Hair Algae help.... please

[7up]

HELP!!! hair algae. 1 year old 75gal, MH's, 55lbLR, RO/DI water, trickle filter, Remora skimmer, Magnum with Black Diamond Carbon, 0.5"-1" of "Special Grade" aragonite from CaribSea as substrate, water change every 3-4 wks, 74-78F, ~1.023, 8-9 KH, PO4~0.1 or less (but increases near water change), NO3~10ppm and increases nearing water change.
25 Scarlets, blue legs, and Astrea. 2 Sally's, 3 emeralds, Kole tang, bicolor, and 2 Percs
Most of the algae is growing on the bed and "sticks" to the grains of arag. Some grows on the rocks but minor compared to sand. Does anything really EAT hair algae?
Thinking over 3 options:
1) Cover substrate with fine sand (LS?) to kill algae and provide a deeper bed.
2) Scoop out substantial amount and start new deeper bed with finer grains.
3) Switching to mud system.
Any help/suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[b_ball12_99]

Welcome to the board! Don't pull sand out yet. How long is it? When it gets too long them the emeralds are no help. A lawnmower blenny will eat it if you want one. If you are FO then I have had great results of left-handed hermits eating it when long.

 

[epicentyr]

I had a terrible hair problem about 5 weeks ago it smothered out some beautiful SPS. I have come to find that the problem was ditritus settling out in the hair algae. this was cured by adding another maxi-1200 to keep waste in the water column so that it could be filtered out. the problem was solved in 1 1/2 weeks havent seen hair since.

 

[7up]

Thanks for the input. I will add another powerhead to move more of the water. Any other suggestions? Will a lownmower eat the hair that is growing from the substrate or just the LR?

 

[b_ball12_99]

A lawnmower should eat algea from both the substrate and rocks. They require a lot of algea though.

 

[7up]

I think I have plenty of hair algae for a lawnmower.
In a det. package, what are some of the key organisms that would turn the substrate and/or the clean the tight folds in the LR? [starfish, cucumbers, brittle stars, etc.?]

 

[tangs_in_pacifica]

7up,
Something to keep in mind is that Hair Algae is nature's way of balancing other problems in your system. I don't think 10PPM NO3 is a problem... in fact, some folks that keep clams and such argue a bit of NO3 is necessary. My 100 gal. is much higher than that (This is my only tank w/o a refugium).
The other things that you mentioned seem like fine ways of addressing the hair algae, but you might want to do a bit more research into isolating the cause. Have you tested the Phosphates? That may be a problem. Also, maybe your Nitrates are at 10PPM because the Hair Algae is eating the NO3. You might find that, upon removing a bunch of Hair Algae, your NO3 shoots through the roof.
I let Hair Aglae go wild in one of my systems. It's now largely been replaced by Caulerpa. I haven't had a traced of NO3 throughout my cycle.
So, test Phosphates... find the problem and be careful not to remove all of it at once. Also, IMOHO, a refugium is the best choice of the alternatives you offered.
Hope this helps!