Hair algae

[Mast33]

Hey all I have been fighting hair algae for 2 months now and have tried everything. Phos is. .05 nitrates 8. I have even removed all the rock scrubbed them clean and put back in tank and the hair algae came back. I'm at a loss. Do I start over?

Thx

 

[HBtank]

How old is the tank? Dealing with various phases of algae as rock matures is just part of the process in my experience.

 

[Mast33]

How old is the tank? Dealing with various phases of algae as rock matures is just part of the process in my experience.

A year old

 

[HBtank]

What is your cleanup crew? IME hair algae (and many other types) can be managed by the right cleanup crew.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Could be byropsis, which would require fluconazole, aka reef flux.

 

[Mast33]

What is your cleanup crew? IME hair algae (and many other types) can be managed by the right cleanup crew.

I have some nassirus snails a couple emerald crabs. Cleaner shrimp and Astrea snails

 

[vetteguy53081]

First thing is to positively identify what you have. Please provide a couple of pics under white lighting

 

[situationlol]

Dealing with this myself at the moment (although my tank is 2 months old). I have noticed that my 2 turbo snails are eating it fwiw. Not a solution but it’s something else to throw at the problem. I scoured these forums for every post about hair algae not long ago and there doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. Some have reported success without downside with bottle solutions

 

[Cali Reef Life]

Sometimes the trick is not easy but it is keeping notes on what you tried and what had an effective. We have little patients in this hobby and sometimes things take months of work to get rid of a problem. Feed less dim your lights and clean your sand.

Get the right clean up crew and some scrapers clean your filter socks daily. Suck up detritus and increase flow start a refugium clean every pump etc. The biggest clean up crew is yourself. I have red turf algae here and there If I really wanted it gone I would double my efforts for the next 3 months and research it rather then a quick simple fix. I don't have enough clean up crew and I probably could clean the sand more and use a dentist pick on the rocks.

Having a little algae is normal and part of a reef you have to really put in a lot of work or have right balance to get the tank almost algae free.

If you want I will get rid of my algae in the next 3 months but you have to put in the same effort as me. Both tanks will benefit think of it like a gym buddy. LMK I will start tonight with or without you.

 

[situationlol]

Dealing with this myself at the moment (although my tank is 2 months old). I have noticed that my 2 turbo snails are eating it fwiw. Not a solution but it’s something else to throw at the problem. I scoured these forums for every post about hair algae not long ago and there doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. Some have reported success without downside with bottle solutions

Coming back to this to just note that I ran into a podcast on nuisance algae:

Reef Therapy by Reef Builders: Nuisance Algae, the Ultimate Guide to Management and Control on Apple Podcasts

Show Reef Therapy by Reef Builders, Ep Nuisance Algae, the Ultimate Guide to Management and Control - Jul 28, 2022

podcasts.apple.com

I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but I thought you might find it useful.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Sometimes the trick is not easy but it is keeping notes on what you tried and what had an effective. We have little patients in this hobby and sometimes things take months of work to get rid of a problem. Feed less dim your lights and clean your sand.

Get the right clean up crew and some scrapers clean your filter socks daily. Suck up detritus and increase flow start a refugium clean every pump etc. The biggest clean up crew is yourself. I have red turf algae here and there If I really wanted it gone I would double my efforts for the next 3 months and research it rather then a quick simple fix. I don't have enough clean up crew and I probably could clean the sand more and use a dentist pick on the rocks.

Having a little algae is normal and part of a reef you have to really put in a lot of work or have right balance to get the tank almost algae free.

If you want I will get rid of my algae in the next 3 months but you have to put in the same effort as me. Both tanks will benefit think of it like a gym buddy. LMK I will start tonight with or without you.

Best advice I have read so far, just hands in/ on maintenance, no clean up crew will demolish a hair algae problem

 

[Cali Reef Life]

Best advice I have read so far, just hands in/ on maintenance, no clean up crew will demolish a hair algae problem

I started the journey on a new thread and will update it to prove a point and to get a better tank.

How To Get Rid Of Most types of Algae Journey/Guide ( Green Hair Algae, Turf Algae ,Diatoms and More)

Here is going to be a Journey/Guide on how to get rid of most types of algae in your reef tank in under 4 months. I am tired of reading someone saying I tried everything to get rid of algae and I want to reset my tank there is no cure. Have you really tired everything, or do you just want...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[All_talk]

I won't say it's the total answer, but I think a BIG cleanup crew is key, specially if your hands-on maintenance is going to be light. About five months ago committed to a large and fairly diverse CUC and the results have been very positive. I think the trick is to cerate some competition for food and the CUC will be forced to eat some things they might avoid if the easy/preferred types are lean.

How big is "BIG"? This is the cleaner pack I put in my 46 gallon bowfront: https://www.barrierreefaquariums.com/productcart/pc/Reef-Cleaner-Package-50-Gallon-9p130.htm

 

[Rick's Reviews]

I won't say it's the total answer, but I think a BIG cleanup crew is key, specially if your hands-on maintenance is going to be light. About five months ago committed to a large and fairly diverse CUC and the results have been very positive. I think the trick is to cerate some competition for food and the CUC will be forced to eat some things they might avoid if the easy/preferred types are lean.

How big is "BIG"? This is the cleaner pack I put in my 46 gallon bowfront: https://www.barrierreefaquariums.com/productcart/pc/Reef-Cleaner-Package-50-Gallon-9p130.htm

Tough to find good cuc packages in UK at a reasonable price.. pictures are examples... If anyone knows where buy from please let me know, last pic is from a website with no reviews so I'm sceptical
Happy to spend £100 on cuc if it's decent variety like this