Green Hair algae

[dhulsey]

Hello, i need some help with green hair algae. I have a 180 gallon tank, with some live rock. it more of a fish only i have a blue spot grouper and an undiluted trigger. but i can't put any snails or crabs or any thing small for that matter to help clean up the algae. i have increased my water changes and i just bought new lights( i haven't changed yet). is there anything else i can do or put in my tank to help control the algae that wont get eaten.
thanks for the help.
PS long time hobbyist first time forum question

 

[red tiger]

Its a recurring symptom for new tanks! First we need to know a few details about your set up?
What are your water parameters?
What type of water are you using?
Do you have a phosphate reactor?
Which type of lights were you using, and how long are they on daily?

 

[xcali1985]

In all honesty you can kill your lights for a few weeks. Fish can care less. While the algae is dying off, use nitrate removing media along with phosphate removing media like ROWAPHOS.
Also bite the bullet and purchase a Hanna Instruments Phosphate checker. Really easy to check and it gives you the exact number for phosphates. With Rowaphos I saw my phosphates 1/2'd in 3 days using a 250mL container.
Do your research on both recommendations before you purchase as neither item is cheap. They worked in my case...

 

[dhulsey]

i just did a water change last night so i am going to test the water again today.
when i last checked the only thing that was on the high side was my nitrate and i believe my phosphate was starting to creep up. (Sorry i dont have any more water info at the moment) i have been using the phosband media in a sock in my sump.
i have been using RO water
Lights are PC 96 watt Daylight
and 65 watt 50/50
I run these for about 8hrs
i have been looking at a phosphate reactor but not sure which one to get.
Xcali1985- thanks ill check them out

 

[xcali1985]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dhulsey http:///t/391054/green-hair-algae#post_3466134
i just did a water change last night so i am going to test the water again today.
when i last checked the only thing that was on the high side was my nitrate and i believe my phosphate was starting to creep up. (Sorry i dont have any more water info at the moment) i have been using the phosband media in a sock in my sump.
i have been using RO water
Lights are PC 96 watt Daylight
and 65 watt 50/50
I run these for about 8hrs
i have been looking at a phosphate reactor but not sure which one to get.
Xcali1985- thanks ill check them out
I always say, asking someone to test their tank water with algae problems is a waste of time. The test will read off because the algae is consuming the nutrients. Algae is the visible sign that you have excessive nutrients in your tank.
ID the algae, find out what it needs to survive and combat those elements. A tank overrun with algae will show 0 phosphates and low nitrates as it will be consumed by the algae. So people think their tank water is "fine", in reality it's the opposite.
Best advice I can give when combating the elements is to while using removal media, also determine the source of your phosphates and high nitrates. Overfeeding, water source, type of food, brand, etc. Rinsing food in RODI water will help. But it wont eliminate them completely. It's going to happen, your going to introduce phosphates and nitrates into the tank. The only thing you can do is attempt to limit the amount by purchasing and preparing food, water, etc. properly before inserting into the tank, and providing some type of way for it to be removed, ie, Macro Algae, mechanical removal, or natural (deep sand beds).

 

[dhulsey]

ok i think i have a plan of attack now, thank you. also i wanted to convert my sump into a refugium, that would also help keep the phosphates and nitrates in check right? can you offer any tips on how much sand/mud and lighting etc, i should use?

 

[red tiger]

Someone should chime in about the refugium, I have a 4" sand bed!
Also, Are you running a skimmer, this has helped me in removing nutrients that feed the algae.
In addition, If you use frozen food, when you thaw the cube, remove the water that is in, this usually spikes phosphates. Rinse in salt water or RODI water and remove them with a brine shrimp net!

 

[scrapman]

Great info in the above posts. Thanks.
My .02 cent:
I have had a 90 gal plus 20 gal refugium for 10 years. Big bioload, lots of live rocks, a few easy corals, deep sand bed, skimmer, RO/Di water (4 gal only WC once every 3 weeks), good water movement, fluval filter just the sponge filter benefit (I wonder if it's necessary?), no phos or nitate remover stuff.
It's a great self sustaining system.
Yes, I do have some green algae coming up from time to time because I probably feed to much (just to see the fish eating and be happy!). I try to cut down on the high lighting.
I do manually pluck off most of the algae on a regular basis.
It works for me.
My talk is alive, beautiful, and pristine clear (OK.... I'm a smart ass!)

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by scrapman http:///t/391054/green-hair-algae#post_3466203
Great info in the above posts. Thanks.
My .02 cent:
I have had a 90 gal plus 20 gal refugium for 10 years. Big bioload, lots of live rocks, a few easy corals, deep sand bed, skimmer, RO/Di water (4 gal only WC once every 3 weeks), good water movement, fluval filter just the sponge filter benefit (I wonder if it's necessary?), no phos or nitate remover stuff.
It's a great self sustaining system.
Yes, I do have some green algae coming up from time to time because I probably feed to much (just to see the fish eating and be happy!). I try to cut down on the high lighting.
I do manually pluck off most of the algae on a regular basis.
It works for me.
My talk is alive, beautiful, and pristine clear (OK.... I'm a smart ass!)
Actually what you have is an established system, for you a small adjustment like just change the feeding works. Any tank uder 1 year old is going thru changes, it isn't stable. So once a nuisance algae get it's hold on a new system it's very hard to get things back on track.
Just to ..LOL...put you in your place, there are 4 stages to all fish tanks.
Stage 1 is the planning stage:
Here is the stage you are purchasing equipment and livestock...I call it the, I can't wait to see this when it's done stage.
Stage 2 is the satisfied stage (your stage):
Here is the stage where you have some joy from your tank, it's easy to adjust and fix small problems, you feel like thngs are as they should be. You maintain... and depending on how well you do that, will often lead to the next stage....the dreaded stage 3
Stage 3 is the Holy Crap, what happened, it was going so good! stage:
This is where some horrible happening has occured, the tank broke, the power failed, the fish just die, the tank is cloudy....add whatever it is that happened, that caused you to go back to stage 1....
There is a 4th stage and we hope to never get there...It's the I give up, and breaking down the tank stage.

 

[xcali1985]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/391054/green-hair-algae#post_3466239
Actually what you have is an established system, for you a small adjustment like just change the feeding works. Any tank uder 1 year old is going thru changes, it isn't stable. So once a nuisance algae get it's hold on a new system it's very hard to get things back on track.
Just to ..LOL...put you in your place, there are 4 stages to all fish tanks.
Stage 1 is the planning stage:
Here is the stage you are purchasing equipment and livestock...I call it the, I can't wait to see this when it's done stage.
Stage 2 is the satisfied stage (your stage):
Here is the stage where you have some joy from your tank, it's easy to adjust and fix small problems, you feel like thngs are as they should be. You maintain... and depending on how well you do that, will often lead to the next stage....the dreaded stage 3
Stage 3 is the Holy Crap, what happened, it was going so good! stage:
This is where some horrible happening has occured, the tank broke, the power failed, the fish just die, the tank is cloudy....add whatever it is that happened, that caused you to go back to stage 1....
There is a 4th stage and we hope to never get there...It's the I give up, and breaking down the tank stage.
Hopefully its purchasing a bigger tank that takes you back to stage 1.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcali1985 http:///t/391054/green-hair-algae#post_3466388
Hopefully its purchasing a bigger tank that takes you back to stage 1.
A bigger tank is a new tank, all tanks have the 4 stages. The moral of my little quip...don't let your head get too big...disaster waits around the corner for us all. Sometimes it's our fault and sometimes not. However it happens, it happens to us all sooner or later.

 

[jerthunter]

I found that growing macro algae in my sump works best for me when I have a lot of hair algae. I just get a nice softball sized wad of chaetomorpha (spagetti algae) and throw it in the center chamber of my sump. I use a simple worklight with reflector, 13 watt pc bulb, and a timer that has the light on for 12 hours opposite my tank lights. Every few weeks I throw away about half of the algae and that's about it.
It won't fix all your issues but I think that running a 13 watt bulb for 12 hours a day is still cheaper then buying all kinds of this media and that remover.

 

[slice]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerthunter http:///t/391054/green-hair-algae#post_3466408
I found that growing macro algae in my sump works best for me when I have a lot of hair algae. I just get a nice softball sized wad of chaetomorpha (spagetti algae) and throw it in the center chamber of my sump. I use a simple worklight with reflector, 13 watt pc bulb, and a timer that has the light on for 12 hours opposite my tank lights. Every few weeks I throw away about half of the algae and that's about it.
It won't fix all your issues but I think that running a 13 watt bulb for 12 hours a day is still cheaper then buying all kinds of this media and that remover.
+1

 

[beaslbob]

Just wanted to chime in and do the +1 or 2 or 3 on refugiums with macro or other algaes. And killing the lights to kill off the display algaes.
Regardless of what else you do and most definately for the basic fish only setup, IMHO you need to get macros or other algaes thriving usually in a refugium to consume the nutirents being generated.
By using algae instead of other means you have many many other great side effects. Not only do you control nitrates but phosphates as well while consuming carbon dioxide and returning oxygen, fish food, post and so on. additionally you bioaccumulate (filter out) nasties like copper and other heavy ions as well.
In addition and a really really big considerations is the algae actually prefers to consume ammonia first then nitrates after that. So if something goes bump in the night the algae steps up consume the ammonia spike helping to prevent shocks to the system and possible system crashes.
So to me the best thing you can do is balance out your tank with macro algaes before anything else. Then do all the rest.
but that just my .02

 

[muse1]

ok  i think i have a plan of attack now, thank you. also i wanted to convert my sump into a refugium, that would also help keep the phosphates and nitrates in check right? can you offer any tips on how much sand/mud and lighting etc, i should use?
I might be late on this but put some Fiji mud in your refug under sand. It has made a world of difference in my tank. 100.00 bucks for a bucket.

 

[muse1]

But get the real Fiji mud.....not the man made one.

 

[flower]

If you already have hair algae DO NOT put miracle mud or Fiji mud in the refugium or tank. Yes indeed it will make macroalgae grow like crazy...it will also make hair algae grow like crazy. Hair algae grows faster than macros and will out compleat it for nutrients.
For those of you already using it...pray you don't get GHA....once it gets in the tank the mud feeds it, and no amount of water changes will fix it. I had to break down my tank and scrub my live rock in fresh water. Once GHA and mud get together it's impossible to get rid of.
This is the result of fiji mud...my tank, macros and corals were very, very happy...and so was I.

I had a 4 day power outage, I opened a window and I used natural sunlight to get my seahorses to come out to eat...hair algae began to grow....2 weeks later this is the same tank

 

[muse1]

Well I have nothing but positive outcome with my Fiji mud. But then I don't let sunlight hit my tank. I thought you were not supposed to have your tank in direct sunlight for that reason. I could be wrong, but that is what I've always read.. Could have been your 4 day power outage also Flower. I have not had any long hairy algea in my tank. But this is my personal experience. And my personal preference. Just offering an option.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Muse1 http:///t/391054/green-hair-algae#post_3471995
Well I have nothing but positive outcome with my Fiji mud. But then I don't let sunlight hit my tank. I thought you were not supposed to have your tank in direct sunlight for that reason. I could be wrong, but that is what I've always read.. Could have been your 4 day power outage also Flower. I have not had any long hairy algea in my tank. But this is my personal experience. And my personal preference. Just offering an option.
Muse, you missed the entire point of my post....
My tank was BEAUTIFUL, I had nothing but good to say about the stuff as well. It does indeed make the corals and macros happy. MANY things cause hair algae, direct sunlight...old bulbs, overfeeding....just to name a few.
I know what caused the hair algae in my tank...my seahorses would not feed in the dark, and can't go without eating so I took the lesser of the two evils and saved the horses. That's beside the point. Once hair algae got going it was fed by the mud....I mean it was out of hand super fed. The mud did not cause any problems, it did what it was designed to do...feed macro algae. Hair algae is also a macro and it is more aggressive than any other, so it out compeats the other macros for the food until ONLY the hair algae survives. It's the very nature of the stuff.
To get rid of hair algae is very hard under normal circumstances....fix the lighting, quit overfeeding and do lots of water changes. If you have Fiji or Miracle mud none of that will help. NONE.... no matter what you do, the stuff keeps feeding it.
Now dhulsey our original poster, ALREADY has hair algae....adding the mud will cause a huge problem that has no remedy but to break down the tank and get rid of the mud and re-start the tank from scratch. Your advice is not a good idea, and if you ever get hair algae and you have that mud in your tank....When you are tired enough of losing the battle.... remove the stuff from your system and re-start. You could remove it BEFORE you have a problem, but that is me just offering an option.

 

[tannersmith200]

GHA sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is the devil to a reef system