Hair algae overload

[vetteguy53081]

Question for the gurus,

I have been keeping saltwater tanks for 30 plus years now. Recently moved my 125 gallon tank to a new house. Old live rock and coral sand. Built a new 40 gallon ṛefugium for it. Filled the tank with rodi water, coralife salt. Started with a few clowns. After a few weeks the hair algae started going nuts. I added a phosphate scrubber, adding algaefix, and physically removing it weekly. No sunlight to the tank. Cut down the lights to 4 hrs per day. Added snails and hermit crabs and 3 starfish. 0 ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Alkalinity is a little high. Ph is good. Just did a 30% water change. Still the algae is growing and the chaeto is dying off.

Any ideas?
Thanks
Rick

Please post a pic or two of the tank to see what you have here. I would place rock it in a container of tank water and pull off as much as you can by hand and scrub the rest with a firm toothbrush and some 3% hydrogen peroxide. Overfeeding is a major cause
Return rock to tank, reduce white light intensity and number of hours of white lighting for a few days and add some snails such as :
Astrea
cerith
turbo grazer
trochus

A Pencil urchin

8-10 Caribbean blue leg hermits

Are you using RODI water or tap water from the faucet ?
What is your phosphate level?
Is tank at or near a window?

 

[Ryanliyikun]

This sounds like a classic “new tank ugly phase” even with established rock—moving everything likely caused some die-off and nutrient imbalance. The big clue is 0 nitrates + dying chaeto + hair algae, which usually points to nutrients being out of balance (often phosphate lingering while nitrate is bottomed out). I’d stop the algaefix, ease up on aggressive filtration, and actually let nitrates come up a bit so the chaeto can compete again. Keep manually removing the hair algae, maintain stable parameters, and give it time—these blooms can take a few weeks to burn out, even in mature systems after a move.

 

[Science/G]

1-2 turbos per gallon will have that tank clear in no time. You will have to babysit though. Take them off the glass and put them on your rocks, and, right those that get flipped over.

 

[wjdobbs321]

You want a 100% guaranteed fix to eradicate GHA? and it's easy treatment. Blue Life FluxRX. it's an anti-fungal that will keep the gha from maintaining cell walls. dies off within two weeks... never to return until you add it back with something else. it will kill macro algae as well... don't try to save it if you use macro... just bye clean macro after

 

[sgdnycct]

I would definitely not recommend anything that will kill of the biofilm in the rock (ie peroxide and scrubbing). Pulling it out manually and phosphate control is usually the best option. Give your macro 20 hour photo period- might help beat the GHA to the phosphate.

I don’t know about chemical treatments. I avoid those and work on balancing my system. That’s just IMO.

 

[69cam]

Fluconazole has worked 100% of the time for me.