Green / Brown hair algae

mucky1957

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My tank is about 10yr old now and I am noticing small areas of algae growing on some of the rock. The rock that has the algae is at one end of the tank and my power head is at the other. The power head is strong enough to keep the coral moving that is close to the algae.
The tank is a 240lt with about 40kg of rock in it. Fish are 2 x clowns, 3 x anthias, a mandarin and a lawnmower blennie ( which doesn't eat the hair algae ).
The water tests ( using salifert ) show a reading of KH/Alk 8.4, cal 410, mag1260, nitrate 0 ( yes zero ) and phos of between 0.25 and 0.5. I realise the phos is high but it has been at this level for 6+ years and the hair algae has only appeared in the last few months.
I feed mainly frozen which has been allowed to defrost and then I remove as much of the liquid before adding the food 2 or 3 times a day.
I have a small skimmer and no sump.
The blennie was a useless buy to attack the algae and I'm wondering about h2o2 ( hydrogen peroxide ). I am reading that adding a small amount using a syringe directly on the spot will kill the algae off.
I can't remove the rock as its all fused together, so washing it isn't an option and I am not happy using a toothbrush as the algae will presumably stick to other parts of the rock in the tank once it comes loose.
HELP PLEASE : how do I get rid of the algae before it gets out of hand.
 

Pico bam

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240 liters? My tangs keep my algea under control they only eat the short stuff though. So a bit of manual removal was need in the beginning.
 
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mucky1957

mucky1957

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240 liters? My tangs keep my algea under control they only eat the short stuff though. So a bit of manual removal was need in the beginning.
240 litres...yes. I dont have tangs as I dont think my system is good enough to kkeep them healthy. I worry about white spot / ich
 

Pico bam

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A refugium does wonders but it would still likely be present in the display. Maybe some emerald crabs? I have a tank with a refugium and one without and I can tell you the hair algea grows strong and thick in the one without. On my frag tank with a fuge its so slow growing and easy to remove. A refugium would be a good progressive step assuming you have room. Mynes just an old 2 bulb t5, drilled 15gallon and a maxijet. Probably 60$ worth of stuff doubt I spent that much! I'm sure there some invertebrates out there just don't know a good one.
 
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mucky1957

mucky1957

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A refugium does wonders but it would still likely be present in the display. Maybe some emerald crabs? I have a tank with a refugium and one without and I can tell you the hair algea grows strong and thick in the one without. On my frag tank with a fuge its so slow growing and easy to remove. A refugium would be a good progressive step assuming you have room. Mynes just an old 2 bulb t5, drilled 15gallon and a maxijet. Probably 60$ worth of stuff doubt I spent that much! I'm sure there some invertebrates out there just don't know a good one.
no room for a refugium or a sump unfortunately.
 

Pico bam

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no room for a refugium or a sump unfortunately.
Well you could try vibrant. people have mixed opinions on it. For me it never really killed the algea just made it grow really weak and slow. Some people have had negative effects. But over its a good product imo.
 
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mucky1957

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Well you could try vibrant. people have mixed opinions on it. For me it never really killed the algea just made it grow really weak and slow. Some people have had negative effects. But over its a good product imo.
Ive heard mixed reports about Vibrant..it can in some cases do more harm than good. That's why I was wondering about h2o2
 
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