Green hair galore!

[OlPainless]

I have a 36 gallon tank with a tidal 110 hob. Upgraded my light to a FluvalSmart marine at the beginning of the year and the green hair algae took off. I don’t have a skimmer and my nitrates tend to hover around 25-30. I’ve also turned the red light off and lowered my white light to near zero. Would a hob skimmer help? Do I have my light settings wrong? Help please.

 

[littlebeard]

Nitrates + phosphates + light = algae.
Have you looked into a clean up crew? Algae blenny?

25-30 is high. I aim for around 10 max. Skimmer will help. Water changes will help.

 

[OlPainless]

Nitrates + phosphates + light = algae.
Have you looked into a clean up crew? Algae blenny?

25-30 is high. I aim for around 10 max. Skimmer will help. Water changes will help.

I have 1 pincushion urchin, 3 or 4 blue legged and 2 scarlet hermits and a banded sea serpent. A few snails have survived the hermits.

 

[Quietman]

Competition would also help. And HOB ATS might work better than a skimmer (either would be improvement, but I'm a big fan of Algae Scrubbers). Perhaps some fast growing soft corals...sinularia, xenia (the non-pulsing branching kind).

 

[mermaid_life]

IME at this point you have to start manual removal in addition to temporary lighting adjustments and changes in waste management.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Try regular rock scrubbing with a stiff brush in a bucket with water changes. Try weekly for a few weeks.

 

[Crustaceon]

36 gallon tank = water change. It's easy to swap out 5 gallons of water every week. During the water change, siphon clumps of algae off of the rocks. You can also remove one rock at a time from the tank, scrub it with an old toothbrush in another bucket of salt water and return it to the tank after it's been cleaned. Do this and you'll probably have this beat in a month.

 

[Quietman]

Here's what I'd be cautious about...anti-algal chemicals or herbicides. It's too easy to wipe out the algae so fast there's excess nutrients which can lead to worse outbreaks (in my case dinos). Go with recommended by everyone - all work and usually need combinations. Water changes, nutrient removal equipment/systems, some livestock additiona (good luck with GHA eaters though), more corals and good algae. It'll take some time but it'll get managed. Just don't get impatient and reach for the nuclear option. Good luck!

 

[OlPainless]

Competition would also help. And HOB ATS might work better than a skimmer (either would be improvement, but I'm a big fan of Algae Scrubbers). Perhaps some fast growing soft corals...sinularia, xenia (the non-pulsing branching kind).

Help me please, whats a hob ats stand for? Do the fast growing corals eat on the nitrates to help reduce algae growth?

 

[OlPainless]

36 gallon tank = water change. It's easy to swap out 5 gallons of water every week. During the water change, siphon clumps of algae off of the rocks. You can also remove one rock at a time from the tank, scrub it with an old toothbrush in another bucket of salt water and return it to the tank after it's been cleaned. Do this and you'll probably have this beat in a month.

I try and do 5 gallons a week, some of the rocks are a little to big to easily remove. I do try and siphon them and scrub them as best I can when I do a water change.

 

[Quietman]

Help me please, whats a hob ats stand for? Do the fast growing corals eat on the nitrates to help reduce algae growth?

Hang On Back. Most sump equipment has HOB option. For example here's an HOB ATS from Santa-Monica Filtration.

 

[Crustaceon]

I try and do 5 gallons a week, some of the rocks are a little to big to easily remove. I do try and siphon them and scrub them as best I can when I do a water change.

Out of curiosity, are you using tap water + salt mix for your water changes?

 

[OlPainless]

Out of curiosity, are you using tap water + salt mix for your water changes?

rodi water from lfs

 

[OlPainless]

Order a micro skimmer and will go from there.