VERY Bad Hair Algae Problem. Any tips?

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FishCrazyBenBOMB said:
Honestly did you really put that? Not trying to be rude but I said I have tried different types of algae eaters/algae eating fish. I put that right under the questions I asked in the first post. I'm saying just don't mention about fish because i've tried......
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did you try snails?
 
tim wagner said:
how many bottles are you running now crazy?
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Haven't gotten around to it yet, but i'm thinking about just adding one more for now, to see how well it works. If it seems to be working i'll leave it. If it seems to not be effecting it, i'll add a third and last bottle. If that doesn't work i'm going to try spot treating. If that doesn't work then i'll just spend a couple of weeks removing all the hair algae I can find by hand/tooth brush/any other tool I find.

Haha.
 
FastFly67 said:
he's already tried every algae eater known to man. how dare you suggest something!
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...... Seriously? I said I wasn't trying to be rude. Thought you were an adult? You really have to comeback to my thread and say something like that, when you could have easily just ignored everything and got on with somone else. No you have to comeback and say that just because I "upset" you with my post. That's hilarious how some "adults" act.




Anyways, like I said snails didn't work.
 
FishCrazyBenBOMB said:
...... Seriously? I said I wasn't trying to be rude. Thought you were an adult? You really have to comeback to my thread and say something like that, when you could have easily just ignored everything and got on with somone else. No you have to comeback and say that just because I "upset" you with my post. That's hilarious how some "adults" act.




Anyways, like I said snails didn't work.
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You didn't upset me. Actually I'm laughing over here. But you can believe whatever you want to.
 
Yea fishbencrazybomb im sorry for my post, but that IS a little rediculous how he is acting however if someone suggests something a little more room for error might be nice as you triple quoted my post and took up alot of space on the page. Im not trying to be rude either. I or someone else could have posted a comment of a fish that you havent tried as you more than likely have not gotten ahold of a true SAE... Good luck and you are correct I do need to thoroughly read threads before posting. I was in a hurry.
 
Have you considered:
A) buying an SAE/flying fox and returning it before warranty period is up?
B) possibly upgrading to a larger tank that could hold SAE's?
C) (not sure about this one, and how effective it will be as you tank is "heavily planted) but maybe a blackout?
 
krap101 said:
Have you considered:
A) buying an SAE/flying fox and returning it before warranty period is up?
B) possibly upgrading to a larger tank that could hold SAE's?
C) (not sure about this one, and how effective it will be as you tank is "heavily planted) but maybe a blackout?
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A) Considered it but I get attached to fish to easily and I would have no place to put them. :D

B) Upgraded a medium/heavily planted tank to even a 20G+ would cost me a bunch of money, which I don't.

C) A black out would completely ruin the tank. My timer broke on me and my plants didn't get light for a day and they looked bad. Not an option. :D
 
I think you should just press with your plan Ben. Add some additional CO2, manually remove as much as possible, and spot treat with some excel.

Then keep your CO2 levels up after that to prevent a re-occurrence.

How long per day are you lighting the tank, and are you dosing ferts or testing N/P levels in the tank? Those could be contributing factors as well...
 
fort384 said:
I think you should just press with your plan Ben. Add some additional CO2, manually remove as much as possible, and spot treat with some excel.

Then keep your CO2 levels up after that to prevent a re-occurrence.

How long per day are you lighting the tank, and are you dosing ferts or testing N/P levels in the tank? Those could be contributing factors as well...
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My lights are currently on for 6-7hrs a day. It use to be 10 but my timer broke and now I can't turn them on until I get home from school, then turn them off when I go to bed. I think that may be a problem since I never had the problem before when I had a timer. Also i'm not doing any fertz and I don't have a test kit for N/P, so I can't really know if that would be the problem.
 
I am wondering... you only have 1 fish in the tank right?

And it is heavily planted. Maybe you could be bottoming out on N. (a lot of plants, and a small bioload...).
 
I had a similar problem with hair algae and while I know its a pain in the butt... I ended up taking out the moss cleaning out a lot of it and removing the top layer of moss altogether. It hasn't come back so far. What are you doing to diffuse your co2? I'm just curious what people do with a DIY set up.
 
SWerner13 said:
I had a similar problem with hair algae and while I know its a pain in the butt... I ended up taking out the moss cleaning out a lot of it and removing the top layer of moss altogether. It hasn't come back so far. What are you doing to diffuse your co2? I'm just curious what people do with a DIY set up.
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I had a ladder setup, but it was to tall for my 5G, so I am just using a airstone near the intake of my filter, so it's sucked up into the filter, cut up by the propellers, then put back into my tank. I don't know if this is very efficent, but I know it's working so far. I do suggest one of those ADA Glass diffusers if you can get one, I heard they work on DIY setups.

If you have a larger tank, you can create a powerhead/water bottle diffusor. If you want to know about that just pm me so we don't get to much off topic. I had it in my ten, but very noticable unless you put it in the back corner and surround it with tall plants, but it's kinda bulky, so it is mostly suggested on bigger tanks, 55G+. If you can make a mini. verison that would be awesome.


And the hair algae is like solid in the moss, no removing top layer. Easier throwing it out, but that won't solve my problem of hair algae on my other plants, plus I need the javamoss for shipping out shrimp.
 
taken from another forum:
Name: Hair algae
Type: Green filamentous algae
Agent: Pithophora or Cladophora
Difficulty: Variable
Distribution: Attaches to plants, decor and equipment
Symptoms: Green thread, fuzz, hairy or brushy mats attached to plants, decor and equipment
Treatments: The best approach for hair algae control is to apply the following corrective actions in order:


Quote:

Things that must be done:
1. Remove as much visible hair algae as possible via manual removal. A filter cleaning brush or length of rigid airline tubing twirled around and pulled works well.
2. Clean filter media well.
3. Remove all visible mulm and detritus from the top portion of the substrate via water changes.
4. Assure ample water circulation and filtration. A filter turnover rate of at least 4 to 5 times per hour is a good general minimum.
5. Discontinue the use of buffering agents that contain phosphates. Check your label or manufacturers website.
6. Discontinue the use of liquid fertilizers that add iron to the water column.
7. Discontinue the use of water conditioners that contain plant sap (Stress Coat, etc).
8. Do not allow direct sunlight to hit the tank.
9. Provide proper lighting specifications:
  • Duration: Maintain 12-hour on/off periods for lighting in planted aquaria. In some cases 8-10 hours of on time is enough. Fish only tanks need only keep lights on for feeding and viewing.
  • Intensity: Maintain lighting intensity under 3 Watts per gallon.
  • Color Spectrum: Use full-spectrum fluorescent lighting.
Things that can or should be done after the things that must be done:
1. Add fast growing and hardy plants:
  • Water sprite
  • Hornwort
  • Duckweed
  • Dwarf hygro
2. Add phosphate absorbing beads or pads to the filter.
3. Add CO2 injection to a planted tank. This will lower pH and help kick the plants into high gear.
4. Add KNO3 in the form of liquid fertilizer to planted tanks if NO3 measures zero. Maintain NO3 levels at 5 to 10 ppm.

Things that help temporarily and after trying everything else:
1. Add fresh high-quality filter carbon (GAC).
2. Do a three-day blackout with a trash bag or dark blanket, so that no light gets in the tank at all. Remove CO2 injection during blackout.
3. Employ hair algae consumers:
  • Siamese algae eaters
  • Ghost or algae eating shrimp
  • American flag fish
  • various barbs with rosy and gold barbs being best
  • Various livebearers with mollies being best

Prophylaxis: Consider "things that must be done" above as preventative and corrective actions. Rinse and quarantine new plants and used decor before introducing them to your established tank.
Mortality: N/A
References: Effective algae control

Notes: Hair algae can be unsightly when out of control. Under control it can serve as a minor food source for aquatic creatures and act as a natural nutrient sponge.
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