Green Hair Algae

[Louis1959]

I HATE IT ! ! ! ! ! !

I've been up a few times on this same topic. I guess I am not as patient as I thought I could be.

This crap is driving me insane. I am on day 18 of vodka dosing and feel like the hair Algae is getting worse. I am running a 54 gal. bow.
I am up to 0.75 ml of 80 proof vodka per dose, 2 doses per day for a total of 1.5 ml/day.

This weekend I will be doing a 10% water change along with trying to scrub off the green algae. I am going to syphon up as much of the hair algae that is now in my sand media.

I need opinions and help.
a) I really don't want to , but do you think I need to get rid of sand media?
b) I sincerely do not think I am overfeeding, how much do I back off on food w/o starving the fish?

I am going to try and attach pics and video

[Sisterlimonpot]

I vodka dose... and let me tell you, it doesn't happen over night, the vodka dosing is a slow process for a reason.

I agree with you hair algae is the worse, out of all the different algae's out there vodka seems to have the hardest time with HA, and there aren't too many options as far as introducing new livestock to the tank.

I would suggest staying the course and be patient. do you run activated carbon in your tank? If not that may help...
and in the mean time, conduct a phosphate and nitrate test and report back with the results.

[Guygettnby]

Vodka dosing takes time.... Manual removal helps a bunch. Hair algae is a pain and almost seems like you never fully get rid of the stuff. Best of luck in your battles, make sure to keep up with your water changes, manual removal and be as patient as you can be. You will beat it with some time.

What are the stats of your tank? Size, filtration, lighting, stock list and such. Oh yea and your test results?

[Louis1959]

Stats on tank.
54 gallon Bow. Live Indonesian rock. 3 fire fish, 1 foxface, 2 clownfish, 1 cardinal , 1 yellow wrasse, 1 mandarin dragonet.
Sump with protein skimmer, live indo frag rock, 3 juvenile mangrove plants.
The tank is up and running about 8/9 months.
I checked vitals tonight
Temp. 77.7°f
Spg = 1.0255. PH = 8.2 , alkalinity = 9°, Po = 0.1, Nitrates = 4/5 ppm

[skeeter_ca]

Do you have a cleanup crew? I would suggest adding some snails to keep the algae in check. But first thing to mow down the GHA. Get a sea hare. Buy one from the LFS and let it take care of the problem naturally. Then once he takes care of it send it back to the LFS. Then make sure you have enough snails to keep it in check. In other words, alot. Different kinds, nassius, astrea, turbos.

[Louis1959]

Originally Posted by skeeter_ca

Do you have a cleanup crew? I would suggest adding some snails to keep the algae in check. But first thing to mow down the GHA. Get a sea hare. Buy one from the LFS and let it take care of the problem naturally. Then once he takes care of it send it back to the LFS. Then make sure you have enough snails to keep it in check. In other words, alot. Different kinds, nassius, astrea, turbos.

Yes, a small one now. Red shrimp, Sally something crab , two turbo snails, two small hermit, one blue leg hermit. Need a ton more snails.
But initially I had a load of snails and several died quickly, which I believe is what started my gha bloom??????

[Goldndoodle]

Are you running any chemicals? GFO, Purigen, PhosGuard, ChemiPure and Phos removing pad helped me control a massive out break in about 2 weeks.

I also added a bunch of snails (astrea, turbos, nerite, bumblebees), several hermits, two conch and 2 large emerald crabs.

I went from this -



To this -



In less than 2 weeks - it's even better than that now.

I am getting ready to pull the GFO (I think it's irritating a Toadstool) and run PhosGuard in the reactor instead.

[Louis1959]

Originally Posted by Goldndoodle

Are you running any chemicals? GFO, Purigen, PhosGuard, ChemiPure and Phos removing pad helped me control a massive out break in about 2 weeks.

I also added a bunch of snails (astrea, turbos, nerite, bumblebees), several hermits, two conch and 2 large emerald crabs.

I went from this -



To this -



In less than 2 weeks - it's even better than that now.

I am getting ready to pull the GFO (I think it's irritating a Toadstool) and run PhosGuard in the reactor instead.

I am not running a reactor. I presently have two filler bags with ~ 30 grams ea of act . Carbon, and 1 bag with ~ 25 grams of PhosGuard. In the sump just prior to sponge pad. Not much room under Bow tank . Protein skimmer barely fits in dump.
Looking into reactor now. Just not sure where the heck I am going to put it.

[Louis1959]

The Vodka Dosing Is this procedure more to hold down the nitrate levels , or the phosphate levels?

[Guygettnby]

You can get a TLF reactor, it hangs off the side of your tank or sump. I have a 72g bow front so I know the pain of having less room in the stand. I currently run 2 of them hanging off the side of my sump. They aren't very big either, so you should be ok. I have GFO in one and the other has seagel in it.

Running GFO will help you out for sure! I also recommend doing larger then a 10% water change until you get this under control. Water changes are your biggest way to export nutrients from your tank. I see from your test results that your PO4 level is high and I can pretty much bet ya that it is actually higher then that.

Are you using a RODI unit?

[Louis1959]

Originally Posted by Guygettnby

You can get a TLF reactor, it hangs off the side of your tank or sump. I have a 72g bow front so I know the pain of having less room in the stand. I currently run 2 of them hanging off the side of my sump. They aren't very big either, so you should be ok. I have GFO in one and the other has seagel in it.

Running GFO will help you out for sure! I also recommend doing larger then a 10% water change until you get this under control. Water changes are your biggest way to export nutrients from your tank. I see from your test results that your PO4 level is high and I can pretty much bet ya that it is actually higher then that.

Are you using a RODI unit?

What does TLF stand for and what is its purpose?

Guy I am really tight under there. No jokes . . . . . . lol
I will try and attach a picture, i am not so good at that.

No RODI.....but where i work we have DI water which is like 0 anything in it. Just to be sure, before I do my water change tomorrow, I am going to test the water for PO4 and NO3, do I need to check it before or after I add salt? I am guessing before , correct.

[RandoReefer]

TLF = Two Little Fishies. Julian Sprung's product line.

[Guygettnby]

Believe me.... I understand how tight the area is under there. Having a bow front tank is a royal pain some times.

TLF = Two little fishes, they make a reactor. You would want to get the 150 model and don't use too big of a pump. Want it to tumble gently, not fly all around the thing like it's in a tornado.

You really need to buy a RODI unit. Have you tested the water you are using? TDS? Any heavy metals? That could be one of your issues. Maybe test for PO4 while your at it. The water might not be the best to use and you might not have known.

What are you using to test your tank with? What brands? What are you testing PO4 with?

I like to test my tank water before I do a water change so I know what it is before hand. Then I test it about a week later. You should always keep a log. Write down all your tests results and what you have done to the tank so you know what days you did what. I have a little diary like book that I use. Have all maintenance logs for the last like 3 years wrote down and test results. It helps to be able to see what you did to the tank at what date and watch your progress.

Hope that helps you out some, I know how much of a pain hair algae is and how it can make you feel having to look at it all the time.

[Louis1959]

Originally Posted by RandoReefer

TLF = Two Little Fishies. Julian Sprung's product line.

Thank you, just looked it up.

[Guygettnby]

Btw, here is a picture of my tank. Just figured I would share how mine looks. I will try to snap a few pictures of how I have my sump set up for you too.

[Louis1959]

Originally Posted by Guygettnby

Believe me.... I understand how tight the area is under there. Having a bow front tank is a royal pain some times.

TLF = Two little fishes, they make a reactor. You would want to get the 150 model and don't use too big of a pump. Want it to tumble gently, not fly all around the thing like it's in a tornado.

You really need to buy a RODI unit. Have you tested the water you are using? TDS? Any heavy metals? That could be one of your issues. Maybe test for PO4 while your at it. The water might not be the best to use and you might not have known.

What are you using to test your tank with? What brands? What are you testing PO4 with?

I like to test my tank water before I do a water change so I know what it is before hand. Then I test it about a week later. You should always keep a log. Write down all your tests results and what you have done to the tank so you know what days you did what. I have a little diary like book that I use. Have all maintenance logs for the last like 3 years wrote down and test results. It helps to be able to see what you did to the tank at what date and watch your progress.

Hope that helps you out some, I know how much of a pain hair algae is and how it can make you feel having to look at it all the time.

Wow! You really want me to work at this. ....lol just kidding. I have yet to check water previous to water change . I will do it tomorrow. I'll post results. Our water at work really should be free of all minerals and metals. I work for Estee Lauder which is a cosmetic company. We can't fool around. But I will check.
I have been logging everything for the last three months. I am using ADI..... test kits.

[Louis1959]

BTW. The tank is beautiful

[Louis1959]

Originally Posted by Guygettnby

Btw, here is a picture of my tank. Just figured I would share how mine looks. I will try to snap a few pictures of how I have my sump set up for you too.

Here is the pic of my sump and the lack of room down there!

Going to check water chemistry value of DI water before I do water change and hair algae scrub down!

PS ; how do i attach a pic so it is not a thumb nail?

[Guygettnby]

I use photobucket to post my pictures.

[Louis1959]

Originally Posted by Guygettnby

I use photobucket to post my pictures.

how and where do I get photobucket?

[Guygettnby]

Originally Posted by Louis1959

how and where do I get photobucket?

Just simply go to the photobucket web site and sign up for an account. Its free and simple to use. Comes in handy.