Losing my patience with algae!

[jsnide925]

I have a 75 gal reef ready corner overflow with 40 gal fuge. I run a classic 150int reef octopus and a phosphate reactor. I have about 65lbs of live rock and a shallow sand bed. I have my own RO/DI. I do weekly water changes, all my parameters check good except nitrates are a little high. My problem is I am still struggling with green hair algae. I pick it all out and even scrub the rocks when needed and it just comes right back. I only have one fish at the moment and I do not overfeed and remove any leftover food. I've tested my RO water before water changes and phosphates and nitrates both read 0ppm. I have plenty of flow with hardly any dead spots. The tank is roughly 10 months old. Does anyone have any input on this? I cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong and I'm starting to get VERY frustrated! Please help! Thanks

 

[Brew12]

I have a 75 gal reef ready corner overflow with 40 gal fuge. I run a classic 150int reef octopus and a phosphate reactor. I have about 65lbs of live rock and a shallow sand bed. I have my own RO/DI. I do weekly water changes, all my parameters check good except nitrates are a little high. My problem is I am still struggling with green hair algae. I pick it all out and even scrub the rocks when needed and it just comes right back. I only have one fish at the moment and I do not overfeed and remove any leftover food. I've tested my RO water before water changes and phosphates and nitrates both read 0ppm. I have plenty of flow with hardly any dead spots. The tank is roughly 10 months old. Does anyone have any input on this? I cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong and I'm starting to get VERY frustrated! Please help! Thanks

I'm not sure you are doing anything wrong. A healthy reef has hair algae growing all over it. They just also happen to have plenty of critters and fish that eat the hair algae. Have you thought about adding a lawnmower blenny?

There are ways to reduce your waters nutrients to keep hair algae from growing that others more experience than myself can help you with.

 

[G8trBait16]

I had the same issue on my 75g with 30g sump. It was bad, it is starting to subside now. I manually dose 11ml of Hydrogen Peroxide 3% in the morning before the lights come on 7am and at 10pm when all light go off. I am on the 9th day of it and all my GHA went from green to brown, now to translucent/dead. I have just been manually removing it/blasting with turkey baster for Purple tang to catch and eat.

 

[Jack Eskay]

Red Sea makes a bottle called like po4 or something like that the should solve your problem

 

[Jack Eskay]

http://www.redseafish.com/reef-care-program/algae-management-program/no3po4-x/

 

[TheEngineer]

I haven't personally used one, but I like the idea of algae turf scrubbers. Rather than fighting the algae, you grow it where you want it.

 

[jasonb87]

I beat mine (96% gone so far) by bi monthly water changes, wet skimming, added GFO, added ATS, syphoon it put with water changes and keeping it off the back glass and over flow, also covered my over flow in black acrylic to keep algea from growing in there. lastly i took out what rocks i could (little at a time) sprayed them with 75%H2O2 and 25%water mix. Let it soak for about 5 minutes and put the rock back in the tank. I have a few spots left where i cant get the rock out.

 

[pelphrey]

When is the last time you changed your RODI filters? I keep a handheld TDS meter just to double check the TDS meter on my RODI. I ran into some GHA a few months back and I finally attributed it exhausted RODI filters.