Problem with hair algae !! HELP!

[addicted2]

Hello...

it has been awhile since I was here on the boards! Things have really changed! wow. Well....first off, I have been gone because my english bulldog had surgery in April (cruciate tear) and it has been time consuming taking care of him...*sigh* anyway...my reef tank has suffered...alot less time for maintenance...I now have a real problem with hair algae....any suggestions would be MUCH appreciated! I started doing more water changes and physically trying to clean some of it up...I am not making much progress...it comes back faster than ever and seems worse...any products out there that might give me an edge?? or do I just keep doing what I am doing?..I have always used RO water, I've been testing more and working on keeping the numbers at 0. it is daunting

how quickly things can go downhill....

 

[jaydeereefer]

Hi. You don't give much info on your set-up. Lots of things you can do. First check your nitrates. Seems to be the biggest cause of algae. Do you have any tangs in your tank? Yellows spend all day grazing. How about clean up crews like snails and crabs. Never forget the the water changes. You can always shade pieces that are in danger. Not the best bet but it might be a save if you need it. Good luck, I have lost lots of corals to algae growth. John

 

[nycbob]

get a dolabella sea hare, and ur problem is solved.

 

[addicted2]

I have heard the dolabella sea hare doesnt eat hair algae...only macro...sooo..does anyone have one of these that can atest to what they really eat?

 

[jas1]

My bro-in-law has one and you're right, they eat macro. It does an exquisite job of keeping his sand bed clean. Looks kinda gross when it redeposits the sand though. A Sallylightfoot Crab will do a great job on the hair, and they are really fun to watch.

 

[truperc]

I purchased a blue dot sea hare and it mowed down my hair algae in very short order.
The biggest problem with the sea hare... is you either need to find alternate food items or a new home in a short amount of time. (possibly within a month depending on how big a tank and how bad a problem)
Consider joining a local reef club, which may have a loaner sea hare. Mine does, but I joined after I had already purchased the sea hare.
JMHO

 

[nycbob]

hair algae is a kind of macroalgae. i hv 2 of these. below is one in my 72 gallon reef. this is the only thing sure enough to eat it. turbo snail is 50/50 when it comes to hair algae. i also hv one in my 120 fowlr with xenia in the youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpuT_ManKZU

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/3057749
hair algae is a kind of macroalgae. i hv 2 of these. below is one in my 72 gallon reef. this is the only thing sure enough to eat it. turbo snail is 50/50 when it comes to hair algae. i also hv one in my 120 fowlr with xenia in the youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpuT_ManKZU
Great Pic

 

[taznut]

wow... that xenia in the video is insane...
i had a huge problem with the hair algae during my cycle, after adding CUC it had almost completey been eaten... i scrubbed the rocks with a tooth brush...
CUC= turbos, other snails, blue legs, lettuce sea hair, lawnmower blenny...

 

[addicted2]

well...I am going to buy more of a clean up crew. lawnmower blennie, 10 red hermits, 10 blue hermits, 10 nerite snails, 3 fancy nacarrius snails, 10 nassarius snails, 3 emerald crabs, diamond goby, and dolabella sea hare. there...and keep doing water changes. we'll see how that works.

 

[nycbob]

sounds good. u wont regret the sea hare. its amazing not more people with hair algae issue getting it. i hv a bit of hair algae issue in the past until i got two, one in each tank. i know my levels were great bc my clams and sps were doing amazing.

 

[kniquy]

I too battled with hair algae for probably two years. After having twins I really neglected my tank and didn't do proper water changes. I did what ever i could myself to rid the tank of the algae. Reducing lighting and changing lighting. This includes taking almost 90% of my live rock out and bleaching it. Horrible I know, but i was despirate to get it undercontrol. That did not solve the problem. I last tried this stuff -- algaefix marine. It had it cleared up in about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. I am staying on top of water changes now, but that is the only thing that took care of the problem. You add a capfull or so daily with doing a water change after a few days (I cant remember the exact directions). Within a few days I could see the algae dying. This at least brought it to a managable level so that my snails could then eat the rest of it. It has probably been about 2 months and not a sight of algae anywhere. I have always been sooooo against using a product to solve problems but this one did the trick.