Hair Algae

Stormvillefish · 08/17/2009, 10:43 AM

Have a 135 FOWLR tank I've set up ... has been running about a month now. Noticed very little hair algae growing on two of my rocks ... very little ... in total maybe the size of a dime. Will turbo snails or emerald crabs take care of the hair algae? What about a Nitrate Sponge? Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

spw4949 · 08/17/2009, 10:58 AM

Emeralds sometimes will, I have some that mow it down & others that won't look at it twice.....turbosdo a pretty good job as well.....best thing IMO to totally get rid of it would be a seahare but then once the hair algae is gone you need to supplement them with nori.....

milkit · 08/17/2009, 12:37 PM

get phosban reactor, use algaefix marine, and get nitrates down. less light per day and pull out as much as u can

ddinox64 · 08/17/2009, 06:09 PM

I say leave it. As long as it's not spreading, no harm, no foul. And if it's not spreading that means something is eating keeping it under control. Pods like it too. It's like a mini fuge right in your display. And it looks nice swaying in the current.

But if you like the sterile look apposed to the natural look. Yank it.

ddinox64 · 08/17/2009, 06:12 PM

If you look in my gallery, you will see in the upper just left of center, a big clump of it. Never grew anywhere but there.

It died of and disappeared when I transfered that rock to my new setup.

pammy · 08/18/2009, 06:10 AM

He said combined, the HA is less than the size of a dime, so AlgaeFix seems extreme to me. I always get nervous when I see algae pop up, just because I'm afraid if I don't nip it in the bud, I'll end up with an infestation. I had 1 little dot of lobophora in my tank when the tank was about 3 or 4 months old. It was maybe the size of the eraser on a pencil. If I had done something about it immediately, like scraping it off the rock, I may never have gotten to the point where it ended up growing over problably 25% of my rock. Almost a year later, there was no sign of the Lobo receeding. I bought One Sally Lightfoot Crab and it ended up wiping out the Lobo within a month or so. I then gave the crab away for free to another reefer. That type of crab can get mean when they get larger, so I just temporarily wanted him in my tank. I changed my bulbs a couple months ago, and all of a sudden, I noticed Hair algae growing. I've never had hair algae. It kept spreading and spreading. Stayed pretty short though except on a powerhead that I just soaked in Vinegar (GHA was probably 2.5" long that was growing on that powerhead). I tested for nitrates, and found that they were between 5 and 10, so I added Seachem denitrate in a TLF reactor, and within 10 days, my nitrates were back down to zero. GHA seemed to still be spreading though, so I bought a Tuxedo Sea Urchin a week ago, and he is mowing that GHA down ! I'll give him away to another reefer too if he wipes out the GHA and has no food. Where you have such a small amount of Hair Algae, you might be able to get rid of it without adding anything to your tank, by getting your nitrates/phosphates down. I stopped using any flake, and rinsing my frozen food better but the GHA didn't seem to be going away, so I bought a critter to help eradicate it.
Pam

m3fan8ic · 08/18/2009, 03:01 PM

it can developed by old bulb or dead spots in your tank, make sure your current is good in all area and bulbs are not old.

08/17/2009, 10:43 AM	#1
Stormvillefish Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New York Posts: 152	Hair Algae Have a 135 FOWLR tank I've set up ... has been running about a month now. Noticed very little hair algae growing on two of my rocks ... very little ... in total maybe the size of a dime. Will turbo snails or emerald crabs take care of the hair algae? What about a Nitrate Sponge? Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

08/17/2009, 10:58 AM	#2
spw4949 Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Albany, N.Y. Posts: 1,594	Emeralds sometimes will, I have some that mow it down & others that won't look at it twice.....turbosdo a pretty good job as well.....best thing IMO to totally get rid of it would be a seahare but then once the hair algae is gone you need to supplement them with nori..... __________________ Steve Current Tank Info: 46 gal bowfront, mixed reef, 2x250W current outer orbit w/4x39W T5 ,10 gal fuge....38 gallon aggressive FOWLR, 10 gallon sump.

08/18/2009, 06:10 AM	#6
pammy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 768	He said combined, the HA is less than the size of a dime, so AlgaeFix seems extreme to me. I always get nervous when I see algae pop up, just because I'm afraid if I don't nip it in the bud, I'll end up with an infestation. I had 1 little dot of lobophora in my tank when the tank was about 3 or 4 months old. It was maybe the size of the eraser on a pencil. If I had done something about it immediately, like scraping it off the rock, I may never have gotten to the point where it ended up growing over problably 25% of my rock. Almost a year later, there was no sign of the Lobo receeding. I bought One Sally Lightfoot Crab and it ended up wiping out the Lobo within a month or so. I then gave the crab away for free to another reefer. That type of crab can get mean when they get larger, so I just temporarily wanted him in my tank. I changed my bulbs a couple months ago, and all of a sudden, I noticed Hair algae growing. I've never had hair algae. It kept spreading and spreading. Stayed pretty short though except on a powerhead that I just soaked in Vinegar (GHA was probably 2.5" long that was growing on that powerhead). I tested for nitrates, and found that they were between 5 and 10, so I added Seachem denitrate in a TLF reactor, and within 10 days, my nitrates were back down to zero. GHA seemed to still be spreading though, so I bought a Tuxedo Sea Urchin a week ago, and he is mowing that GHA down ! I'll give him away to another reefer too if he wipes out the GHA and has no food. Where you have such a small amount of Hair Algae, you might be able to get rid of it without adding anything to your tank, by getting your nitrates/phosphates down. I stopped using any flake, and rinsing my frozen food better but the GHA didn't seem to be going away, so I bought a critter to help eradicate it. Pam __________________ Pair of Ocellaris Clowns Flame Hawkfish Pygmy Angel Splendid Goby + Tiger Pistol Shrimp Current Tank Info: 53 Gallon Elos System 80 (31.5" x 19.5" x 19.5"), Elos NS500 Skimmer, Elos Planet 150w MH / 4 24w T5 Combo Light, CLICK on Pammy on the Left and then "VISIT Pammy's Homepage" to see my tank.

08/17/2009, 12:37 PM	#3
milkit Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Dallas Posts: 325	get phosban reactor, use algaefix marine, and get nitrates down. less light per day and pull out as much as u can

08/17/2009, 06:09 PM	#4
ddinox64 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ca. Posts: 1,327	I say leave it. As long as it's not spreading, no harm, no foul. And if it's not spreading that means something is eating keeping it under control. Pods like it too. It's like a mini fuge right in your display. And it looks nice swaying in the current. But if you like the sterile look apposed to the natural look. Yank it.

08/17/2009, 06:12 PM	#5
ddinox64 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ca. Posts: 1,327	If you look in my gallery, you will see in the upper just left of center, a big clump of it. Never grew anywhere but there. It died of and disappeared when I transfered that rock to my new setup.

08/18/2009, 03:01 PM	#7
m3fan8ic Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: N.VA Posts: 52	it can developed by old bulb or dead spots in your tank, make sure your current is good in all area and bulbs are not old.