I got super hair algae:eek:

[j_beau_13]

Can anybody positively ID this algae?? it ain't your average hair algae..its like turf



from what i researched it looks like Maiden's Hair and the algae came from some Figi rock i bought in Florida..but idk



I'm running a fuge with cheato i bought a couple weeks ago...looks like the cheato has grown a little. i have a lawnmower blenny, oversized skimmer, and do 5 gal w/c wit ro/di water every week.

[dermer]

i would give it some time to see if it goes away you can use cem clean or cook it it does have a very differnt look to it if it is only on the one rock i would run with it and see what happens

[j_beau_13]

its starting to cover all the rock now and on my zoa rocks

[puck3]

buy a sea hair, i had the same stuff in my 65 gallon, took care of the entire tank in about 2 months

[j_beau_13]

yea but the fish stores I'm around won't take it back when its done eating the algae...and from what i heard they can kill a whole tank when they die

[jimwat]

I have had two sea hares that were killed by my CB butterfly. It was a pretty minor event (maybe some extra skimmate, no other casualties). Not sure if mine inked before they died.

Your HA is fairly common. The big problem with this type of HA is that sediment will collect and get trapped in it. Which, creates a self sustaining nutrient source for the HA. Your best bet to get a handle on it is to remove as much as you can by hand, and then use a turkey baster to blow out any sediments (repeat every couple of days).

Do some searches on hair algae. There are lots and lots of threads on things you can do to get rid of it. Some work better than others, and I have tried just about everything. The sea hare was by far the most voracious of the HA eating critters I have owned (before the butterfly picked it to death ).

Hopefully your cheato will start to out compete HA.

[HDAlien]

I've lost a sea hare in my tank before and it didn't cause a problem. I'm fighting HA with 4 sea hares in my 220 and they are beginning to win the war.

[powerhousepratt]

i am fighting hair algae for over 4 years now. I've tried every method except for bleaching and mine wont go away. Eventually i got def up with it and gave up on my tank entirely, i even stopped water changes for a year. i just started getting back to my tank a few days ago by taking the rocks out again and scrubbing them and dipping them into clean saltwater in a bucket when i was done scrubbing it then but the rocks back in the tank. i reduced my lgihting and did a water change. My hair algae isn't gone but it definately looking better. Don't give up like i did. sometimes it pays off trying many methods because everyone from what i have seen and heard have different results with all these methods. good luck

[j_beau_13]

thanx for the pep talks...its really annoying having this problem in my 30 gal and now my 75 gal.

but i just recently bought a yellow tang, so hopefully hes gotta appetite for this algae

[Old Yeller]

well at least it's a nice bright green.

[j_beau_13]

haha no kiddin, this stuffs nothing like regular hair algae

[matter1331]

might try Marine SAT, made by TLC. I've had some pretty bad algae outbreaks in multiple tanks, and Marine SAT has done very well for me. It's not a chemical, it's actually a bacteria, and has no adverse effects on inverts/corals/fish.

[puck3]

I am 100% in favor of the sea hare treatment, Ive seen it work first-hand and am impressed. The odds of the seahare dying and taking out your entire tank are so tiny. The only thing to be careful of that will kill him is pump intakes or and intake to a powerhead. And when hes done cleaning the algae, just leave him in your tank as part of your cleanup crew, they do more work than 100 hermit crabs.

[customcolor]

is a sea hair a fish or what?

[jimwat]

Originally posted by customcolor
is a sea hair a fish or what?

I found some pictures and description here: http://www.janetsreef.com/sea_hare.htm

I found a quote on the site that pretty much sums up what they look like, "so ugly it was kind of cute".

[ricks]

Instead of buying animals to control an algae problem... Why not look into the reason the algae is taking over your tank in the first place??? If you correct the issues with the algae. You will not need to add animals to your tank, for reasons of algae control....

Happy Reefing

[kzooreefer]

i would look at a phosphate problem. also ime astrea snails mow it down HA quickly, lawnmower blennies aren't very effective when it gets too long. i used 12 astrea in a 15 gal that has 16 pounds of live rock that was completely covered with the stuff and the snails had it completely removed in 2 weeks. i now add a veggie pellet food for the blenny to keep him from attacking the coral.

[benray4fun]

Kzooreefer is right, get a poly-filter pad and get rid of the phosphsates first. Phosphates are what let an algae be it micro or macro grow.

If not a phosphate pad, consider a reactor, but you're gonna need something to deal with the phosphates as it's completely out of the nitrogen cycle and has to be physically removed.

Also, a mithrax crab is great for hair algae, it is not picky...

[650-IS350]

I've heard of people using BERGHIA NUDIBRANCHS, as they love H.A. just like Sea Hairs do..

[matter1331]

berghia nudibranchs DO NOT eat hair algae, they eat aptaisia. You're probably thinking of lettuce nudibranchs, but from what I've read/been told they really only eat bryopsis and don't do so how with hair algae.

[Craig Lambert]

Originally posted by ricks
Instead of buying animals to control an algae problem... Why not look into the reason the algae is taking over your tank in the first place??? If you correct the issues with the algae. You will not need to add animals to your tank, for reasons of algae control....

Happy Reefing

Agree. Animals don't remove the cause. What's your Alkalinity level. In 95% of hair algae threads the answer to this question is "I don't have an Alkalinity test kit". Alkalinity at the high end of the recommended range (9-11dKH) will make it more difficult for algae to grow. How many, and what type of fish do you have. How much, how often, and what do you feed? Do you use RODI water? These are the questions to ask yourself, rather than looking for algae eater.

You either have a nutrient import, or export problem. (or both). You have a decent skimmer and if it is properly adjusted then I would suspect too many nutrients going into the tank.

[2639]

i increased my alk to 11 and added a phosBan reactor filled with SeaGel. My HA is all brown and floating away now.

Regarding the original question...that appears to be some sort of calcerious algae I've seen before. I can't think of the name of exactly. It was like outdoor carpet: very rough and hard/impossible to scrib off.

[jheath]

awesome thread....great info

[kzooreefer]

my alkalinity was at 11 and I had an HA out break like you've never seen. algae need nutirents to grow, nitrates and phosphates, eliminate the nutirents and the problem will go away regardless of the alkalinity. use some gfo to reduce the phosphates and do weekly 10% water changes and you should be fine. good skimming will also reduce some of the nitrates. i don't run a refugium or sump but a lot of people do to raise macroalgae for phosphate and nitrate control.

[Craig Lambert]

Originally posted by kzooreefer
my alkalinity was at 11 and I had an HA out break like you've never seen. algae need nutirents to grow, nitrates and phosphates, eliminate the nutirents and the problem will go away regardless of the alkalinity. use some gfo to reduce the phosphates and do weekly 10% water changes and you should be fine. good skimming will also reduce some of the nitrates. i don't run a refugium or sump but a lot of people do to raise macroalgae for phosphate and nitrate control.

Low Alkalinity reduces coral, and coraline algae growth leaving additional nutrients to be taken up by micro algae. It is not a cause of algae, but rather an enabler of algal growth.