Green Hair Algae

[Kolby’s Reef]

Hello I have bad green hair algae and I want to get rid of it before it spreads more. My nutrients are now low and I was wondering if I can take scissors and cut it up?

 

[EmdeReef]

Hello I have bad green hair algae and I want to get rid of it before it spreads more. My nutrients are now low and I was wondering if I can take scissors and cut it up?

Mechanical removal works, don’t see why not use the scissors but make sure to rinse after use and dry with a paper towel or will quickly rust.

 

[Derek siskey]

It will be easier to let the algae grow long enough to just pick off with your fingers and pull up the base or you will be just trimming it down with scissors but it will still be there but shorter

 

[Darth.Daddy12]

Hello I have bad green hair algae and I want to get rid of it before it spreads more. My nutrients are now low and I was wondering if I can take scissors and cut it up?

Easiest way for an emergency type posting is to blacknoit the tank for 72h and increase macro lighting to 24/7 during that time. Let the macro starve the algae of nutrients while the display has no lighting to uptake the nutrients. It’s really that simple.

 

[Darth.Daddy12]

Easiest way for an emergency type posting is to blacknoit the tank for 72h and increase macro lighting to 24/7 during that time. Let the macro starve the algae of nutrients while the display has no lighting to uptake the nutrients. It’s really that simple.

If you don’t have macro setup then 72h blackout and Chemiclean.. just make sure to position powerheads towards surface during this time as o2 will drop. And or increase skim to a wet skin to keep o2 levels up..

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

Easiest way for an emergency type posting is to blacknoit the tank for 72h and increase macro lighting to 24/7 during that time. Let the macro starve the algae of nutrients while the display has no lighting to uptake the nutrients. It’s really that simple.

Alright so leave my refugium light on 24/7 during my blackout period for the display? I have chaeto on my refugium and some live rock but I was wondering how this will cause the green hair algae to go away?

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

Alright so leave my refugium light on 24/7 during my blackout period for the display? I have chaeto on my refugium and some live rock but I was wondering how this will cause the green hair algae to go away?

Also will it just die out? or will I have to pick it off or what?

 

[scabbedwings616]

Cover it with a tarp and turn the lights on your refugium. No need for chemicals to be added. Just make sure your skimmer is going and you will be fine. Still feed the fish in there even though they will be fine. Still have to take care of the fish!

 

[Darth.Daddy12]

What scab said.. black the tank with black trash bag, feed the fish like always, keep fuge lights running 24/7 and if you can increase flow through fuge if this is substantially more lighting then normal.. my fuges run 20h anyways with much higher flows then most to start.. flow and lighting go hand in hand with macro.. I like to run as full flow and full lighting 24/7 then reduce lighting as needed later to keep macro from burning up.. never actually seen this happen lol. Then reduce lighting to suit nutrient needs.. if you have high powe five lighting youlll need more flow.. if you have cheap lighting you’ll need more lighting.

All that said.. yes black tank for 72h crank flow and crank fuge lighting of you can.. after blackout.. you might need to use a toothbrush to remove white dead algae where it was thicker then normal.. while doing this keep flow maxed so it gets taken out by filtration. It it was moderate you’ll just see no more algea anywhwre sr all like it was never there..

From this point forward I would keep fuge lighting at 20h min.. only reduce when macro is looking yellowish or brownish. You will be trimming macro every week but your tank will be stable. If you have enough flow to fuge macro doesn’t need a resting period like people think. My fuge on my nano has 30x flow for tank and as such it runs 24/7 lighting unless corals show signs nutrients are too low.

Imop where much advice and people get started wrong is a fuge should run 24/7 u till it has to be less from lack of nutrients. Unless you’re using low flow fuge and 300w fuge lighting you can do this no issues.

My freshwater tables with scrubbers are running 24/7 lighting as in my saltwater tanks.. out of 7 systems I only have one that needs to have less lighting and flow cause of lower nutrients in the system.. long as there is algae there is plenty of nutrients to feed macro even when it doesn’t show on testing..

 

[LesPoissons]

I had gha in low nutrient tank. Fought it for almost a year. Tried everything. EVERYTHING. Peroxide scrubs, black outs, increased water changes, tang slugs urchins, doubling cuc, etc. Then I bought into the hype and bought a bottle of vibrant for about 20$, Its bacteria, not a chemical, 0 affect on skimmer, reef, inverts etc. Started melting my gha away in a couple weeks.

 

[tgrick]

I'm not sure a blackout really works to be honest. I've taken rock out of the tank and placed them in a dark container for week and the hair algae is still there. Perhaps easier to remove but it's alive and well. I think more flow through the fuse is a great idea. I do not like chemicals but vibrant looks interesting as it's more natural? I allow my hair algae to grow a bit and then use forceps to remove the algae. I place silicone tubing on the ends to get a really good seal. Works well. Lastly perhaps the addition of iron supplements to give the macro algae a better foothold.

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

I had gha in low nutrient tank. Fought it for almost a year. Tried everything. EVERYTHING. Peroxide scrubs, black outs, increased water changes, tang slugs urchins, doubling cuc, etc. Then I bought into the hype and bought a bottle of vibrant for about 20$, Its bacteria, not a chemical, 0 affect on skimmer, reef, inverts etc. Started melting my gha away in a couple weeks.

Is this it???

 

[LesPoissons]

Yes. A bottle has treated my 220g 6 doses so far. You dont use much. I had a lot or gha. I dosed 1x a week for 2 weeks. The algae was slowly going away. I upped it to 2 doses a week for 2 more weeks and after that gha is almost completely gone.

 

[LesPoissons]

There is also a vibrant thread on R2R w questions answered by the manufacturer if you want more info on it. I cant link it for some reason but you can search for it.