Not another Green hair algae thread :(

[Treefer32]

So, I thought I built my 350 right. It's 18 months old, has 15 fish, and feed moderately homemade foods with aminos in the frozen food. I usually feed a little more than the fish eat. I've got a Nu-Clear cannister filter (25 micron) - I have no filter socks other than the filter.

A Turbo Aquatics L4 ATS, a Diablo DC skimmer rated at 500 gallons and do 2 x 10% water changes a month. My Nitrates have routinely tested at 12-16 with red sea pro nitrate test kit. I haven't tested Phosphates in a while.

I'm noticing the right side of my tank grows in bright green tufts of hair algae in pockets. Then, after it's just around half inch long it tends to turn brown / gray. I usually spray a lot of it off using a turkey baster, it detaches fairly easily I wait for my overflow screens to catch it and pull it out of the water that way. What I don't get my canister filter probably gets. That takes care of the 60% that I can get off. The rest continues to die and eventually detaches. Then Next month it grows back and I start the process all over again. The scrubber fills with hair algae every 5-6 days (Solidly covered and to the point of nearly plugging the backup drain).

The left side of the tank has a few rocks with a few tufts, but otherwise stays fairly clean. It's a fairly obvious and clear divide. If it was something wrong with the water I would expect this to be tank wide...

I have an MP 40 on the left side on the back of the tank pointing towards the front (3 foot wide tank) and a skimz S18 (5000 gph) powerhead pointing left to right.

On the right side I have no MP40 or any powerhead pointing back to front, just another Skimz S18 pointing right to left.

Before I spend $700 purchasing two more MP40s one in the middle pointing back to front and one on the right pointing back to front, is flow truly the issue here. The only other issue I can think of is the rocks on the right sad trapped more nutrients (it's all old rocks from a previous tank from a few years ago) than the rocks on the left. That seems silly to me because pretty much all the rocks have been in the same water the same amount of time in historical smaller tanks. Flow seems to be the question, but, I wish I could prove it or understood the chemistry of why less flow on one side would equate more hair algae? I thought hair algae liked flow?

 

[Reefer5640]

Personally I would really want to know your phosphate level while questioning an algae problem. Rather than buying new mp40’s for $700 you could buy a Hanna or at least have the lfs test your water. Is this a reef tank? Nitrates are a little high for a reef tank depending on what you’re keeping. I do know guys that keep nitrates between 10-15 so that’s not to say it’s necessarily a problem, just on the higher end of what I consider safe but I keep a mixed reef heavy on the sps side. If you were keeping softies I’d say that’s a different story. You could add a cheap ac power head on the back right side or see if someone local could lone you an mp40 to see if it makes a difference for a couple weeks. I have a couple older ones I’m selling if you were in Utah I’d let you borrow them. Also just a thought. I have dealt with lots of different kinds of hair algae, some that seem to grow more in high flow and some in low. Sounds like you’re fighting it off at least though to hear that it’s breaking down fairly quickly rather than claiming more real estate.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don't think flow itself is the issue, but availability of nutrients.

 

[Treefer32]

So, what I think is happening, correct me if I'm wrong, is the algae reaches critical mass of available nutrients. setions start dieing off, I clean off a bunch. Nutrients are released from the dieing algae faster than the scrubber can consume, and new algae starts growing.

I don't quite know the relationship between flow and nutrient export. My basic understanding is water flow keeps nutrients suspended and enables them to move to the export systems (the sump).

I've got a total of 15 fish, pretty light stocking. So, is the excess available nutrients simply the algae growing dieing growing dieing? If so, wouldn't the scrubber eventually exhaust the nutrient supply?

As to corals, I have a mix of soft, LPS and SPS. Several colonies of Acans, euphillia, duncans, Elegance, and a few Acros. The Acros are growing the fastest out of all the corals. I saw one of my hammers has 5-6 new heads growing out of a head that died. The other 5 heads on the hammerare doing great. I have a green plate coral that is 2-3 times diameter what it was 8 months ago.

Alk is steady at 8.4, Calcium at 450, salinity maintained at 1.025 and temp at 77-78.5. I have fish that constantly dig up the sand, so, I don't know if that releases nutrients as well?

I feel like at 18 months I shouldn't be seeing much algae grow. The only item I'm not confident on is having enough flow to export nutrients to the sump.

I'm going to switch to weekly 10% water changes instead of every other week to improve the exporting process. I would think my scrubber is exporting a lot as well. It's a softball sized ball of Hair algae every 6 days.

 

[Dan_P]

The left side of the tank has a few rocks with a few tufts, but otherwise stays fairly clean. It's a fairly obvious and clear divide. If it was something wrong with the water I would expect this to be tank wide...

Your algae issues stimulated some ideas.

You will never figure out why the algae is growing on one side of the aquarium. Get rid of the stuff (see below) and enjoy the aquarium.

Are you sure you are observing hair algae growth? Always a very good idea to get the diagnosis right, that’s all.

Algae exists in an aquarium because it is not being eaten. That’s it. There really isn’t any need to worry about flow or chemistry parameters if the flow and water chemistry meet the needs of the fish and coral inhabitants. Buy some hungry snails or some other creature and be done with algae issues. Buy enough though and acclimate them with the care you would a coral or prize fish. Keep in mind, that what you buy to eat algae will need to be fed once the aquarium is cleared. These creatures are not going to survive scratching at clean rocks.

Water chemistry rarely accounts for the presence nuisance benthic organisms. For every story about algae or dinoflagellates showing up because of nitrate and phosphate levels, there is an aquarium with the same nitrate and phosphate levels without dinoflagellates and algae issues whose iwner is not posting on this site. Your example of algae growing on one side of the aquarium is a good example of a problem that has nothing to do with the water chemistry.

Wish you luck!

Dan

 

[Treefer32]

Your algae issues stimulated some ideas.

You will never figure out why the algae is growing on one side of the aquarium. Get rid of the stuff (see below) and enjoy the aquarium.

Are you sure you are observing hair algae growth? Always a very good idea to get the diagnosis right, that’s all.

Algae exists in an aquarium because it is not being eaten. That’s it. There really isn’t any need to worry about flow or chemistry parameters if the flow and water chemistry meet the needs of the fish and coral inhabitants. Buy some hungry snails or some other creature and be done with algae issues. Buy enough though and acclimate them with the care you would a coral or prize fish. Keep in mind, that what you buy to eat algae will need to be fed once the aquarium is cleared. These creatures are not going to survive scratching at clean rocks.

Water chemistry rarely accounts for the presence nuisance benthic organisms. For every story about algae or dinoflagellates showing up because of nitrate and phosphate levels, there is an aquarium with the same nitrate and phosphate levels without dinoflagellates and algae issues whose iwner is not posting on this site. Your example of algae growing on one side of the aquarium is a good example of a problem that has nothing to do with the water chemistry.

Wish you luck!

Dan

I've got two massive turbo snails. They're huge. Their shells close to 2-3 inches in diameter. They love eating the fuzzy algae off the black glass. They spend time hanging upside down cleaning the bottom of my shelf rock (where no algae is.) They climb pretty much every piece of equipment I have in the tank eating algae... They won't eat the algae that grows on the right side though. Rarely do I see them climbing those rocks. Only the glass, equipment and the large 2 foot shelf rock I have. The fish won't attack the algae on the right side, I have three tangs and none will touch the algae, they'll attack nori like it's a monster. But, nope, none of this algae. So, finding the right thing to eat it would be time wasted.

In all my years of having a reef tank. I've battled hair algae a lot and few critters eat it, which is why it's such an issue. I'll have to hope that it dies off and stays dead this time I guess. I wish buying critters were an option. I have asterinas, large 1-1.5 year old snails, and tangs. Plus, the other day I found a serpent starfish. I have vast amounts of sponges. I feel like everything is going right for an 18 month old tank. Other than some patches of algae.

 

[Johniejumbo]

If tangs and snails aren’t cutting it, personally I would add a long spine or pincushion urchin to that size tank.

 

[Treefer32]

Here's a few examples. It's not a ton, but just enough to be annoying. Takes away from the surrounding corals.

 

[Dan_P]

I've got two massive turbo snails. They're huge. Their shells close to 2-3 inches in diameter. They love eating the fuzzy algae off the black glass. They spend time hanging upside down cleaning the bottom of my shelf rock (where no algae is.) They climb pretty much every piece of equipment I have in the tank eating algae... They won't eat the algae that grows on the right side though. Rarely do I see them climbing those rocks. Only the glass, equipment and the large 2 foot shelf rock I have. The fish won't attack the algae on the right side, I have three tangs and none will touch the algae, they'll attack nori like it's a monster. But, nope, none of this algae. So, finding the right thing to eat it would be time wasted.

In all my years of having a reef tank. I've battled hair algae a lot and few critters eat it, which is why it's such an issue. I'll have to hope that it dies off and stays dead this time I guess. I wish buying critters were an option. I have asterinas, large 1-1.5 year old snails, and tangs. Plus, the other day I found a serpent starfish. I have vast amounts of sponges. I feel like everything is going right for an 18 month old tank. Other than some patches of algae.

I bought 15 Mexican turbos, a bit smaller than golf ball size, that stripped a 75 gallon fish only tank of all algae in a week. In 2-3 weeks every stone was completely clean and I haven’t scraped the glass since they arrived. Makes you wonder about this sucess, whether it was the number of snails, the strain of GHA or what, though these snails also consumed Caulerpa and every other macroalgae when the GHA ran out. Also, I have come upon an R2R reefer who lowered his system’s temperature, with the result of increasing the appetite of the snails.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that I now to have to feed the snails.

 

[Treefer32]

I bought 15 Mexican turbos, a bit smaller than golf ball size, that stripped a 75 gallon fish only tank of all algae in a week. In 2-3 weeks every stone was completely clean and I haven’t scraped the glass since they arrived. Makes you wonder about this sucess, whether it was the number of snails, the strain of GHA or what, though these snails also consumed Caulerpa and every other macroalgae when the GHA ran out. Also, I have come upon an R2R reefer who lowered his system’s temperature, with the result of increasing the appetite of the snails.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that I now to have to feed the snails.

That's awesome. I suspect I have more than two, but, they're so big they stick out. I've never really invested in CUCs. I have in the past, but, the snails live for a while then die or they reproduce and die off, and don't really eat anything useful. I know turbo's are good. Probably should invest in more. I fear they'll become food for my dragon wrasse. He likes picking up things and flips them over.