Hair algae taking over tank!!!

[Hutchball]

I checked my calcium and I think it's 400 ppm. I also checked phosphate level and that seems pretty low. But this is late at night after the lights have been on.

I've attached a pic of the phosphate result. I hate this thing!! It's so hard to determine the result!

So, after the 'hair algae test from God', does this eventually go away or will it be a constant battle?

 

[Jabibi]

Yea calcium. If ur calcium is low it will grow. Calcium kills hair algae. Try to see if u can find the product they sell that kills the algae. It works

 

[Jnam]

It does work but you really want to find the root cause as well or it will just come back. or you will be dosing agleacide all the time to keep it in check. To each thier own i gues.

 

[westy101]

Syphon it all out then leave lights off for three days thats what I did with my algae problem whiped it all out

 

[kurtyboh]

Or get a large crew of hermits workin for ya. Also astraea snails supposedly eat the roots, but you still want to get to the cause of the problem.

kurtyboh

 

[Hutchball]

I'm gonna do a rip out at the weekend with a water change. Also gonna ask how often they change their filters at the LFS.

I'm hoping to keep away from the chemical treatments in case of bad side effects.

I recently bought 10 little hermits. This task might be out if their league!

I have lights on for about 9 hrs. Is that ok?

 

[fcastrofilippo]

I would leave the lights off or cut them down to 5 hours for a few weeks. That's what worked for me. About three months in as well.

 

[melosu58]

FantasyReef Databases-Viewing item "10 Step Plan for Nuisance Algae Control"

A nice little check list for fighting nuisance algea.

 

[Gti_Leo]

i'd look at a few blue knuckle hermits to try and fight of some of the hair algae

 

[Hutchball]

That checklist is a great start. Maybe I'm gonna feed every two days now and increase my water changes to once a week.

 

[Gti_Leo]

how long has your aquarium been running for? weekly PWC should be done every week for the first 6 months untill everythign is established

 

[Hutchball]

Ahhh. I used to do it every week but I slowly moved it bi weekly. I think I will have to start every week again.

I do 25L of a 130L tank. Does that sound enough / too much? It seems a lot of water when I'm putting it in!

Could I reduce this amount if I'm doing it every week?

 

[kurtyboh]

I've read 10% weekly for the first 5-6 months.

kurtyboh

 

[Hutchball]

And then does everything settle down?

 

[melosu58]

That checklist is a great start. Maybe I'm gonna feed every two days now and increase my water changes to once a week.

You know I`ve fed my tank every other day for 13 years now. With no algea problems. It would be a good idea.

 

[nxb161]

Your tests may show your water is good when it isn't when you have an outbreak of GHA. The green hair algae is sucking up all the excess as it grows and spreads, just a thought.

 

[Hutchball]

Hi there. First of all, thanks for all the advice up to now.

Last night I cleaned out as much hair Agra as possible using a toothbrush and my hands. That stuff stinks and is really slimy. That's where the fishy filter is coming from I'm sure.

I have done 3 phosphate tests. One of the tank water first thing before lights, one of the pre-salted 'clean' water from the LFS and one of basic tap water just to get an idea of what was in there. I've also added a picture of just clear water to get a base level as I find it's hard to determine any accurate result.

Obviously, the darker one is tap water! Makes you think what's in that stuff!! The clear one is a base level (no test, clear). The other two are the used and clean marine water. They are very similar in colour so I think I can conclude that it's the water I'm buying that has the phosphates.

One thing to note. This is salted water so the marine salts do contain some phosphates in the mix. (correct?)

Now, are these levels too high, normal? Should I be worried?

 

[Hutchball]

Any help?

 

[Hutchball]

I've don't two big water changes of about 20% each. I still have 3 turbo snails at the top rim of the tank. I heard they move to the top if the water is not so good.

 

[carey]

I've don't two big water changes of about 20% each. I still have 3 turbo snails at the top rim of the tank. I heard they move to the top if the water is not so good.[/QUOT

Just keep up those pwc's and get all the debris. I added a sea hare to my tank recently and he has eaten every last drop of algae. LOL

I'm still testing phosphates at between .5 and 1.0 though. I was told that the only way to get them down is constant pwcs. I am also running GFO to help which it really isnt. I'm not too sure about the snails, I have a few and they sometimes linger near the waters edge, I think they are hiding from my hermits hehehe