost, check the water for TDS. If you can, have your LFS put a small amount of RODI in a cup and test its TDS. If its anything above 0, immediately stop buying water from them. Invest in RODI system as you will need it for your future system anyway.

Next, take a clear hose and attached a toothbrush. Scrub the rocks and siphon the water out through a filter sock back into the tank. This will pull the hair algae out and keep your water stable.

Do not add anything. No magic whatever, no simple fix, no nothing. Stop the water changes. I know this goes against everything you have ever heard, but you are adding nutrients back into the tank and keeping everything unstable as you go. Let the tank stabilize.

Do this repetitively for as long as it takes. Cutting back on lights and rinsing your food with fresh RODI will help. The skimmer will export nutrients and do not let it run back into the tank. I adjusted to a wet skim and emptied mine daily. It took about 6 weeks, and now its done. I then moved it into a new tank and brought all my old rock with me. I have one piece with hair algae on it and it has never grown or spread. My emerald grabs love it and chew it daily. Its fun to watch.

Also, blue legs are great, Caribbean red crabs and emerald crabs all do work. They are especially good for keeping up the progress.

Remember, it will grow back as the tank fights with itself to find balance. The 10g water changes are far to much for that system and you are not allowing the tank to stabilize.

Lastly, feel free to start the 110. But think about it this way. If you are at the give up point with this tank, what is going to happen with this repeats itself with the new tank? Triple your cost and that is where you would have been since we do not know the source. My bet, with your livestock and light schedule, is source water.

 

[Mal11224]

I had an outbreak of GHA and I tried a bunch of things. Once I changed my rodi filters, my tank slowly got better. I think I was running it past its expiration. Also, I moved some rocks around and I think that stirred up some excess nutrients.

I tried peripoxide, which helped a little but it was not a long term solution. I also tried vibrant, which seemed to be the most effective method to killing it somewhat, but it also killed my snails.

What I finally did just out of frustration was minimize nutrients, I did not adjust my lighting schedule at all. Once I started to see the GHA turn pale, I would siphon as much as I could out of the tank manually with a turkey baster and squeezed it into a meshed filter and let the water run back into the tank. Needless to say, I did this nearly every day. Eventually the tank and rocks were rid of GHA. I did this and also made weekly water changes as well and it helped tremendously.

Wish you luck. No matter what path you take, it will not be a quick one. Will take time and work to get it out of your tank.

 

[niQo]

A tuxedo urchin is helping my tank tremendously. It might help you get rid of the excess GHA and then you can solve your nutrient issues (and possible TDS issues) as you will have a better idea what your actual values are.