Green hair algae

[JayJay81]

Hey guys currently have a green algae issue. It's not long hair it almost looks like turf. I have o phos and o nitrates. I know phos can still be in the tank. Is there a way to battle this without using chemicals.?
I have a lot of cheato that grows pretty quickly.

 

[TokenReefer]

Is there a way to battle this without using chemicals.?

Imo there is.

Removal - either you or by herbivores
And then either...
Adding coral to directly compete with the gha (consuming)
Or if no corals...
Keep parameters low (alot to this, export/filtration, coraline, etc)

Just in a nutshell... Can really get into the weeds if you want. Good luck!

 

[Glenner’sreef]

There’s not one single bandaid that will fix gha. I’ve found it to be a combination of things. You may have your lights on for 12 hours. Cut it back to 8. Your tank may be receiving 4 hours of morning sunlight each day, not good fix it. Your test kit determining that you have 0 phosphates may be significantly off. TDS in your water source. Hopefully water is not from lfs. Water quality in is an important factor. CUC, like purchasing 30 turbo snails, or 50, way more than you’d normally need. Pick it off of rocks often. It’s a living thing. It won’t like or appreciate that. Annoy it to death, constantly! Blow off rocks, vacuum your sandbed at least monthly. Keep things pristine. GFO or Phosphate Rx would have made the list but you’re saying your phosphates are zero. Consider your feeding habits. Cut back if you need to. Cheato is a good thing but by itself won’t cut it. If you can do all of the above, you can see results in 4-6-8 weeks. Good luck. Proclaim allout WAR!!!

 

[jda]

Urchins, snails and limpets. You have to have something to eat it - it does not matter what your nitrate and phosphate levels are. Make an order from the Florida Keys. Pincushions, pencils and rock urchins are good algae eaters, but pincushions will gather up your snails. Turbos, astreas and ceriths are good to, but you have to take them off of the glass and put them onto the turf. Limpets seem to stay near the turf and go to work. You will need an army of these - let us know the tank size and I can recommend numbers... but you see folks buy like an urchin, 5 snails and a turbo and wonder why they don't work when you might need a hundred or more snails and 5-8 urchins.

Remove as much as you can by hand.

Keep the chaeto happy. If you are not changing water, you might need to dose some iron.

 

[JayJay81]

There’s not one single bandaid that will fix gha. I’ve found it to be a combination of things. You may have your lights on for 12 hours. Cut it back to 8. Your tank may be receiving 4 hours of morning sunlight each day, not good fix it. Your test kit determining that you have 0 phosphates may be significantly off. TDS in your water source. Hopefully water is not from lfs. Water quality in is an important factor. CUC, like purchasing 30 turbo snails, or 50, way more than you’d normally need. Pick it off of rocks often. It’s a living thing. It won’t like or appreciate that. Annoy it to death, constantly! Blow off rocks, vacuum your sandbed at least monthly. Keep things pristine. GFO or Phosphate Rx would have made the list but you’re saying your phosphates are zero. Consider your feeding habits. Cut back if you need to. Cheato is a good thing but by itself won’t cut it. If you can do all of the above, you can see results in 4-6-8 weeks. Good luck. Proclaim allout WAR!!!

My lights kick on at 930 with a 2

 

[JayJay81]

My lights kick on at 930 with a 2 hour ramp up and lights are off at 11with a 2 hour ramp down. I have 1 small Tuxedo urchin now a lot of hermits snails some turbo snails. I heard a lawnmower blenny likes algae? I feed 2 cubes a day or marine cuisine and 1 sheet of nori. I just replaced my rodi filters my tds was reading 1.

 

[h20cyclone]

Cuc, tangs, and good old elbow grease never did me wrong when it came to algae. Tried numerous bandaid options and none were long lasting.

 

[Dburr1014]

My lights kick on at 930 with a 2 hour ramp up and lights are off at 11with a 2 hour ramp down. I have 1 small Tuxedo urchin now a lot of hermits snails some turbo snails. I heard a lawnmower blenny likes algae? I feed 2 cubes a day or marine cuisine and 1 sheet of nori. I just replaced my rodi filters my tds was reading 1.

Lights on for 13.5 hours?
Cut that back. Try 12 hours with the ramp up/down