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    Results 1 to 13 of 13

    Thread: Green Hair Algae problem

    1. #1
      codyb52 is offline Registered User
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      Green Hair Algae problem

      Hello, I have been having a green hair algae problem for about 6 - 8 months now. I have a service provider who has had my tank in amazing condition for years. But for some reason he has not been able to provide a solution to my problem. I'm starting to loose expensive corals, please help.

      How do I attach pics to this post? I don't see a link...

      58 gallon salt fish/coral
      home made sump underneath (10 gal)
      Octo Skimmer
      Reactor
      dosing Alk, and Two Little fishes 2 part
      2 flow pumps

      Feeding: 3x peer week - nickel sized Rods accompanied by some Sera Marin granuels
      Lighting: 3 T5 white and 2 LED blue and pink (T5 retrofit); LED's on at 10 am off at 7pm (i've left these off for the past few weeks); T5's on at 11am off at 6pm
      We've been doing larger water changes the last several services which are every 2 weeks
      I did start the Vibrant dosing this week on Monday - instructions say every two weeks, but I intend to dose 2x per week (thoughts?)

      Fish:
      2 small Blue Damsels
      2 small Clown fish
      1 large Pajama Cardinal
      1 med Yellow Tang (just added recently for this algae problem)
      1 small Upside Down fish
      1 small Tail Spot Blenny (just added as well)
      1 large Lawnmower Blenny (added about a month ago for algae control)
      1 other small Goby (forgot the name, but white with orange and gray dots)

      2 Turbo Snails
      3 Emerald Crabs
      several small hermit crabs
      Last edited by codyb52; 01-16-2020 at 07:51 PM.

    2. #2
      Dani is offline Registered User
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      Explain your lighting schedule, feeding etc...

    3. #3
      Tonyreeffish is offline Registered User
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      You could always try more water changes or some macro algae in the sump. All about exporting nutrients so the hair algae doesnt have anything to feast on. Grow macros in the sump and that replaces the hair algae in the display. Plus you or your tank guy are gonna have to manually remove the hair algae. Thats the first step. And be glad its not bryopsis...ehhhck. good luck.

      Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

    4. #4
      decastro is offline Registered User
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      Get a few sea hairs they will mow that hair alge away then work on finding the problem but I have noticed hair alge will out compeat most alges brs has a video on vibrant I heard good things but 3 sea hairs did the trick for me I also kept nutrients at lower range for a while about .03 po4 and 10 no3

    5. #5
      decastro is offline Registered User
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      We need more info such as lights and schedule. feedings how much what fish how many nutrients what you are doing for nutrient reduction
      All parameters the more the better maybe some pics

    6. #6
      Dani is offline Registered User
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      Sea Hares climbs over frags and coral often just an f.y.i so glue the down or rack em.

    7. #7
      codyb52 is offline Registered User
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      Thanks for your response, please see update above.

    8. #8
      LotsaFishies is offline Registered User
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      I would look closely to ensure it isn’t Bryopsis, rather than actual Green Hair Algae.

      They look very similar, but traditional steps you would take to get rid of most algae’s (limiting light and nutrients) tend to NEVER kill it. You have to nuke it with Flucanazole.

      Bryopsis was completely unheard of until ~4 years ago. Somewhere in the wild it must have taken hold and starting growing exponentially.. seemingly overnight nearly EVERY fish store had it in their systems.. and then shortly afterward customers had it in their aquariums.. I’ve had to treat ~25 tanks for Bryopsis in the last couple years

    9. #9
      Tonyreeffish is offline Registered User
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      Be careful with the vibrant. Im not sure if doing the extra amount is toxic or not. Im sure someone on here would know though.

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    10. #10
      jetli1969 is online now Registered User
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      Post some pics of your tank!

    11. #11
      crustaceon is offline Registered User
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      Green Hair Algae problem

      Get into a habit of doing a small water change once per week. I have a 55g and change out 5 gallons every Saturday. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, the key here is exporting nitrate and phosphate sources in the form of not just polluted water, but clumps of algae from the rocks/glass and detritus in the sand. Manual removal of the algae is the first step. Never use a brush on algae in the tank and always use your fingers or another tool to rip the algae off of the rocks and have the siphon hose handy to suck it out. I use a ball valve on my siphon hose to dial down the flow and give myself plenty of time to work with before I drain 5 gallons out of the tank. If you have more time, start siphoning the sand. You’ll be amazed at how gross it is. I also change the filter sock in my sump on water change day. The final piece of the puzzle for me was filling a media bag with a phosphate remover (phosguard in my case) and throwing it in a high-flow part of my sump. That gradually took out the turf algae that assumed the position of “most annoying thing in my tank”. It’s been nearly a decade since the last time I’ve seen hair algae in my display. This was after having a refugium with a beach ball-sized clump of chaeto that could outcompete hair algae, but couldn’t outcompete the gnarly turf algae that took over the back glass and rocks. IME, it’s not a cure-all, but good and consistent husbandry is.

      On a side note and for reference, I run my Leds for 10 hours and feed the tank a single cube of frozen mysis or brine every day. Back when i had 15 fish in my system, I fed two cubes. They’ll act like they’re starving , but that’s just what fish do and in reality, they’re perfectly fine with MUCH less food that us humans can understand. Food = fertilizer. Also, I run a skimmer, filter sock, carbon and phosguard for filtration.

      General Parameters

      Sg 1.025
      Temp 77 - 84 depending on the season
      Ph 8.1
      Dkh 8.5
      Cal 440
      Mg 1350
      No3 2
      Po4 Low enough to not worry about it




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      Last edited by crustaceon; 01-15-2020 at 10:18 PM.

    12. #12
      codyb52 is offline Registered User
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      Thanks everybody. What's the best way to post pics? I'd like to get some feedback on Bryopsis vs. Hair if you all can see it.

    13. #13
      Paxis is offline Registered User
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      Quote Originally Posted by codyb52 View Post
      Thanks everybody. What's the best way to post pics? I'd like to get some feedback on Bryopsis vs. Hair if you all can see it.
      Go to postimg.com or your favourite image host, upload foto then scroll down & capture hotlink for forums, return here & paste the link. You may also directly upload images from the Tapatalk App.

      I've never had the Bryo Blues knock on driftwood.

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      Last edited by Paxis; 01-17-2020 at 11:34 AM.

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