Lots of green Hair Alge.

marcelft · 02/04/2009, 08:25 PM

hey, new talk, about 2 months now. Its growing alot of hair alge. I dont have anything In my refugium yet, so Im figuring that should help alot right?
I have a bunch of hermits, a sally light foot, astrea snails, and sailfin blenny for my cleanup crew. They manage to keep a few rocks clean, but the alge is starting to taking over the rest of the tank.
Anyone ever use a sea hare? I read they work pretty well.

Schwanson · 02/04/2009, 08:50 PM

What are your tank parameters? Usually GHA is best controlled by starving it of nutrients.

Make sure to do regular water changes and use RODI water.

marcelft · 02/04/2009, 09:12 PM

NH=0
PH=8
No2=0
No3=0
Sal=1.026
Alk=5

That is all the test kits I have. Alk is low huh?

I did a 50% water change last weekend too, and I only use RO/DI water. I was trying to make my skimmer calm down, its been overflowing the collection cup even with the dischagre tube all the way down. The water change helped calm the skimmer down a little, until I just stirred up the water.

LouPhoenix · 02/04/2009, 09:17 PM

I've used sea hares but they tend to be finicky about water parameters and they'll starve once the algae is gone, unless you purposely add more algae for it to eat.

It's best to increase your water flow, get your nutrients in check (do frequent small water changes and feed the tank very little), get a couple of giant Mexican Turbo Snails and kill the lights for a few days if there's nothing photosynthetic in the tank.

marcelft · 02/04/2009, 09:32 PM

I was thinking of killing teh lights, but I just started adding some soft-corals.
Could over feeding the fish add to the problem? Thats one thing I have yet to see a guide to, as to how much to feed them. I dont have many fish either, 2 chromis, 2 firefish, a midas blenny, and a sailfin blenny. I feed them one cube of frozen brine shrimp a day.

LouPhoenix · 02/04/2009, 09:51 PM

too much, imo. I have about the same fishload in my 65 gal and I feed them a few pinches of flake once a day. They do get mysis/cyclopeeze when I feed my corals twice a week.

Also, feeding a cube of frozen food without rinsing it first adds a ton of dissolved nutrients to the water. When I prepare frozen foods, I like to rinse them out with rodi water then add a few drops of vitamins.

drpo21 · 02/04/2009, 11:26 PM

i have had problems with hair algae before.. as soon as started to do frequent water changes and added some red-tipped legged hermits, the algae went away... you can always get a yellow tang or another cheap tang that is hardy. they eat the stuff all day.. those mexican turbos work amazing too, they'll chow down and it will be gone in a few hours.

Schwanson · 02/05/2009, 06:22 AM

Your phosphates are way too high. Need to get that in check or you'll never get rid of the GHA. You are feeding way too much, the frozen liquid that is in the cubed shrimp is full of phosphates, definately rinse prior to adding. Try feeding 1/2 a rinsed cube every 2-3 days.

A refugium is a good idea also. If you need some chaeto let me know, it's about time for me to trim some back.

bychance · 02/05/2009, 08:54 AM

FYI:

My Purple Tang and Sailfin Tang don't do a thing for my hair algae.

osiris4evr · 02/05/2009, 12:07 PM

I had a nasty amount of hair algae for months i tried everything!!! Water changes, hermit crabs, a sally light foot, snails, and law mover blennies and even 2 sea hares! nothing made a dent! The sea hares were a total waste of money they both died after have them for no more than 2-3 and i both them from 2 different stores months apart. Then i found someone parting out their tank up here in orlando and he claimed to have a bicolor rabbit fish that loved hair algae so i was like lets give one last shot and see what happens. So i bought him brought him home put him in the tank and nothing.....then 3 days later in the middle of the night he went to work and cleared 1/3 of the tank!!!! over the next few days my tank went from this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3255419259/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256249352/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3255419579/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256249574/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256249700/

to this!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256271250/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256273070/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256280050/

Underneath all that nasty hair algae i ended up having a pretty big sponge colony:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256285538/

Best hair algae eliminator!!!:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256277952/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256281902/

coralfragger101 · 02/05/2009, 03:35 PM

Any fish, snail, crab, etc is going to be hit and miss. Some will - some won't.

You just have to take your chances and hope that luck is on your side.

However you should keep in mind that any of these remedies are not remedies at all. You are treating the symptom and not addressing the problem.

To get at the root of the problem with nuisance algae you need to be taking a good hard look at your water parameters. Excess phosphates and nitrates are generally the culprit. Add to that maybe an old light bulb and you have jet fuel for algae.

bawla47 · 02/05/2009, 08:44 PM

yea i think you feed too much. id get off the brine too. switch to mysis shrimp, youll fish will be way more happier/look better more active.

what i do is defrost the entire package, take rodi water and mix it with the package in a large container, mix it all around, strain through brineshrimp net. and repeat a few times. then i refreeze it in rodi water. that way your feeding almost pure shrimp in just rodi.

also at this time if you want you can also add some selcon or garlic to the mixture.

Elan L. · 02/05/2009, 08:46 PM

same thing happened to me. All i did was scrub it off the back, and it never really came back, then with time it just went away. I would just scrub it and wait.

marcelft · 02/05/2009, 09:42 PM

Wow...thanks everyone, thats a lot of great info!!!
Someone said old bulbs? Im going to get order new ones tomorrow, I have a used set and I believe the guy said they were about 1 year old, the ends are grey. Why would old bulbs add to the alge problem?
I wish I could get that Bicolar rabbit fish, but I just inherited a bunch of new fish tonight, my friends tank crashed on him, all his corals started dying, and he needed a home for his fish. There are two tangs that I hope will eat the alge..a Blue Tang, and a Mimic Tang. I also gota bunch more snails, a few coral banded shrimp, and another sally light foot.
I will also stop feeding them so much and rinse them out too. Wonder why fish food companies dont catch on that people want their shrimp rinsed out??

coralfragger101 · 02/05/2009, 09:50 PM

With old bulbs the color spectrum changes. The color temp could drop to a color more favorable for algae growth.

Schwanson · 02/05/2009, 09:56 PM

As bulbs age their color spectrum shifts. Though there is alot of debate as to when to replace your bulbs, the general consensus is to replace MH bulbs once every year, CF's every 8 months, and T-5's every 18 months. Once again, this is just my opinion.

I would try to avoid adding anymore livestock until you get control of your skimming issue and get those phosphates way down. Adding chaeto should help alot as it will eventually outcompete the GHA.

marcelft · 02/05/2009, 10:26 PM

YEs, new blubs were in my plans anyways, cant hurt right (except the wallet).
No more live stock for a long time. I gotta watch it right now being that I added so many new fish all at once. I'll be doing a lot of water changes. I really feel bad for my friend, he had a incredible tank. he isnt even sure what happened, he thinks he may have had some extreme temp swings.

marcelft · 02/05/2009, 10:53 PM

crash boom bang!, wanna buy a tank? Thanks again for helping clean up the mess and taking the fish. The blue hippo tang, mimic tang and pygmy angel, all grazed on the rockwork, hopefully they will eat your hair algae.
Still wanna give the skimmer a try? lets do it.

erc · 02/05/2009, 10:57 PM

hey, I'm you , didn't realize you were logged on , that's o.k. I got your credit card info now..j/k

peace

Magga Pie · 02/06/2009, 12:29 AM

My sea-hare works wonders in my tank. Iv had him for 6 months

I love him he takes good care of the algae in my 75

drpo21 · 02/06/2009, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by erc
hey, I'm you , didn't realize you were logged on , that's o.k. I got your credit card info now..j/k

peace

ok im sorry but this was hilarious, I'm reading the past post and was kinda freaked out, as if you had skitzo or something.. then i noticed it was a different person..

marcelft · 02/06/2009, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by drpo21
ok im sorry but this was hilarious, I'm reading the past post and was kinda freaked out, as if you had skitzo or something.. then i noticed it was a different person..

Yea, I was on his comp when I was at his house, didn't sign out. The guys crazy, a nut job, certifiable....my kind a people.

erc · 02/06/2009, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by marcelft
Yea, I was on his comp when I was at his house, didn't sign out. The guys crazy, a nut job, certifiable....my kind a people.

HEY!! I resemble that remark,

marcelft · 02/06/2009, 10:33 PM

"Current tank: dry and stinky"...if only these boards weren't moderated.
The fish, snails, and crab are going to town on the alge. What kinda conch was that called, he kicks butt!

LouPhoenix · 02/07/2009, 05:46 AM

can't see the whole shell, but it looks like either a queen or a fighting conch. Great creatures to have either way!

02/04/2009, 08:25 PM	#1
marcelft Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boynton Beach, FL Posts: 540	Lots of green Hair Alge. hey, new talk, about 2 months now. Its growing alot of hair alge. I dont have anything In my refugium yet, so Im figuring that should help alot right? I have a bunch of hermits, a sally light foot, astrea snails, and sailfin blenny for my cleanup crew. They manage to keep a few rocks clean, but the alge is starting to taking over the rest of the tank. Anyone ever use a sea hare? I read they work pretty well. __________________ Marcel Current Tank Info: Outside tank = 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water..nick named "The Ocean". Inside tank 75g.

02/04/2009, 09:12 PM	#3
marcelft Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boynton Beach, FL Posts: 540	NH=0 PH=8 No2=0 No3=0 Sal=1.026 Alk=5 That is all the test kits I have. Alk is low huh? I did a 50% water change last weekend too, and I only use RO/DI water. I was trying to make my skimmer calm down, its been overflowing the collection cup even with the dischagre tube all the way down. The water change helped calm the skimmer down a little, until I just stirred up the water. __________________ Marcel Current Tank Info: Outside tank = 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water..nick named "The Ocean". Inside tank 75g.

02/04/2009, 09:17 PM	#4
LouPhoenix Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kendall Posts: 870	I've used sea hares but they tend to be finicky about water parameters and they'll starve once the algae is gone, unless you purposely add more algae for it to eat. It's best to increase your water flow, get your nutrients in check (do frequent small water changes and feed the tank very little), get a couple of giant Mexican Turbo Snails and kill the lights for a few days if there's nothing photosynthetic in the tank. __________________ SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0 0 rows returned Current Tank Info: 65 Gallon hexagon tank. 2 Korali55 gal fw planted acidic amazon biotype.

02/04/2009, 09:32 PM	#5
marcelft Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boynton Beach, FL Posts: 540	I was thinking of killing teh lights, but I just started adding some soft-corals. Could over feeding the fish add to the problem? Thats one thing I have yet to see a guide to, as to how much to feed them. I dont have many fish either, 2 chromis, 2 firefish, a midas blenny, and a sailfin blenny. I feed them one cube of frozen brine shrimp a day. __________________ Marcel Current Tank Info: Outside tank = 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water..nick named "The Ocean". Inside tank 75g.

02/04/2009, 09:51 PM	#6
LouPhoenix Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kendall Posts: 870	too much, imo. I have about the same fishload in my 65 gal and I feed them a few pinches of flake once a day. They do get mysis/cyclopeeze when I feed my corals twice a week. Also, feeding a cube of frozen food without rinsing it first adds a ton of dissolved nutrients to the water. When I prepare frozen foods, I like to rinse them out with rodi water then add a few drops of vitamins. __________________ SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0 0 rows returned Current Tank Info: 65 Gallon hexagon tank. 2 Korali55 gal fw planted acidic amazon biotype.

02/04/2009, 08:50 PM	#2
Schwanson Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 60	What are your tank parameters? Usually GHA is best controlled by starving it of nutrients. Make sure to do regular water changes and use RODI water.

02/04/2009, 11:26 PM	#7
drpo21 Reefer Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: North Miami Beach, FL Posts: 909	i have had problems with hair algae before.. as soon as started to do frequent water changes and added some red-tipped legged hermits, the algae went away... you can always get a yellow tang or another cheap tang that is hardy. they eat the stuff all day.. those mexican turbos work amazing too, they'll chow down and it will be gone in a few hours. __________________ --Aaron One day I'll have a tank that has sharks with freakin' laser-beams attached to their heads. o_O

02/05/2009, 06:22 AM	#8
Schwanson Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 60	Your phosphates are way too high. Need to get that in check or you'll never get rid of the GHA. You are feeding way too much, the frozen liquid that is in the cubed shrimp is full of phosphates, definately rinse prior to adding. Try feeding 1/2 a rinsed cube every 2-3 days. A refugium is a good idea also. If you need some chaeto let me know, it's about time for me to trim some back.

02/05/2009, 08:54 AM	#9
bychance Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Cocoa, FL Posts: 91	FYI: My Purple Tang and Sailfin Tang don't do a thing for my hair algae. __________________ William Tell has stretched his bow till it won't stretch no furthermore and/or it may require a change that hasn't come before... - Robert Hunter Current Tank Info: 180 gallon

02/05/2009, 12:07 PM	#10
osiris4evr Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 237	I had a nasty amount of hair algae for months i tried everything!!! Water changes, hermit crabs, a sally light foot, snails, and law mover blennies and even 2 sea hares! nothing made a dent! The sea hares were a total waste of money they both died after have them for no more than 2-3 and i both them from 2 different stores months apart. Then i found someone parting out their tank up here in orlando and he claimed to have a bicolor rabbit fish that loved hair algae so i was like lets give one last shot and see what happens. So i bought him brought him home put him in the tank and nothing.....then 3 days later in the middle of the night he went to work and cleared 1/3 of the tank!!!! over the next few days my tank went from this http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3255419259/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256249352/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3255419579/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256249574/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256249700/ to this!!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256271250/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256273070/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256280050/ Underneath all that nasty hair algae i ended up having a pretty big sponge colony: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256285538/ Best hair algae eliminator!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256277952/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26713274@N06/3256281902/

02/05/2009, 03:35 PM	#11
coralfragger101 Gone Postal Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Coral Springs, FL Posts: 5,461	Any fish, snail, crab, etc is going to be hit and miss. Some will - some won't. You just have to take your chances and hope that luck is on your side. However you should keep in mind that any of these remedies are not remedies at all. You are treating the symptom and not addressing the problem. To get at the root of the problem with nuisance algae you need to be taking a good hard look at your water parameters. Excess phosphates and nitrates are generally the culprit. Add to that maybe an old light bulb and you have jet fuel for algae. __________________ Views expressed by this person are not neccessarily the views of any other person and may never be. Apology extended to any member who takes offense to any post. Offense is not meant nor intended. Current Tank Info: NONE - Sold - Can't afford it right now!

02/05/2009, 08:44 PM	#12
bawla47 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: fort lauderdale, FL Posts: 2,190	yea i think you feed too much. id get off the brine too. switch to mysis shrimp, youll fish will be way more happier/look better more active. what i do is defrost the entire package, take rodi water and mix it with the package in a large container, mix it all around, strain through brineshrimp net. and repeat a few times. then i refreeze it in rodi water. that way your feeding almost pure shrimp in just rodi. also at this time if you want you can also add some selcon or garlic to the mixture.

02/05/2009, 08:46 PM	#13
Elan L. Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: miami beach Posts: 3,216	same thing happened to me. All i did was scrub it off the back, and it never really came back, then with time it just went away. I would just scrub it and wait. __________________ ♀ ⊗ ┏ ┓ ♒♒♒♒♒ Current Tank Info: 75g sps dominated reef some lps. 24x18x12 frag tank plumbed into 29g sump w/ Octopus Xtreme 160

02/05/2009, 09:42 PM	#14
marcelft Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boynton Beach, FL Posts: 540	Wow...thanks everyone, thats a lot of great info!!! Someone said old bulbs? Im going to get order new ones tomorrow, I have a used set and I believe the guy said they were about 1 year old, the ends are grey. Why would old bulbs add to the alge problem? I wish I could get that Bicolar rabbit fish, but I just inherited a bunch of new fish tonight, my friends tank crashed on him, all his corals started dying, and he needed a home for his fish. There are two tangs that I hope will eat the alge..a Blue Tang, and a Mimic Tang. I also gota bunch more snails, a few coral banded shrimp, and another sally light foot. I will also stop feeding them so much and rinse them out too. Wonder why fish food companies dont catch on that people want their shrimp rinsed out?? __________________ Marcel Current Tank Info: Outside tank = 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water..nick named "The Ocean". Inside tank 75g.

02/05/2009, 09:50 PM	#15
coralfragger101 Gone Postal Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Coral Springs, FL Posts: 5,461	With old bulbs the color spectrum changes. The color temp could drop to a color more favorable for algae growth. __________________ Views expressed by this person are not neccessarily the views of any other person and may never be. Apology extended to any member who takes offense to any post. Offense is not meant nor intended. Current Tank Info: NONE - Sold - Can't afford it right now!

02/05/2009, 09:56 PM	#16
Schwanson Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 60	As bulbs age their color spectrum shifts. Though there is alot of debate as to when to replace your bulbs, the general consensus is to replace MH bulbs once every year, CF's every 8 months, and T-5's every 18 months. Once again, this is just my opinion. I would try to avoid adding anymore livestock until you get control of your skimming issue and get those phosphates way down. Adding chaeto should help alot as it will eventually outcompete the GHA.

02/05/2009, 10:26 PM	#17
marcelft Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boynton Beach, FL Posts: 540	YEs, new blubs were in my plans anyways, cant hurt right (except the wallet). No more live stock for a long time. I gotta watch it right now being that I added so many new fish all at once. I'll be doing a lot of water changes. I really feel bad for my friend, he had a incredible tank. he isnt even sure what happened, he thinks he may have had some extreme temp swings. __________________ Marcel Current Tank Info: Outside tank = 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water..nick named "The Ocean". Inside tank 75g.

02/05/2009, 10:53 PM	#18
marcelft Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boynton Beach, FL Posts: 540	crash boom bang!, wanna buy a tank? Thanks again for helping clean up the mess and taking the fish. The blue hippo tang, mimic tang and pygmy angel, all grazed on the rockwork, hopefully they will eat your hair algae. Still wanna give the skimmer a try? lets do it. __________________ Marcel Current Tank Info: Outside tank = 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water..nick named "The Ocean". Inside tank 75g.

02/05/2009, 10:57 PM	#19
erc Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Delray Beach, S. Fla Posts: 55	hey, I'm you , didn't realize you were logged on , that's o.k. I got your credit card info now..j/k peace __________________ there's a hole in daddy's tank, where all the money goes Current Tank Info: 150 gal. reef

02/06/2009, 12:29 AM	#20
Magga Pie Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Miami Fl Posts: 1,490	My sea-hare works wonders in my tank. Iv had him for 6 months I love him he takes good care of the algae in my 75

02/06/2009, 10:33 PM	#24
marcelft Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boynton Beach, FL Posts: 540	"Current tank: dry and stinky"...if only these boards weren't moderated. The fish, snails, and crab are going to town on the alge. What kinda conch was that called, he kicks butt! __________________ Marcel Current Tank Info: Outside tank = 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water..nick named "The Ocean". Inside tank 75g.

02/07/2009, 05:46 AM	#25
LouPhoenix Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kendall Posts: 870	can't see the whole shell, but it looks like either a queen or a fighting conch. Great creatures to have either way! __________________ SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0 0 rows returned Current Tank Info: 65 Gallon hexagon tank. 2 Korali55 gal fw planted acidic amazon biotype.