Green Hair Algae HELP !

[shortbusldtang]

So my phospates are @ 1 I know this is probably the reason but i wanted some expert opinions. THis algae has taken over my tank. I have to seriously scrub my rock for like an hour each month to keep my tank looking good. Should I get a phos reactor with product to reduce phospates? Run it and shut my lights off for a few days? . I do have some xenias and colts but told it would be ok. Told to buy the phos reactor to reduce. Turn my light off for three days then run the light for only two hours a day for another week after to help kill off the algae and give my tangs a chance to trim it away> ? Will it come back though? Whats my best option. This stuff is taking my tank over. Stinks to have a lot of hard work in your tank and this happens

 

[oneradtek]

well before you fix the algae problem, why did the problem start? you said your po4 are threw the roof, but why? running a protein skimmer? are you overfeeding? Using rodi water?
yes po4 removal media will help, along with a massive water change. shorten photo period, reduce feeding. it wont happen overnight, but with these techniques you should get it under control. when u do water changes, try to suck out as much ass you can, try bringin rocks out and scrubbing them. Just do alot of water changes, maybe one every other day. in a few weeks, if you see a reduction, then your ont eh right track. If all else fails, tear the tank down and start from scratch. It will not be fun, but in the end it might be alot easier to restart the system and make sure the po4 and algae bloom never happens again

 

[kendon91]

Also, what kind of lights are you running, how old are the bulbs, and how many hours are you running your lights, as well as how much sunlight (direct and indirect) are is your tank getting?

 

[bmkj02]

All of the above is right. I was having problem BIG time. I could braid this green hair algae. I got a GFO reactor from Bulkreefsupplies, major water changes and shorten my light timer and it cleared up

 

[asharp13]

all of this is good advice. i had a battle on my hands a couple months ago. check out my diary:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/365436/asharp13s-24gal-reef-diary
in it is a link to my algae thread.
my recommendations include these:
-use good water. RODI best, RO good, tap BAD!!!!
-keep scrubbing and do water changes...lots!!!
-boost your CUC, hermits, emeralds, snails etc. i got 3 emeralds to fight this in my 24gal nano. ***CAUTION: when algae starts to subside, emeralds will get big and mean. remove them before they starting eating stuff you dont want them to...like my new zoa frag!!!
-cut your lighting cycle back, replace your bulbs.
-refugiums are good cause the macro algae in them battle the DT algae for phosphates and other nutrients.
-cut back on feeding
-replace partial portion of sand bed. do NO more than half and do it cautiously becasue this may cause problems.
-for the killer blow, kill your lights for 2-3 days. wrap your tank in something so that absolutely no light gets in. this wont harm your corals or fish so dont worry but dont do this more than once a month. when you unwrap your tank, get ready, most algae will have died off and lost most of its color. you must then scrub all the dead stuff off and suck it out with a major water change. this is what really did it for me!!!
GOOD LUCK and take your time. the algae will subside eventually so dont do anything crazy