GHA : Is blacking-out tank the next step?

[AndyinAtlanta]

So I'll spare the photos of the same green hair algae problem many people encounter. My tank ten months old at this point. It is a 32.5 gallon Fluval Flex with three fish (two clowns and a single cardinalfish), a few snails and crabs, and a dozen corals (zoas, mushrooms, hammers, GSP, and torches). I've been battling green hair algae for around two months now. While at some points it has gotten better, it is at its worst right now. A few points:

• I've reduced feeding to once a day, only enough for each fish to eat 4-6 bites.
• I am not currently feeding the corals (previously fed with Reef-Roids, I think this only spiked the GHA growth).
• The lights are on 8 hours a day currently.
• I've tested the water, the nitrates and phosphates read 0, but this is likely due to the GHA.
• I've been dosing the minimum recommended amount of NoPox to help reduce any extra nutrients in the tank daily for the last month.

I think I've addressed the cause of the GHA growth, but I feel now I need to remove the green hair algae more aggressively. My filter floss catches a lot of it, but since the algae is still growing its impossible to pull off the rocks. I also mistakenly spent the first month scrubbing the rocks in the tank; this was likely a critical mistake that lead to its spread. My protein skimmer is also picking up a lot and gets emptied a few times a week.

So, onto the main question, is blacking out the tank for three days the next best move? Like I alluded to, I think I've solved the cause of the problem due to excess nutrition in the tank, but this correction hasn't lead to a decrease in aglae. Will covering the tank entirely for a set number of days kill off the current GHA? Removing it manually to this point has been a fruitless endeavor. Thanks!

 

[laverda]

Hydrogen peroxide is very effective at killing GHA. Remove a few rocks that you can easily. Pull as much GHA off as possible, then pour a little Hydrogen peroxide over them. Return the rocks to the tank. The remaining GHA on these rocks will be dead the next day. My guess is your rock is loaded with phosphates, which you need to remove or the GHA or some other algae will return. An ATS is a great way to remove nutrients by growing GHA there where it can easily be removed. You can build an ATS for less than $30. I would run it 24/7 until you see a decline in the algae in your tank. Then cut the light schedule to 18 hours a day.

 

[AndyinAtlanta]

Hydrogen peroxide is very effective at killing GHA. Remove a few rocks that you can easily. Pull as much GHA off as possible, then pour a little Hydrogen peroxide over them. Return the rocks to the tank. The remaining GHA on these rocks will be dead the next day. My guess is your rock is loaded with phosphates, which you need to remove or the GHA or some other algae will return. An ATS is a great way to remove nutrients by growing GHA there where it can easily be removed. You can build an ATS for less than $30. I would run it 24/7 until you see a decline in the algae in your tank. Then cut the light schedule to 18 hours a day.

Thanks for the help. I don't think an ATS is in the cards without doing major modifications to the tank, but I've heard about using hydrogen peroxide to kill algae. I will do some more research on this approach.

 

[laverda]

A black out will help, but not solve the issue. The only way to fix it long term is to remove the food source. Lanthanum chloride works better than other products at removing phosphate in my experience. Blue life sells it a Phosphate Control. There are other brands. I recommend using it at half the recommended dosage.
If you have a sump you can easily add an ATS. You could also make one out of an Aqua Clear hob filter.

 

[Gator_Reefer]

Hydrogen peroxide is very effective at killing GHA. Remove a few rocks that you can easily. Pull as much GHA off as possible, then pour a little Hydrogen peroxide over them. Return the rocks to the tank. The remaining GHA on these rocks will be dead the next day. My guess is your rock is loaded with phosphates, which you need to remove or the GHA or some other algae will return. An ATS is a great way to remove nutrients by growing GHA there where it can easily be removed. You can build an ATS for less than $30. I would run it 24/7 until you see a decline in the algae in your tank. Then cut the light schedule to 18 hours a day.

I’m in a very similar situation and contemplating same thing. Did you try it (blackout)?

 

[Cole.mormon]

What is an ATS

 

[TankCandy]

What is an ATS

Algae Turf Scrubber.

 

[jgirardnrg]

Vibrant worked well for me. I had a ton in my 60g and after a single dose it's almost completely gone in 3 days. I didn't even dose the full amount. Nothing else in the tank has been affected.

 

[brandon429]

Since you have a 32 vs a large tank, it’s easy to fix the issue. Here’s pages of the work. No blackouts, no adding things to water, and best of all no wait.

Reef2Reef Pest algae challenge thread hydrogen peroxide

What you are really in for: Hand cleaning, hard work siphon and rasp-removing of accumulations and invasions outside the tank and doing massive water changes is 90% of this thread, peroxide is 10%. We almost never dose peroxide into the tank water, this is a you-work-physically-hard as catch-up...

www.reef2reef.com

this is the best method for a nano it’s why for thirty pages there’s no complaints, tradeoff invasions, losses

dont just kill algae, clean your system first. Post #1 has it all plus a clean example. Sight unseen, your tank will follow suit because it’s a nano, we don’t need to know species or params etc.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Flucanozol should kill it all and is pretty reef safe. You can buy it as Reef Flux.