Hair algae

[SlicVic]

Hi everybody,
I have my second reef tank set up and it's been cycled since Thanksgiving. First I had the common brown algae and that disappeared . But now I have HAIR ALGAE everywhere! I pull it out but it's back the next day! I was told an urchin would eat it so I got one but he does NOT eat it. I tried turning the lights out but turned them back on cuz they were just drooped and hanging over .I didn't want them to die! Here is a picture. HELP ME!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What are the nitrate and phosphate levels? You will need good test kits to track and control them. Control the feeding, feed often but not too much at once, left over food fuels algae. Blackouts do nothing if you don't address the root cause. Increase the number of snails, I see none on the glass. Also keep up the water changes, you should be doing weekly water changes and scrubbing the rocks with a toothbrush while changing water

I would suggest to replace that pump with a powerhead or wavemaker that can be pointed, and point it upwards at the water surface to agitate and help with gas exchange, lots of algae can deplete oxygen levels. Powerhead or wavemaker also puts out a wider stream of water, compared to the narrow jet stream provided by a pump.

A protein skimmer helps keep nitrate lower and helps oxygenate the water.

Your tank is still very new, it will go through algae cycles for the first 6-12 months, keep up with water changes, and control nitrate and phosphate, and your tank will get through it, Good luck

 

[dakoop]

Too much nutrient in the tank. Need nitrate and phosphate to come down. I haven't found much that eats it.

 

[SlicVic]

Thank you so much for all that information! I will keep at it! I have 3 snails, an urchin, and 5 hermits in there right now.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

lots of algae can deplete oxygen levels

How so? Oxygen is produced by photosynthesis.

 

[jda]

Urchins eat it. You just need more of them. Get more urchins, keep up the manual removal and keep the glass super clean so that they cannot eat from it (looks like you do this).

I don't know how big that tank is, but I might have 4-6 urchins and 100 astreas/ceriths in there.

While keeping waste products like nitrate and phosphate down is a good idea, algae can grow with even a small trace, or even none. Algae can get nitrogen and phosphorous from things that you cannot measure. Don't be discouraged if you drop no3 and po4 and the algae does not miss a beat - normal.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

While controlling nutrients is good advice, be sure not to bottom them out. When a tank that has a decent amount of phosphate (above, say, 0.1) gets stripped of all phosphate, it disrupts the ecosystem and can leave a niche where dinos can take over.

 

[Reef Devils]

How so? Oxygen is produced by photosynthesis.

When algal blooms die or are eaten by zooplankton, the bacteria that decomposes this organic matter lowers oxygen levels

 

[Matty Ice]

I’ve had luck with trochus snails and a Halloween urchin after manual removal and nutrient control

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

When algal blooms die or are eaten by zooplankton, the bacteria that decomposes this organic matter lowers oxygen levels

Yes, I understand that, but we're not talking about microalgae blooms, we're talking about hair algae...

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

How so? Oxygen is produced by photosynthesis.

I thought it produce oxygen in the day and consume oxygen at night. I don’t know why, must be something I read long ago. I’ll read into that further. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Roatan Reef]

How many CUCs do you have??

 

[SlicVic]

I have one urchin, 5 hermit, 1 emerald crab, and 3 troches snails .

 

[SlicVic]

Well, I took everything out and scrubbed it and put it back in! I just couldn't stand looking at it! Now I hope it doesn't come back until I get some more urchins and snails!

 

[Dburr1014]

The cause is most likely dry Rock start. You going through an ugly phase. I think if you just stay on top of it a little while longer it might go away on its own, it will help with getting a cuc.

 

[iDanCo]

I Am having severe green hair algae issues. Can not get it to go away and have to manually remove large swathes of it by hand every few weeks. is there a chemical treatment to remove it?

 

[Dburr1014]

I Am having severe green hair algae issues. Can not get it to go away and have to manually remove large swathes of it by hand every few weeks. is there a chemical treatment to remove it?

Read this through. Think hard about doing it vs not doing it. I did it as a last resort. I cannot be held responsible for your system. I am glad I did it. Need a minimum of 21 days to see impact.


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