green hair algae

[Saltwat3rAddict]

how do i rid this horrific algae??

[Michael]

green algae loves excessive nutrients and light to grow and thrive, look at how to deal with these first, whats your water source?

[foster200]

I was in the same boat a month ago.. and still am actually.

What I am currently doing is whats called Vodka dosing. There is alot of information on the web about this.

Depending on the size of your tank and amount of algae, it might take a while. I have a 180 and have been going for over a month. The algae will slowly change from a thick dark green mass to a loose collection of browning green hair. At this point, it will slowly fall off and be collected in the filter sock. It will also become alot easier to remove manually which you will have to do. As the algae dies off, it releases more food for your other algae.. its a vicious cycle.

Its a pain in butt, but necessary.

Of course, Im still very new to this hobby so I might be mistaken. This is what Im doing and what I have seen. best of luck

[Tomaric]

Turbo Snails....And stop over feeding, ect...
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...571&pcatid=571

[jcono]

Vodka dosing might help. I have been dosing regularly for quite some time now, and it has kept nitrates down to zero, however my phos. levels have crept up recently resulting in an algae outbreak- so I have learned not to rely only on vodka!

Bottom line is algae needs a food source and light to thrive. What are your phosphate levels?

[jimsplace]

Try Algae Fix Marine. There is a thread on RC dealing with it.

[jformani]

I've read good reviews on Algae Fix. But you need to determine the cause of the hair algae or it might come back.

[bertoni]

Nutrient control is usually a way to get rid of an alga. In the short term, pulling out what algae is easy to get, if any, will remove nutrients. Checking the feeding level can be useful. Adding a GFO reactor or using carbon dosing of some sort are other common approaches.

[foster200]

can you use algae fix with inverts in the tank?

[lalo809]

Just reading im in the same boat with the ugly GHA im trying the vodka dosing but had to stop in the second week my xenia and toadstools didnt like vodka but it does work i saw the algea turning brown in the tip and also ive noticed that after trying vodka and then stoped im getting more gha in different places.

[tangzzz]

I also did Vodka dosing slowly and it removed the stubborn algae that I had battled for over a year. My Xenia did melt away though.

[MrsHaggis]

I consider myself something of a GHA expert - expert in growing it that is :O)

1. Turn your lights off for 3 days
2. Mix a new batch of salt water - take out any rocks you can and clean them in the salt mix (this keeps hitchhikers alive)
3. Start feeding only every 2nd day
4. After 3 days turn your lights back on but only for about 4/5 hours per day
5. Do a few big water changes to bring down Phosphates and Nitrates - they might be testing 0 but that is normal because the GHA is using all the extra nutrients in the water.
6. Make sure your TDS reading is 0 - assuming you are using RO water. If you are not using RO water then start!!!

I have never tried Vodka dosing as the above helped.

Good Luck

[lalo809]

All the xenia melted?? im trying to turn a glass wall into a xenia wall only thats why i stop dosing but i going to try what mrshaggis did starting sunday

[foster200]

my toadstools loved it! I have 3 different kinds, two of which didnt come out at all until i started vodka dosing, now those same two never go in.. at all! they stay out even at night. I fragged some xenia prior to this and it was starting to grow, it is now melting away but the healthy xenia is going strong.

Im afraid to turn the lights off. I think it would screw my fish up. do they seem mind this?

[Jstdv8]

look up algae turf scrubbers, those might be of interest to you

[jimsplace]

Originally Posted by foster200

can you use algae fix with inverts in the tank?

I used it and didn't have any problems with any corals or inverts. Follow the directions it will take several applications, stay after it. This is a short term fix, you must find out what the original cause is and correct it ot the gha will come back.

[Felix T Cat]

I added 2 Emerald crabs (135g tank) and within a week it was almost all gone, by 2 weeks I couldn't find any green HA.

[MrsHaggis]

One precision - when cleaning the rocks only clean 1/3 of them at a time otherwise you might spike a cycle!!!

Adding an emerald crab is a great idea and would have been on my list if only I could get my hands on one - i've had one ordered at two different LFS's for over a month and cannot seem to get one but if you can then great for GHA.

But again you must find the cause.

1. Too much food?
2. Too much light?
3. Not using RO water?