Green hair algae

[Fry1992]

Hi all, any tips on getting rid of green hair algae ? Been battling it for a few months now and not making much of a dent. It came I during the "ugly" stage of setting the tank up. Nitrates and Phosphate measure low but probably stuck up in the Algae. I've brought a tailspot blenny and emerald crab to try and help but they've not made much of a dent. Currently doing bi weekly changes and picking some of the algae off every day. Can't take the rock out as it has a mushroom and torch glued to it.

Any help/suggestions would be great.

Cheers

George (uk based)

 

[jeffchapok]

Pull out as much as you can by hand. CUC won't touch it once it gets long. Blast what you can't reach with boiling tank water from a turkey baster. Add some turbo snails and urchins. They are the only CUC that I've seen make a meaningful dent in GHA.

I advocate exhausting all natural solutions before resorting to adding chemicals.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Every time you do a water change, manually remove as much as you can. As the tank stabilizes it will slow down. Hermits and snails do wonders but only if it’s been shortened enough.

 

[Fry1992]

Are urchins alright in small tanks with corals or do they just pick them up ? Anything better to scrub with than a standard toothbrush?

 

[jmichaelh7]

Clean up crew will handle this. Worst case scenario reeflux will remove in 10 days

hey it’s easier than Dino! That’s all I can say.

 

[Quietman]

GHA is a very efficient nutrient consumer and will do so at higher rates than most anything else in your tank (except cyano/bacteria).

Margarita snails are reputed to munch on GHA results vary though.

I have noticed that when I use my lanthanum chloride to knock down phosphates it's easier to remove a day or two later.

I'm starting up an ATS now to deal with mine to out compete DT. There are other tools - refugiums, carbon dosing that work well too. Other than that - manual removal is the order of the day.