Hair algae emergency!!

[tjbrownie]

Gobs and gobs of hair algae is growing in my tank, its growth has slowed down but I don’t know how to get rid of it. Especially the Zoas I have coated in a grass of algae I don’t know how to safely remove. Please advise me!

Also worried about this trumpet coral, it’s been kinda shriveled up lately it seems to be splitting but ‍

 

[mdb_talon]

A good clean up crew if you don't have one is good. Would start with manual removal as much as possible. By hand, with tweezers, etc. Then when you got the big clumps use a hard bristle toothbrush or similar and scrub. At same time(nice to have a helper for this) siphon what u scraping lose into a filter sock in a 5g bucket. As bucket fills out back in tank and repeat. I say this because it looks like an AIO....if it has a sump just siphon into a sock in your sump as you scrub.

 

[mehaffydr]

Hair Algae is not really an emergency but does need to be delt with. Just like any plant this algea needs nutrients to grow.
So to start with
1. are you feeding heavy
2. Do you have a skimmer
3. Have you tested Nitrates and Phosphate
4. Do you have clean up crew
5 You can manually remove but you will need to get down to the root cause or it will just return like weeds in your yard.

Do more research on R2R and you will get a better understanding of the problem and how to deal with it

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Gobs and gobs of hair algae is growing in my tank, its growth has slowed down but I don’t know how to get rid of it. Especially the Zoas I have coated in a grass of algae I don’t know how to safely remove. Please advise me!

Also worried about this trumpet coral, it’s been kinda shriveled up lately it seems to be splitting but ‍

So, trumpet coral then hair algae.

Are you feeding your trumpet/candy cane? I've found mine LOVES to be fed, definately after hours when its feelers come out, but also during day if I put tiny pellets or very very finely chopped up thawed foods (have to have pumps off so food doesn't float off... night time is better so fish don't steal its food. Mine has so many heads in the colony its bigger than a softball, but it only got that way from targetted feedings. You can also mix Reef Roids or any of those other powders into thick paste, but then I had problems getting the paste to hold together all the way down to my trumpet colony (which was down to just a few heads).

Hair algae. Every water change, pull out the rocks, scrub them, rinse them with old tank water (you were tossing it out anyhow) and put the rocks back in. I found toothbrush too soft, scrub brush head too big, and so using a scrub brush's stolen bristles cut off with an exacto knife, I made my own flexible scrub brush. Scrub, scrub, scrub.

Light, nitrate and phosphates are fuel for green hair algae. Eliminate natural sunlight and figure out what you can do to reduce your nitrate and phosphate numbers.

In time, you WILL get to the other side of this.

Hang in there!

 

[tjbrownie]

Hair Algae is not really an emergency but does need to be delt with. Just like any plant this algea needs nutrients to grow.
So to start with
1. are you feeding heavy
2. Do you have a skimmer
3. Have you tested Nitrates and Phosphate
4. Do you have clean up crew
5 You can manually remove but you will need to get down to the root cause or it will just return like weeds in your yard.

Do more research on R2R and you will get a better understanding of the problem and how to deal with it

I feed once a day around 6 in a medium sized amount. I have a slimmer. I tested nitrate recently, phosphate I ran out of reagent I need more reagent. I have multiple trochus snails, one pincushion urchin that is abosoltely demolishing a lot of it and 2 emerald crabs.
Thanks for the advice I will get right on it

 

[tjbrownie]

A good clean up crew if you don't have one is good. Would start with manual removal as much as possible. By hand, with tweezers, etc. Then when you got the big clumps use a hard bristle toothbrush or similar and scrub. At same time(nice to have a helper for this) siphon what u scraping lose into a filter sock in a 5g bucket. As bucket fills out back in tank and repeat. I say this because it looks like an AIO....if it has a sump just siphon into a sock in your sump as you scrub.

Thank you this is amazing advice!! It is an AIO system. I have a cleanup crew 1 pincushion urchin, trochus snails, nassarius snails, 2 emerald crabs.

 

[mdb_talon]

So, trumpet coral then hair algae.

Are you feeding your trumpet/candy cane? I've found mine LOVES to be fed, definately after hours when its feelers come out, but also during day if I put tiny pellets or very very finely chopped up thawed foods (have to have pumps off so food doesn't float off... night time is better so fish don't steal its food. Mine has so many heads in the colony its bigger than a softball, but it only got that way from targetted feedings. You can also mix Reef Roids or any of those other powders into thick paste, but then I had problems getting the paste to hold together all the way down to my trumpet colony (which was down to just a few heads).

Hair algae. Every water change, pull out the rocks, scrub them, rinse them with old tank water (you were tossing it out anyhow) and put the rocks back in. I found toothbrush too soft, scrub brush head too big, and so using a scrub brush's stolen bristles cut off with an exacto knife, I made my own flexible scrub brush. Scrub, scrub, scrub.

Light, nitrate and phosphates are fuel for green hair algae. Eliminate natural sunlight and figure out what you can do to reduce your nitrate and phosphate numbers.

In time, you WILL get to the other side of this.

Hang in there!

Haha love the ingenuity. I use gun cleaning brushes(nylon bristled) myself.