Im giving up...

[Choas]

My crabs seem to eat my hair algea. I have blue and red leg.

 

[sdellin]

That's good to know, I have blue-knuckles who don't eat much of it, but then I have very little of it.

I have a patch of about 2"x2" in one tank and one about 3"x1.5" in the other tank. Getting nitrates and phosphates down, changing feeding patterns and such seems to have stopped the spread and actually killed off some.

Question for the experts is, do I need to be manually removing these small patchs or just watching them? I have shrooms growing all around one of then, so I didn't think it's a good idea to start scrubbing the rocks there, but shrooms are hardy anyway, right?

 

[Mrbill]

FWIW, I posted a thread almost identical to this about a year ago. I was sooo ready to give up. As a last resort I took all my live rock out and scrubbed the rocks in a bucket filled with tank water with a brand new toilet scrub brush. I also purchased two urchins.

I have not had any hair algae since. I have/had no corals though. My tank is a straight FOWLR.

Hope that helps.

 

[mandarin man]

when i had my hair algae i did the manual removal for about a month and got rid of it(using a toothbrush and then do my regular water change right after to suck up the floating algae) but pending on your stock in the tank i had a lawnmower blenny who did what his names suggests and helped out a lil bit with the hair alage

 

[sdellin]

I did get a bicolor blennie, he's supposed to eat hair algae also, but I just got him out of QT, so he's new to the big tank. We'll see if he helps, maybe I need to work on the rocks. I sure hate to do it with the shrooms stuck all over that rock, but maybe I'll get my courage up and attack it. As it happens, the small patch in the back tank also has one giant shroom planted right in the algae patch.

 

[mrpope]

PC wrote:
Again, with out completely definitive water params and some insight into your feeding, lights, filtration, skimming, tank details, husbandry, we can only provide a good guess and some generalizations.

The reason that I havent taken the water to be tested by the LFS is because they dont use quality testing eqiupment. LFS use red sea or sea chem testing equipment which has too high an error probability. I only use salifert or lamotte test kits. I do have a friend though that could probably do a second opinion, so I will check into that. I did feed once a day, but now I will lengthen that. I utilize the berlin method with DSB (4.5") for filtration. I use an aqua c remora (HOB) for my skimming, and it is doing well. The lights are 1 - 150 watt Aqualine 10,000 HQI (13000K) and 2 - 65 watt actinic 03 PC. The MH is at 10 hrs (reducing to 8) and the PC's are on for 11 (reducing to 9). I use prime reef as the food for my tank, silversides for the anemone, and I rarely use coral/filter invert food ( the prime reef works for everybody). Im going to add a phosban reactor soon and maybe beef up the clean up crew.

Thanks for all the advice, I will keep you posted

 

[mrpope]

umm... I dont know why there is a smiley face in my last post. It should say 8.

 

[Feron]

pardon the ignorance..
but what's the big deal with hair algae?
Isn't it just more food for critters?
If it keeps coming back, find more critters for the balance?

<shrug> not taking any stance any which way, just learning..

imho as a newb, I'd love to have a problem balanced out by more livestock.. seems more natural to me.. more food, more critters, more poop, more filter feeders, more overall life (to an understandable point of course..and maybe that's the beef here?)

And for reference, I'm for getting rid of the root issue, but if the root is attempted to no avail, embracing and using seems like an acceptable route to my uneducated mind..

Of course, sounds like he's used every means short of agent orange at this point :/

 

[drillsar]

My blenny I never see eat, maybe im missing it.. Dont know.. They eat at night or? I have some hair algae as well some are growing into like plants lol.. I just added 2 hermits red to see what they do.. Margarita snails control cyano or?

 

[sdellin]

pardon the ignorance..
but what's the big deal with hair algae?
Isn't it just more food for critters?
If it keeps coming back, find more critters for the balance?

Since you're asking, I'd say the big deal is that if you're having major algae problems, something is wrong with the tank. Like, overfeeding, overstocked (so too much fish waste) causing high phosphates or too much lighting or something.

If you want to grow algae, that's fine, but if you want to raise fish and inverts, then you probably don't really want all that algae. The critters you buy to eat the stuff are not guaranteed to eat it. Or the critters you buy may eat a different kind of algae that you don't have, so they will starve. Or they may eat it all up, then have nothing left to eat, then starve that way.

If you want balance, I'd say know how much to feed your fish to avoid building high levels of phosphates and nitrates and know how to stock your tank so you don't overstock. That way you will have balance and not an overabundance of tank cleaners.

Forgive me, I'm partial to the little snails and hermits that get all tossed in in large numbers to clean up, they have feelings too!

 

[batfire]

mrpope I am finally winning my battle with hair algae !!!!! I good friend of mine says 99 % of the people that get out of the hobby is because of algae. The advise the others gave is right on the money, you can do it, good luck.

 

[seaham358]

Feron have you ever seen a tank with major HA issues?? I guessing not if you asked this question. They are just plain nasty looking and the HA will cover and kill corals so having a reef tank is out. Or at least a successful reef tank...
And like stated above buying fish, critters is not always if ever the answer and if the HA is out of hand they will not be able to eat enough to make a difference.

 

[Feron]

That's the stuff I was wanting to hear, thanks sdellin and seaham358.

 

[Gatorfreak]

I had some turbo grazers, but they stayed on the glass

I had some thick hair algae a while back. It was growing like crazy. I have astrea snails and I would pick them off the glass and put them right in the thick of the hair algae (give them a second or so to grab hold). Then they would just start mowing through.

 

[sdellin]

That's the stuff I was wanting to hear, thanks sdellin and seaham358.

 

[greenmaji]

In this case.. if your test kits ring true Im going to side with Brenden's first statment.. "cooking" the LR, the nutrients feeding the HA are coming from somewere and according to your testing its not in the water colem thus I would supect it would be leaching out of your LR.. putting some new in might help as well..

 

[mrpope]

How does LR leach phosphates? Shouldnt nitrate/nitrogen be the only bi-products of the denitrification process the LR provides to the system. I can understand it is from overfeeding. I guess im just confused.

 

[greenmaji]

ahh.. but the rock will absorb NO3 and all of the bacteria deep in the live rock do not live forever.. search the web for "cooking" live rock.. whats actually going on takes a long explination IMO..
sorry to give you the search for it answer but I havnt seen it here at AA and the other forums require you to be a member to see pictures and such and I would have to search those to get you a good link..
if you have trouble finding something.. give me a PM or something and Ill go find a link..

edit.. nevermind.. I posted it here before..
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=485572

 

[Snoopybdb]

I know this may sound crazy to some, but I was having a serious problem with hair algae and bubble algae both at the same time. I put a uv sterilizer on my tank with a slow flow rate around 50 gal per hour. With that and water changes the hair algae went away and the bubble algae has reduced but not gone totally away. I'm starting over soon though. I currently have a 30 gal and have bought a 75 gal just have to reinforce my floor before i can set it up. Can't wait!!!

 

[seaham358]

before you you take the tank down to Cook the LR try the AZNO3. Like I said before I know several guys who have used it with great results...