Hair Algae - I`m fed up

steve24

steve24

Active Member
i have been battling hair algae for months now, it has taken over and i am losing corals because of it. IMHO once hair algae has taken over there is NO way of getting rid of it other then tearing the tank down (about ready to do just that). i had a beautiful reef 6 months ago. "HOW DO YOU GET RID OF IT ONCE IT HAS TAKEN OVER " ??????? i`m pulling it and syphoning out as much as i can, new CUC thats keeps the glass clean, LMB wouldn`t eat it, sea hare died after a week grrr, water tests great- double and triple tested at differant stores, six month old T5 lights, using PhosGuard for a month, and have ALWAYS used RO distilled water. what can i do before i get any more discouraged and just tear it down.
sometimes i want to post a older pic in someone elses thread to maybe help them, but when i open photobucket and start looking i get half sick and just close it and don`t even make a post to try helping. anyways, now that i`m half sick to my stomach, here is a pic of what my tank "USED" to look like...

please, any help is greatly appreciated...
thanks
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
i know sailfin tang eat the stuff. but i see u hv a hippo in there. also, try urchins, the blue tuexedo one bc they r reef safe. i hv heard they eat filamentous algae.
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
seahare is good, but i heard they will release poison if harrassed or died. other then that, they r great hair algae eaters. guess u just hv to monitor it and hv carbon ready.
 
steve24

steve24

Active Member
thanks guys ...
i might just have to order one. the one and only LFS is sad and i know i`d have to have them order one for me...
do any of the algae killer additives work ???
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
Those are all band-aids to the problem. You need to remove the source of what is feeding the hair algae. Generally this is overfeeding. Either that or you do not have the beneficial bateria in your tank to break down the waste that is in your tank so the hair algae is doing it for you.
 
steve24

steve24

Active Member
Originally Posted by Scotts
http:///forum/post/2680721
Those are all band-aids to the problem. You need to remove the source of what is feeding the hair algae. Generally this is overfeeding. Either that or you do not have the beneficial bateria in your tank to break down the waste that is in your tank so the hair algae is doing it for you.
i cut down to feeding twice a week better then a month ago
as far as the beneficial bateria, how would i loose it or get it back ???
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
growing macroalgae in ur tank or sump will also help, since they compete for the same nutrients as the hair algae.
 
steve24

steve24

Active Member
Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2680727
growing macroalgae in ur tank or sump will also help, since they compete for the same nutrients as the hair algae.
i don`t have a sump or fuge, but i do have some chaeto in "like" a soap dish container for in the shower. it has alot of holes in it for water circulation and i have it kinda in front of a koralia so it gets lots of water through it ???
 
steve24

steve24

Active Member
Originally Posted by IBEW41
http:///forum/post/2680733
have you had your ro water tested?also very nice tank
thanks, yes it was a nice tank...
yes, i`ve tested the water before and after mixing in the salt and the tank water ...
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
even if u use ro/di water, u r not gonna get rid of the hair algae completely. the only thing u can do is control it. i hv some in my reef, but its controlled. i'd try to
1. take as much hair algae out during water change as possible.
2. grow macroalgae like helameda or the nonivasive type of calurpa.
3. cut feeding to ur fish and lighting time.
4. run carbon and skimmer constantly.
5. get a good clean up crew like urchins, snails and hermits.
 
steve24

steve24

Active Member
Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2680759
u can get a decent tds meter on ---- or amazon.com for around $30-50.
thanks, and testing with a TDS meter, the reading should be ???
and what about the beneficial bateria that Scotts was talking about ???
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
I'd try switching the bulbs to new ones and cut down on the full day light time. Is your tank facing a sunny window?
Testing with a TDS meter should read big fat ZERO.
How much LR do you have in your tank?
What do you feed your fish? If you feed a lot of flakes and pellets, they increase the phosphates in your water.
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
0 would be perfect. unfortunely mine ro filter needs to be changed soon. phosphate will always be present in a tank, just at very low level. even frozen food contains them. its all about keeping a well balanced ecosystem in a tank. when hair algae starts to take over, it usually means ur ecosystem is not in balanced. if u do the above things i mentioned, ur hair algae will be controlled over time.
 
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