GREEN Hair in my tank - OHHHHHH NO!!!!

[chessie]

Got back from holiday & my tank is a MESS!! All my snails are dead as well as 2 of my 3 urchins. Hermits, shrimp, anenome & fish ok. Needless to say, all of the live rock is COVERED w/green hair algae, smothering my beautiful coralline algae. What I need to know is: Will snails take care of it eventually or do I have to do something more drastic? Also, there was a pretty good film on the glass. When I went to scrape it off, it kinda came off in sheets & then floated around the tank. Used a net to try & capture as much as possible to keep it outta the filtration system. I am truly frustrated on this one & need some goooood advice. Thanks!

 

[chessie]

Oh yeah, no corals in tank yet.

 

[mr . salty]

try to get as much out as you can.Then after a day check for nitrates and phosfates. Adjust if needed. If levels are fine,It could have been anything. Did you have someone feed,or overfeed,Your fish when you were gone?? Lights on too long?If the problem persists you could try an additive to remove the Green Hair algae. This should not harm your coralline. STEVE

 

[fubr]

About your hair algae/....Sally Lightfoots love green hair algae and will take care of it. They are alos fun t watch.
:0
-Fubs

 

[rickt4du]

hey sammy...I've got 3 sally's in my tank..
mean little boogers...never seen them eat hair algae though...I had an elevated phosphate level a few months ago due to a power outage and measures taken by me to protect the rest of the inhabitants...I've been in a constant battle with hair algae evr since...just about got it under control now....I pull it off the rocks 2x a week and use phosguard in my biofilter to keep that in check...I even bought a Lemonpeel dwarf to eat the hair...guess what? he loved my brain coral instead..ha ha!!
Wow, look at all this...all you asked was if anyone had more than 1 sally...that'll teach you to open a can of worms again..

...rick

 

[chessie]

Thanks for the suggestions - maybe I'll consider a couple of Sally LightFoots to help w/the problem - tank is 110 gal. How many would you suggest?? Have 2 Coral Banded Shrimp in the tank - any problems adding a Sally LightFoot or two?? Lights: Actinics come on about 1 1/2 hrs. before whites are on 2 hrs after - total time - 12 hrs. Have been using PhosGuard or Sea Gel right along to keep the phosphates/silicates & other goobers at bay. Told the "fish sitter" NOT to overfeed but, who knows, right???

 

[tjswanson]

I will bet that your nitrates and phosphates are extremely high. Hair aglae thrives off of nitrates and phosphates. Get a phosphate sponge and go frequent water changes if your nitrates are high. Watch how much you feed your fish. TJ

 

[jimi]

You should probably do a few partial water changes just to be safe. Most urchins contain toxins which may be released into your water when they die. Maybe thats what did your snails in.

 

[clayton]

Run your skimmer as much as you can. Your tank sounds polluted with nutrients (overfeeding, dead animals etc) which you need to get out. Remove as much of the hair algae as you can by hand, so that the nutrients/nitrates etc, are removed and not just recycled.
If your reading are bad it might be worth doing a partial water change. How old is your tank?

 

[daytrper]

what additives do you use for green hair algae?and anything other than sally light foots that will eat the algae. other than fish that is. i dont wanna put any more fish in.....

 

[mr . salty]

There are many algae removers on the market. I used a red slime remover byUltra Life that worked great in about three days my tank was clear.I'm sure there is one for green hair.STEVE

 

[clownfish]

I think a coral beauty would probably make a good "algae cow". I will have one anyway. They also leave corals alone, unlike some other dwarf angels.

 

[krazzydart]

green hair OH NO!!!!!!!!!!! The Martians are invading..... (lol) hope everything turns out ok.....

 

[chessie]

It's not funny, KrazzyDart, to have a tank covered w/beautiful coralline algae to a tank that looks like it needs mowing BIG TIME - sigh...............Tank is about 1 1/2 yrs. old & all the H2O test check out ok. Neg. on the phosphate & nitrite/nitrate. Have been keeping a phosphate sponge or something similar in the tank all along. Oh well, another challenge to overcome in the saltwater hobby!!!!

 

[krazzydart]

Originally posted by Chessie:
It's not funny, KrazzyDart, to have a tank covered w/beautiful coralline algae to a tank that looks like it needs mowing BIG TIME - sigh...............Tank is about 1 1/2 yrs. old & all the H2O test check out ok. Neg. on the phosphate & nitrite/nitrate. Have been keeping a phosphate sponge or something similar in the tank all along. Oh well, another challenge to overcome in the saltwater hobby!!!!
Sorrybout that, but what type of water do you use when doing water changes??? check that and see if it is high in phosphates...

 

[chessie]

SAMMY - what do you mean that the "it would not show on the tests cuz algae is consuming it??"
KRAZZY - unfortunately, we have well water. Did a phosphate test & it was kinda high. But, when I did a test from the tank, it was neg. Like I said have been using a phosphate spongePhosguard, or the like all along. Any suggestions where I might find enough distilled H2O to do a water change in a 110 gal. tank every week or two? Can't afford right now to invest in anymore fancy equipment. Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wrassefan]

Hey Chessie,
Have you tried a tap water purifier?? I got it on line for about $28 bucks and it has definitely helped me. Also, most phosphate sponges should only be in a tanks water flow for 48 hrs. before it starts to leach back some of the phosphates. Could this be what is feeding your algae???

 

[chessie]

WrasseFan - would you tell me where you got your water purifier online - $28 - that's great! Use a phosphate sponge only for the recommended time & then take it out - seems to be doing the trick as far as the phosphate level goes but, it's ongoing. The purifier probably would help. Feel sometimes like it's a losing battle & am getting discouraged cuz it really looks awful. Another challenge.............Chess

 

[donna2933]

Can anyone tell me what type of additive to use that will kill green hair algae. I have it in my reef tank also. My phosphate & nitrate is low and I use RO water. I have two 175 watt metal halide and 2 40 watt bulbs on tank. 40 watts bulbs or 1 blue & 1 20K, metal halide 1 blue 12K and 1 10K, left on for 12 hrs. Thanks! Donna

 

[mr . salty]

Chessie,The point SAMMY was making about testing is as long as the algae is in the tank the phos,and nitrates will test low or normal. That is because the algae is feeding on the excess. What you have to do is to get the stuff out of the tank first,then in a day or two test the water.There are effective algae removers out there.Ask your lfs.STEVE