Red Hair Algae growing and cyano coming back

[Jhoekstra84]

Hi - I have a red hair algae that I can seem to get rid of. I run my lights from 2-9pm every day. Also I noticed that I am having some cyano returning as well - am assuming my nitrates are a bit high, but I haven't tested them lately. The guy at my LFS suggested that I pick up a Sally lightfoot crab, which I did about 2 weeks ago. I am only seeing the algae grow... I am considering a 3 day black out. Any thoughts?

 

[Cthulukelele]

Getting rid of red turf algae is rough. Most fish hate the taste. Manual removal is challenging. Rabbitfish are usually into it but also sometimes develop a taste for softies and lps (which you seem to like). What fish/cuc are currently in the tank? Pincushion and halloween urchins are usually pretty good for hair and turf algae, but they are bulldozers. Turbo snails are also an option with the same downside.

 

[Jhoekstra84]

Problem is I have a small tank - EVO 13.5
I have thought about a turbo just to deal with the issue.

 

[Cthulukelele]

A Sally Lightfoot is a terrible idea in a tank that size. Full grown will be big enough to snack on pretty much any fish that fits in a 13.5 gallon. Shame on lfs employee

 

[Jhoekstra84]

A Sally Lightfoot is a terrible idea in a tank that size. Full grown will be big enough to snack on pretty much any fish that fits in a 13.5 gallon. Shame on lfs employee

It’s a very small one…

 

[Cthulukelele]

It’s a very small one…

They start small, but they grow quite fast usually.

 

[The Dude Abides]

I found similar thread which suggested using Aiptasia X, worked great for me.