Hair Algae Invasion. NEED HELP

[BG107]

Hello everyone, hair algae is literally covering my entire live rock. I have purchased a seachem product to get rid of phosphates and have done several water changes. Would taking out all the live rock and scrubbing off all the algae be a good idea? I want to do this and then lower the light for a few days but was worried that taking out the live rock could be bad. Is it okay to do to clean? Thank you for your help!

 

[andrewey]

Yup- that's perfectly fine. I would take out one rock at a time, scrub it with a toothbrush and rinse it vigorously with sacrificial saltwater. That should help to remove a ton of the mass of hair algae- after that there are some steps to get rid of the remaining hair algae and get your nutrients/light in line so it eventually diminishes over a few months.

Check out this video when you get the chance:

 

[BG107]

Thank you so much! I watched it and learned a lot!

 

[Woodenbark]

I have the same issue with the green hair algae infestation of my tank. I have a sea hare, lawnmower blenny and some emerald crabs that have helped keep it balanced and in line

 

[Woodenbark]

Heres my sea hare getting some work in on some GHA.

 

[joe2]

Are you using RODI water for the tank or tap water? Never use tap water. Also I wouldn't even bother removing them and scrubbing them...the stuff grows so fast it will come right back. You can get a lot of emerald crabs and they might get rid of it quickly. Also hermits, large Mexican turbo snails, urchins, lawnmower Blenny. Lastly, a product on Amazon called Vibrant tends to help.