Hair Algae driving me crazy. What have you done to fix this problem?

smartang22 · 05/24/2007, 08:05 AM

I have a hair algae problem. I know all of the things that all of you Reefers say: phosphate problem, overfeeding, too much light, not enough flow. So I have tried to fix the problems by doing the following: adding chemipure elite, cutting back on lighting, closing the blinds to keep out sunlight, trying to feed less, and weekly water changes and I replaced the stock pump (for a BioCube 14 gal.) to a Maxijet 900. So far nothing has even put a dent in the amount of algae. I even hand pull it once a week. My clean up crew is worthless and won't touch it. I also have algae all over the glass. I scrape it off and it comes right back.

I have a yellow watchman goby and a little clown, a small frag of zoanthids, and snails and crabs so I know the bioload is not too much. Because of time restaints, I had to use tap water (I know!) for water changes, but now I have RO bottled water that I am using.

Please help me with this problem. This is driving me crazy!! I see all of these amazing tanks on RC and get so disappointed. Also, I have had the tank since Feb.

What have other people done to fix a larger hair algae problem? Suggestions, comments, anything PLEASE!!!

Avi · 05/24/2007, 08:19 AM

Don't worry...you'll get it under control. But, you have to be deliberate about resolving the problem. First of all, the water that you use for water changes....is it tap or RO/DI? If it's tap water and you're water source isn't ideal in that it contains a higher level of nitrates, phosphates, etc. then, you should only use RO/DI water which you can buy if you don't intend do get a unit to use at home.

There are other measures that you can use as well, like getting a small protein skimmer. There's differences in agreement over their use in a small tank like yours, but I've seen them resolve the most stubborn hair-algae problems without any other measure being taken in my friend's 15-gallon reef. He was amazed. There are smaller, inexpensive ones available now, so look around for one that would fit your tank's configuration.

You could also put a reactor using a very small water pump for circulation, filling the reactor with Rowaphos or another high quality phosphate removing medium. That's assuming that a high level of phosphates are contributing to your hair-algae problem.

Increasing the frequency of water changes is also something that you probably ought to do.

smartang22 · 05/24/2007, 08:56 AM

As far as the reactor goes: what is it? I had a bag of phosgaurd in the tank when I first started and it may have helped. I do have the chemipure elite in there now which is supposed to help remove phosphates. I have it in the second chamber with the live rock rubble and a bag of purigen. I thought those two chemicals would help the tank.

The last three water changes were done with tap water treated with Ammonia Detox to neutralize any chlorine. But now I have bottled DI water. I haven't invested in a RO/DI machine yet. That will be on the list of things to buy though.

So then if I increase the amount of water changes and how many times I change the water how then I will be spending a lot of time focusing on these changes. Can I expect to see a decrease in algae simply from these water changes?

James11 · 05/24/2007, 09:16 AM

Everything in this hobby takes patience, I learned that in the beginning. Keep up with the RO water changes and keep pulling out the hair algae, eventually it will go away. If you don't have anything that is dependent on light pull out as much hair algae as possible, do a water change, then leave the lights off for a couple days and see what happens. One last thing, how old are the bulbs in the biocube, most likely it has pc and if they go out of spectrum algae grows a lot better, happened to me once with my last fixture.

smartang22 · 05/24/2007, 09:28 AM

I got the BioCube in Feb. so it has only been used for 4 months.

I do have a small frag of zoanthids so I couldn't totally turn the lights off. But I could decrease the time I have the lights on by even more. I normally run the lights from 7am to 7pm. I could turn them on at 12:30 and off at 8:30 instead. In fact I have a timer that I am going to set up soon. What is the least amount of light I can run for zoanthids and fish to stay healthy?

Bmgrocks · 05/24/2007, 09:50 AM

I had the same problem with my 29, and like you i used Tap.
I resolved the problem by CHANGING ALL THE WATER AT ONCE, with RODI, some people look down upon massive changes like that but I was desperate and for the last 6months have suffered no ill effects.

I had then taken out all my LR, and scrubbed it Throughly, Removing all the hair algae with a Scrub Brush, Dipping it into the Old water to further remove spores
After all rocks were scrubbed, they were put back into the tank, HA free,

As far as the large waterchange, I had left about 10% of the old tap in the tank, knowing that continued weekly waterchanges would remove any tap left. I suffered no Ammonia, Nitrate or NitrIte spikes. And am Happy to say that with that and A Modded Fuge, I have Almost No HAIR ALGAE.

Good LUck, MAKE THE SWITCH, Try adding a AC Fuge. The Bigger the better.

peterkay · 05/24/2007, 09:51 AM

Do you have a refugium set up? If so, you can add some good macroalgae (eg. Caulerpa) which will compete for the same nutrients that the hair algae needs to grow. This will very likely put a dent in your hair algae problem.

Sk8r · 05/24/2007, 09:56 AM

You're doing all right. This stuff is a startup plague. As your tank ages, if you put a hairy rock into your tank, the stuff would die off. I just did a 'warm-boot' on my tank, as I set up [a house move: I got held up and lost a lot of things] and sure enough, I got hair algae, which gave way to bubble, and that cursed plague caulerpa. I have a 20g refugium, which has knocked hair and film, but so far not the bubble and the [expletive of your choice here] caulerpa. [I use cheatomorpha in my 'fuge.] So I'm about a month behind you, but my rock is much, much older. Have patience. The tanks you see pictures of are above 6 months old.

sasscuba · 05/24/2007, 10:03 AM

Low TDS RO water and a phosphate reactor. Had a huge hair algae problem when I started my tank for the first few months and now at 7 months it is 100% free.

Avi · 05/24/2007, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smartang22
As far as the reactor goes: what is it?

These are very effective in maximizing the medium used:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...1&N=2004&Nty=1

smartang22 · 05/24/2007, 10:12 AM

Thank you so much for the advice. I was also thinking of adding chaeto in the main tank. I have a spot of LR that is close to the surface and would get a lot of light. Besides looking weird, does anyone see a problem with that?

I think I am going to do a 4 gallon water change tonight and then pull as much of the hair algae off of the rock as possible. I might take the top and side rocks out for a scrub down too. I can't take this one piece out b/c I just added my yellow watchman goby and that is his home right now. I don't want to stress him.

Again thanks and if there is anything else, please let me know!!

smartang22 · 05/24/2007, 10:16 AM

One more thing: does this phosban reactor fit in the tank or hang outside. I want to make sure that the lid will completely close.

sasscuba · 05/24/2007, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smartang22
One more thing: does this phosban reactor fit in the tank or hang outside. I want to make sure that the lid will completely close.

pump goes inside but reactor can go anywhere as long as the hoses are long enough. It hangs on the outside.

Rustylugnuts · 05/24/2007, 11:39 AM

Heres what i did A little unconventional i know but it did help when the GHA was at its worst. I picked a decent sized rock that was under the lights but off to the left and let the hair do its worst the rest of the tank i completely scrubbed spotless. The hair mat on that one rock (8 to 12 sq in worth) got up to about an inch and a half to two inches but the algae stayed confined to one spot. This way rather than have a little algae covering the entire tank i had one green fro off to the side and the rest of the tank stayed pretty clear. After a month or two of this the mat got a little patchy and the rest was pretty easy to pluck off. The tank was about 5 mos old when the GHA took over 3 months later i had the wave of cyano run through Since then i havent had any algae or bacteria blooms.

Avi · 05/24/2007, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smartang22
One more thing: does this phosban reactor fit in the tank or hang outside. I want to make sure that the lid will completely close.

The reactor can sit on the side of the tank. It can also sit somewhere near the tank so long as you secure it so it doesn't tip over. The small water pump that's used to move the water can be put inside the tank and with flexible hosing, can be placed in a convenient out-of-the-way place. Sometimes barbed elbows that you can get at a Home Depot-type store will make the installation neater, so consider that.

seaduck · 05/24/2007, 03:00 PM

I had a serious red hair algea problem in my 30 gal nano. I purchased a small coral beauty angel and a mex-turbo snail. The algea was gone in 2 weeks...all rocks stripped bare of hair. The little angel is like a lawn mower and constantly picks at the algea tearing it from the rock. I had hair floating everywhere until the filter did its job....ur tank is pretty small for an angel tho....maybe a very very small one would work temporarily until u get it under control.

seaduck · 05/24/2007, 03:20 PM

Also, i purchased a frogspawn that had hair algae growing on its stalk and put it in the 30. The algae was gone by the end of the day.

05/24/2007, 08:05 AM	#1
smartang22 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Portage, IN Posts: 191	Hair Algae driving me crazy. What have you done to fix this problem? I have a hair algae problem. I know all of the things that all of you Reefers say: phosphate problem, overfeeding, too much light, not enough flow. So I have tried to fix the problems by doing the following: adding chemipure elite, cutting back on lighting, closing the blinds to keep out sunlight, trying to feed less, and weekly water changes and I replaced the stock pump (for a BioCube 14 gal.) to a Maxijet 900. So far nothing has even put a dent in the amount of algae. I even hand pull it once a week. My clean up crew is worthless and won't touch it. I also have algae all over the glass. I scrape it off and it comes right back. I have a yellow watchman goby and a little clown, a small frag of zoanthids, and snails and crabs so I know the bioload is not too much. Because of time restaints, I had to use tap water (I know!) for water changes, but now I have RO bottled water that I am using. Please help me with this problem. This is driving me crazy!! I see all of these amazing tanks on RC and get so disappointed. Also, I have had the tank since Feb. What have other people done to fix a larger hair algae problem? Suggestions, comments, anything PLEASE!!!

05/24/2007, 08:19 AM	#2
Avi Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Westchester County, NY Posts: 7,327	Don't worry...you'll get it under control. But, you have to be deliberate about resolving the problem. First of all, the water that you use for water changes....is it tap or RO/DI? If it's tap water and you're water source isn't ideal in that it contains a higher level of nitrates, phosphates, etc. then, you should only use RO/DI water which you can buy if you don't intend do get a unit to use at home. There are other measures that you can use as well, like getting a small protein skimmer. There's differences in agreement over their use in a small tank like yours, but I've seen them resolve the most stubborn hair-algae problems without any other measure being taken in my friend's 15-gallon reef. He was amazed. There are smaller, inexpensive ones available now, so look around for one that would fit your tank's configuration. You could also put a reactor using a very small water pump for circulation, filling the reactor with Rowaphos or another high quality phosphate removing medium. That's assuming that a high level of phosphates are contributing to your hair-algae problem. Increasing the frequency of water changes is also something that you probably ought to do. __________________ I'd keep the whole ocean if my den were big enough Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef with 210 lbs. of live rock, Aqua-C EV180 Skimmer, Aquactinic double 250W MH with blue plus t5 support; 58 gallon freshwater planted tank using CO2 and T5s; 30-gallon cube with a few fancy goldfish; and a 110 gallon FOWLR

05/24/2007, 09:50 AM	#6
Bmgrocks Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,006	I had the same problem with my 29, and like you i used Tap. I resolved the problem by CHANGING ALL THE WATER AT ONCE, with RODI, some people look down upon massive changes like that but I was desperate and for the last 6months have suffered no ill effects. I had then taken out all my LR, and scrubbed it Throughly, Removing all the hair algae with a Scrub Brush, Dipping it into the Old water to further remove spores After all rocks were scrubbed, they were put back into the tank, HA free, As far as the large waterchange, I had left about 10% of the old tap in the tank, knowing that continued weekly waterchanges would remove any tap left. I suffered no Ammonia, Nitrate or NitrIte spikes. And am Happy to say that with that and A Modded Fuge, I have Almost No HAIR ALGAE. Good LUck, MAKE THE SWITCH, Try adding a AC Fuge. The Bigger the better. Last edited by Bmgrocks; 05/24/2007 at 09:56 AM.

05/24/2007, 09:56 AM	#8
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	You're doing all right. This stuff is a startup plague. As your tank ages, if you put a hairy rock into your tank, the stuff would die off. I just did a 'warm-boot' on my tank, as I set up [a house move: I got held up and lost a lot of things] and sure enough, I got hair algae, which gave way to bubble, and that cursed plague caulerpa. I have a 20g refugium, which has knocked hair and film, but so far not the bubble and the [expletive of your choice here] caulerpa. [I use cheatomorpha in my 'fuge.] So I'm about a month behind you, but my rock is much, much older. Have patience. The tanks you see pictures of are above 6 months old. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/24/2007, 11:39 AM	#14
Rustylugnuts Powdered Toast Man Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Peoria, IL Posts: 813	Heres what i did A little unconventional i know but it did help when the GHA was at its worst. I picked a decent sized rock that was under the lights but off to the left and let the hair do its worst the rest of the tank i completely scrubbed spotless. The hair mat on that one rock (8 to 12 sq in worth) got up to about an inch and a half to two inches but the algae stayed confined to one spot. This way rather than have a little algae covering the entire tank i had one green fro off to the side and the rest of the tank stayed pretty clear. After a month or two of this the mat got a little patchy and the rest was pretty easy to pluck off. The tank was about 5 mos old when the GHA took over 3 months later i had the wave of cyano run through Since then i havent had any algae or bacteria blooms. __________________ And now back to my regularly scheduled lurking. Drill It! Current Tank Info: Buncha parts and tanks of various size. Nothing currently running :(

05/24/2007, 08:56 AM	#3
smartang22 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Portage, IN Posts: 191	As far as the reactor goes: what is it? I had a bag of phosgaurd in the tank when I first started and it may have helped. I do have the chemipure elite in there now which is supposed to help remove phosphates. I have it in the second chamber with the live rock rubble and a bag of purigen. I thought those two chemicals would help the tank. The last three water changes were done with tap water treated with Ammonia Detox to neutralize any chlorine. But now I have bottled DI water. I haven't invested in a RO/DI machine yet. That will be on the list of things to buy though. So then if I increase the amount of water changes and how many times I change the water how then I will be spending a lot of time focusing on these changes. Can I expect to see a decrease in algae simply from these water changes?

05/24/2007, 09:16 AM	#4
James11 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: KY Posts: 544	Everything in this hobby takes patience, I learned that in the beginning. Keep up with the RO water changes and keep pulling out the hair algae, eventually it will go away. If you don't have anything that is dependent on light pull out as much hair algae as possible, do a water change, then leave the lights off for a couple days and see what happens. One last thing, how old are the bulbs in the biocube, most likely it has pc and if they go out of spectrum algae grows a lot better, happened to me once with my last fixture.

05/24/2007, 09:28 AM	#5
smartang22 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Portage, IN Posts: 191	I got the BioCube in Feb. so it has only been used for 4 months. I do have a small frag of zoanthids so I couldn't totally turn the lights off. But I could decrease the time I have the lights on by even more. I normally run the lights from 7am to 7pm. I could turn them on at 12:30 and off at 8:30 instead. In fact I have a timer that I am going to set up soon. What is the least amount of light I can run for zoanthids and fish to stay healthy?

05/24/2007, 09:51 AM	#7
peterkay Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Montreal Posts: 25	Do you have a refugium set up? If so, you can add some good macroalgae (eg. Caulerpa) which will compete for the same nutrients that the hair algae needs to grow. This will very likely put a dent in your hair algae problem.

05/24/2007, 10:03 AM	#9
sasscuba Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Owasso, Oklahoma Posts: 990	Low TDS RO water and a phosphate reactor. Had a huge hair algae problem when I started my tank for the first few months and now at 7 months it is 100% free.

05/24/2007, 10:12 AM	#11
smartang22 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Portage, IN Posts: 191	Thank you so much for the advice. I was also thinking of adding chaeto in the main tank. I have a spot of LR that is close to the surface and would get a lot of light. Besides looking weird, does anyone see a problem with that? I think I am going to do a 4 gallon water change tonight and then pull as much of the hair algae off of the rock as possible. I might take the top and side rocks out for a scrub down too. I can't take this one piece out b/c I just added my yellow watchman goby and that is his home right now. I don't want to stress him. Again thanks and if there is anything else, please let me know!!

05/24/2007, 10:16 AM	#12
smartang22 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Portage, IN Posts: 191	One more thing: does this phosban reactor fit in the tank or hang outside. I want to make sure that the lid will completely close.

05/24/2007, 03:00 PM	#16
seaduck Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Seminole, fl Posts: 724	I had a serious red hair algea problem in my 30 gal nano. I purchased a small coral beauty angel and a mex-turbo snail. The algea was gone in 2 weeks...all rocks stripped bare of hair. The little angel is like a lawn mower and constantly picks at the algea tearing it from the rock. I had hair floating everywhere until the filter did its job....ur tank is pretty small for an angel tho....maybe a very very small one would work temporarily until u get it under control.

05/24/2007, 03:20 PM	#17
seaduck Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Seminole, fl Posts: 724	Also, i purchased a frogspawn that had hair algae growing on its stalk and put it in the 30. The algae was gone by the end of the day.