Green Hair Algae

[Gonzo82]

Ok i have been battling this stuff for about a month now. I have tried getting another emerald crab a couple more hermits with no headway. I was wondering what other options are out there for me to try. I only have two fish a saddle back clown and a yellow watchman in the tank with a few other shrimp and crabs. I think i have room for maybe another fish if there is one out there that will eat this stuff. I know there is an Algae Blenny but i am afraid that it and my watchman might not get along because they are simmilar in body shape and i have heard that they can become territorial and agressive when combined. I dont know though. Any and all recomendations are apreciated because it is starting to grow on my corals and has already began to suffocate some of my smaller starburst polyps. Everything else seems fine for the most part but i want to try to get this under control before it reaches plague proportions. TIA

 

[vertex]

I've been at battle in my 33g for a couple of months as well.

Only advice is:
1. Manual pick out what you can.
2. Feed less
3. 1 or 2 hours less light than you are doing now
4. More water flow
5. Little more generous water changes
6. Keep your temp below 82 degC

Keep at it with these things and it should start to go away. mine is slowly.

 

[StickyTuba]

I tried adding more livestock as well but it did not work and I couldn't decrease the hair algae.
I found that the best course of action, for me, was to manually remove as much hair algae as I could and then do water changes. I have been doing about a 25 or 30 % water change every other day and it seems to be working quite well. I did these water changes for a week and then let it sit for a week. I will be back to doing water changes every other day next week.

Also check your Phospates and Nitrates. I have read that they will affect your hair algae as well. I checked and mine were fine, I only ran my lights for 10.5 hours daily and I feed every other day. So the water changes were my best bet.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[seaham358]

Check nitrates and phosphates and post numbers... What type of water are you using? Test your top off water also. The algae is feeding off of something, you need to track down what it is and then work to get rid of it.