Hair Algae?

[DisneyMatt10]

Hey all, I'm having a bit (okay a lot) of a problem with it what I think is hair algae in my tank. I keep testing the water, and the test results are coming back fine. . . But I can't figure out how to get rid of it. . . And it's TAKING OVER THE TANK!!!

Im not trying to grow a lawn, but it's getting so bad it needs a lawnmower to get rid of it!! Help please!!
~Matt

 

[Highgrade]

Get another test kit. Most likely a phosphate issue. How old is your tank?

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Forget about testing for now. you're most likely getting false positives. need to work on your nutrients are you over feeding? not enough water changes? vacuuming sand and sump? using 0 tds rodi water for changes and top off? how old is your tank?

 

[jaws789832]

I am no expert by any means, but your tank is basically acting like a refugium. All your readings are going to be fine because the algae is using up the nutrients so testing will be misleading. I don't see any corals in the tank so I am assuming its a fowlr tank. in which case the easiest way would be to keep your lights off and remove as much as you can by hand. I set up a tank to try and figure algae out and it got out of hand. I was dosing nitrates into it and the whole thing exploded with hair algae. I threw a few snails in it and turned out the lights and in about a month all the algae was gone. I don't think your fish will mind much as long as they get fed.

 

[DisneyMatt10]

Hey all, thanks for the feedback. I am currently working on pulling a lot of the over grown algae out of the tank, I am also transferring some of it to the refugium in the sump, since the refuigum has no algae at all. Is this a good idea?? Should a refugium have algae in it?

Need to work on your nutrients are you over feeding?

I know for sure I was over feeding. My Clowns were new, and not eating so I thought if I put more food in the tank, then maybe they'd have more to eat on. (Dumb logic I know.) However, they have since started eating well, so I am not over feeding at this point.

not enough water changes?

I do water changes once a week, and I am changing out about 10 gallon's for the entire 100 gallon system.

vacuuming sand and sump?

Vacuuming? No. I didn't know I was suppose to vacuum! I thought that's what the crabs, snails, and sand-sifting star fish were for! (Again, dumb logic I know. But I'm still new to this!) Sump, yes.

using 0 tds rodi water for changes and top off?

Yes.

how old is your tank?

It's been set up and cycling for a few several months now. Just recently added fish within the past few weeks.

I am no expert by any means, but your tank is basically acting like a refugium. All your readings are going to be fine because the algae is using up the nutrients so testing will be misleading. I don't see any corals in the tank so I am assuming its a fowlr tank. in which case the easiest way would be to keep your lights off and remove as much as you can by hand. I set up a tank to try and figure algae out and it got out of hand. I was dosing nitrates into it and the whole thing exploded with hair algae. I threw a few snails in it and turned out the lights and in about a month all the algae was gone. I don't think your fish will mind much as long as they get fed.

I do have one coral in the tank. It's hard to see in the photo, and it's a tiny coral in comparison to the entire tank. So no lights off for me! However, I am taking your advice and we are removing the majority of the algae by hand. (It's a pain in the butt. But it needs to be done.)

Again, thanks for the feedback everyone! Any advice on adding a little of the algae to the refugium is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
~Matt

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

I do not rely on inverts to keep nutrients down. in fact, they create their own waste so their benefits are quickly lost, imo.

Detritus will settle in your sand so it's good to vacuum it when you do water changes.

I don't believe you are doing big enough water changes. I would do at least 30g changes a couple times a week at first. just make sure to match the salinity and temperature so you don't shock your fish. 10% changes aren't enough to remove the excess nutrients.

Continue to pull out the algae but do NOT add it to your fuge. Save that for nice looking macro algae and not pest algae.

 

[DisneyMatt10]

^ Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I'll start vacuuming when I do my water changes, and I won't add the algae to the fuge. How do you get algae growing in the fuge??

~Matt

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Maybe a local reefer has some nice macro algae for you. the most common is chaeto (Kay-toe). the nicest looking imo is dragon's breath. just stick it in your sump and it will live off nutrients. however, it's more for maintenance purposes and it won't cure your problem.

You can also add a gfo reactor to reduce your po4, or a bio pellet reactor to reduce your no3. these reactors are good of you have constant issues with nutrient to.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Oh you would also need a light over your fuge for your macro.

 

[DisneyMatt10]

I have a light over the refugium now. It's on the opposite cycle from my Display tank. So when the display "day" lights are on, the fuge light is off, and when the display "night" lights are on, the fuge light is on. I read some where that was the best way to do it. Not sure if it is, but I figured it was worth a shot!
~Matt

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Once you have macro algae in your fuge, having the light on at night will help increase ph levels. that way you don't have a huge swing from day to night.

 

[Tmmste]

I have a light over the refugium now. It's on the opposite cycle from my Display tank. So when the display "day" lights are on, the fuge light is off, and when the display "night" lights are on, the fuge light is on. I read some where that was the best way to do it. Not sure if it is, but I figured it was worth a shot!
~Matt

I used to have hair algea, I solved it by using Diakat B in a reactor. After that remove as much as you can by hand. When your levels are good the algea will slowly decrease. Apart from that nassarius vibex / distortus snails are great for eating food that lies on your sand. After the hair algea disappewred I decided to dedicate a part of the sump for growing cheatomorpha. It works really well.. it outgrew caulerpha taxiflora and racemosa.. I use a chine led bulb e27 with gooseneck 5x 3w bridgelux leds with a big spike in the 660nm rage and a small spike at 450nm (running for 24/7.. I use kalkwasser.. so pH is always high). Now I just use a 2/3 table spoons of phosphate remover on 100 gallons.. only to make sure phosphate levels are around 0.03.. when levels exceed 0.06 I can tell by looking at the sand and glass... the sand turns a bit yellowish and I need to clean the glass more frequent.

 

[DisneyMatt10]

Well, a bit of an update. As I said before we went through and pulled out as much of the algae as possible. It's not 100% gone. But it sure looks better now:


(I know, I need to clean my glass. It's on the to do list.)

And now that I know how to handle the algae should we get another bloom of it, it will be easier to deal with early on rather than waiting till it looks like a forest.

Thanks to everyone who provided the helpful feedback!!
~Matt