Vacation and HUGE HAIR ALGAE outbreak

[aileena]

Went on a two week bike trip came back home and found my newly established 60g tank a hair algae sespool...
0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0-10ppm nitrate, 14Kh, and 500calc...the person who took care of the tank used distilled water that I purchased before I left.
What do I do...it is real bad...all four walls of the tank the rocks and the substrate...
I cleaned the four walls of the tank and the powerheads taking out the patches of hair algea with a net...then I added my old penguin wet dry filter with new carbon filter pads, I took it off before I left...then I started to clean the rocks with a toothbrush...I changed 5g of water twice since Friday...I also ordered a huge clean up crew...3 mexican turbos, 10 scarlets, 2 cleaner shrimp, and 5 cerith snails...I have a new UV light that I got before I left a CSL 36watt UV light I will add that towmorrow...
Right now the tank has 3 emeralds, 5 scarlets, 2 peppermint shrimp, a brittle star, 3 trochus snails, and a yellow tang...the clean up crew that I ordered should be here on Tuesday...
Does anyone have any advice about how to control this a get the tank back to normal?

 

[birdy]

Have you tested your phosphate level? if the outbreak is that bad then you will probably test 0 because the algae is using it all up. I would run some type of phosphate sponge (I believe people recommend the type that are not aluminium based) just to be on the safe side. What is the spectrum of lighting? Since you do not have any corals then I would really reduce the photoperiod, maybe to only a couple of hours a day. Keep doing water changes and the add the things you talked about and hopefully it will go away. I would also test your distilled water for ammonia, nitrates and phosphates.

 

[aileena]

I have 440watts of vho lights they were running at about 10hours a day and I already backed it down to about 6 hours a day...
I already checked the water that I use and it has nothing in it...I tested for the usual...
The phosphate thing I never thought of...thats the only thing I don't really test for...I guess I could add the phosphate sponge too maybe, but if there are no phosphates then it wouldn't make much of a difference...the UV light will thrash everything hopefully

 

[austinreef]

Aileena,
I also had a hair algae problem. I used a phoshate spoge, cut feeding to every other day, and cut down my lighting to 5-6 hours a day. It worked, its gone now

 

[aileena]

The water I am using I got from the Meijer or Kroger water station...you know what I mean right? It says either RO or distilled..On second thought I think its RO...

 

[phoenixrising]

I used Distillata distilled water for a LONG time in my system without any adverse effects whatsoever. Water was always crystal clear and tested perfect. The only reason I went to RO/DI was due to the time effort and expense to go purchase massive quantities of water, lug it all down to my basement and then dispose of the empty bottles at a local recycler. RO/DI works just as nicely as the distilled did with almost no effort. Tank looks equally great either way.

 

[nas19320]

I also use distilled water for the past year and have had no problems but like Phoenix I will be purchasing a RO/DI unit this week because I am sick of the trips to the store and all the empty jugs.