green hair algae

bdharris66 · 01/14/2014, 07:24 PM

I have green hair algae growing on my live rock in my 55 gallon tank what do I need to do
my ph is 8.0
amm 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 20

nlgill13 · 01/14/2014, 07:26 PM

what is your phosphate at? This is what feeds algae and it is necessary to control to keep algae at bay.

MSreefdoc · 01/14/2014, 07:30 PM

How new is your tank? If you have a more established tank then you must find the source of the added nutrients. This could be over feeding, or it could be that you need to do more frequent water changes. Need much more information to help you here.

petere1989 · 01/14/2014, 07:31 PM

how long are you running lights for and what kind of lighting do you use?

bdharris66 · 01/14/2014, 07:34 PM

I run my lights about all day the tank has been set up for 3 weeks I have 4 fish in it don't know my phosphate level

bdharris66 · 01/14/2014, 07:35 PM

will a cleaning crew help like crabs snails and shrimp

MSreefdoc · 01/14/2014, 07:36 PM

The GHA will likely reside with time and water changes. Lights should be on for more like 10 hours a day, and less in some cases. What lighting do you have?

MSreefdoc · 01/14/2014, 07:37 PM

A cleaning crew will help, you need them anyway. After the GHA gets too long many clean up crew members won't touch it.

nlgill13 · 01/14/2014, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSreefdoc

A cleaning crew will help, you need them anyway. After the GHA gets too long many clean up crew member won't touch it.

+1 you will have to pull the GHA by hand so that the clean up crew will start eating it.

bdharris66 · 01/14/2014, 07:41 PM

ok I wll do a water change and see if it will help

bdharris66 · 01/14/2014, 07:42 PM

its real short right now

bdharris66 · 01/14/2014, 07:42 PM

you just can see it on the rocks

MSreefdoc · 01/14/2014, 07:47 PM

You keep dodging one of the most important questions lol! What kind of lighting do you have?? A single water change will do very little. You need to show your LFS guy how much you are feeding and see if they feel you are putting too much in. You need something like 10 turbo snails and 15 hermits(Just throwing out a few numbers you can get more or less, but you need at least 20 clean up crew members for a 55 IMO). As nlgill13 said, you need to pull the long stuff out by hand(just pull out as much as you can) when you introduce the CUC members.

bdharris66 · 01/14/2014, 08:35 PM

my light is a 36 inch t5 light 4 bulb its not tall enough to even pull it looks like a moss on the live rock not sure this means any thing but I tested my well water and heres what I got nitrates 0 nitrites 0 total hardness 250
total alkalinity/buffering capacity 180 ph 8.0

MSreefdoc · 01/14/2014, 08:39 PM

Yea but since you don't have a way to test phosphates, you can't tell if your water source is the problem. I, and most others, would recommend you get a RO/DI water filter(about 200$). If you can't do this, you could probably buy it from the LFS until you can afford it.

MSreefdoc · 01/14/2014, 08:42 PM

Also don't forget to only run the lights for 10 hours max. And get the CUC members! When you get them in there cut your lighting period in half for a week or so and you should be well on your way to controlling it. Might want to pick up a phosphate test kit as well. When I first started 2 years ago I had the same issue and my water source was a big part of the problem.

bdharris66 · 01/14/2014, 08:45 PM

ok I sure do thank you for all your help i am going to get a tds meter and test my well water

MSreefdoc · 01/14/2014, 08:50 PM

No problem, just be patient. This will likely take 3-4 weeks to completely get rid of. Good luck!

01/14/2014, 07:24 PM	#1
bdharris66 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 73	green hair algae I have green hair algae growing on my live rock in my 55 gallon tank what do I need to do my ph is 8.0 amm 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 20

01/14/2014, 07:26 PM	#2
nlgill13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boulder,CO Posts: 1,291	what is your phosphate at? This is what feeds algae and it is necessary to control to keep algae at bay. __________________ 90G DT w/ 30G sump, 2 Apollo SolarBlast Dimmable LEDs, 160 Reef Octopus Extreme, Neptune Apex, Mag 7, MP10 & MP40

01/14/2014, 07:30 PM	#3
MSreefdoc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 68	How new is your tank? If you have a more established tank then you must find the source of the added nutrients. This could be over feeding, or it could be that you need to do more frequent water changes. Need much more information to help you here.

01/14/2014, 07:31 PM	#4
petere1989 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Peoria, Illinois Posts: 949	how long are you running lights for and what kind of lighting do you use?

01/14/2014, 07:34 PM	#5
bdharris66 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 73	I run my lights about all day the tank has been set up for 3 weeks I have 4 fish in it don't know my phosphate level

01/14/2014, 07:35 PM	#6
bdharris66 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 73	will a cleaning crew help like crabs snails and shrimp

01/14/2014, 07:36 PM	#7
MSreefdoc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 68	The GHA will likely reside with time and water changes. Lights should be on for more like 10 hours a day, and less in some cases. What lighting do you have?

01/14/2014, 07:37 PM	#8
MSreefdoc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 68	A cleaning crew will help, you need them anyway. After the GHA gets too long many clean up crew members won't touch it.

01/14/2014, 07:41 PM	#10
bdharris66 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 73	ok I wll do a water change and see if it will help

01/14/2014, 07:42 PM	#11
bdharris66 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 73	its real short right now

01/14/2014, 07:47 PM	#13
MSreefdoc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 68	You keep dodging one of the most important questions lol! What kind of lighting do you have?? A single water change will do very little. You need to show your LFS guy how much you are feeding and see if they feel you are putting too much in. You need something like 10 turbo snails and 15 hermits(Just throwing out a few numbers you can get more or less, but you need at least 20 clean up crew members for a 55 IMO). As nlgill13 said, you need to pull the long stuff out by hand(just pull out as much as you can) when you introduce the CUC members.

01/14/2014, 08:35 PM	#14
bdharris66 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 73	my light is a 36 inch t5 light 4 bulb its not tall enough to even pull it looks like a moss on the live rock not sure this means any thing but I tested my well water and heres what I got nitrates 0 nitrites 0 total hardness 250 total alkalinity/buffering capacity 180 ph 8.0

01/14/2014, 08:39 PM	#15
MSreefdoc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 68	Yea but since you don't have a way to test phosphates, you can't tell if your water source is the problem. I, and most others, would recommend you get a RO/DI water filter(about 200$). If you can't do this, you could probably buy it from the LFS until you can afford it.

01/14/2014, 08:42 PM	#16
MSreefdoc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 68	Also don't forget to only run the lights for 10 hours max. And get the CUC members! When you get them in there cut your lighting period in half for a week or so and you should be well on your way to controlling it. Might want to pick up a phosphate test kit as well. When I first started 2 years ago I had the same issue and my water source was a big part of the problem.

01/14/2014, 08:45 PM	#17
bdharris66 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 73	ok I sure do thank you for all your help i am going to get a tds meter and test my well water

01/14/2014, 08:50 PM	#18
MSreefdoc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 68	No problem, just be patient. This will likely take 3-4 weeks to completely get rid of. Good luck!