trouble with green hair

[drillsergeant]

i'm having trouble with green hair algea in my 120 gal. i have four 48" VHO's over it, i've already reduced the amount of light emitted while they are on. i filter the water out of the faucet before i add salt to reduce the minerals like phosphates. i do small water changes and clean the protien skimmers weekly and change the carbon and filter media and do a masive water change monthly. i don't over feed, i have a batfish that sucks up every thing, and a decent clean-up crew(10-15 snails,turbo and astrea,15-20 hermits blue,scarlet,and what look like hybrids kind of purple, 2 conchs, G and mysis shrimp and an unknown number of worms of various types)i've tried to stay as close to natural as possible maybe i need to try something new. i just don't like the jungle effect that i have right now. any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[benihuma]

When you say you filter the water, what do you mean? RO? Brita? If you're not using a RO/DI filter then you shouldn't be using tap water. I suggest testing your water for phosphates and silicates, and looking for a good reliable source of RO/DI water. I pay 30 cents per gallon at my LFS. Good luck.
Ben

 

[twoods71]

Sounds like you are doing some things right but green hair is a pain in the a$$. Here is a link that may help you a little.
<a href="https://www.saltwaterfish.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=12&t=009964" target="_blank">Death to all green hair algae !!!!!</a>

 

[jacksonpt]

I too use tap water in my tank, and I have some hair algae. Not tons of it, but enough to be noticable. It grows in patches. I think it's because I use tap water, but don't have the money to invest in an RO unit, and until recently, I wasn't able to buy RO water locally. Instead, I bought a Kole Tang, which is a ferocous hair algae eater! Unfortunatly, he died about 10 days after I got him (pretty sure he was sick when I bought him... don't shop at that lfs anymore). Anways... I replaced him with a Yellow tang... does a decent job with the hair algae, but no comparison to my Kole.