How to Get Rid of Green Hair Algae?

[Todd L.]

Recently I have added a new LED light fixture, but due to such has added to algae growth. Have cut back the light to 10% strength, as well as to 7 hours a day. My blue legged hermits are trying to keep it in check but its growing to quickly. Have always done weekly water changes but these don't seem to be working.

30 gallon fish only tank
temp. 76.5
ph 7.8
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0 ppm
phosphate-?
salinity- 1.024

 

[Billldg]

Emerald crabs work very well, also, I would find a way to check your phosphates.

 

[mta_morrow]

Are you using RODI water?

Do you have a phosphate test kit?

Which test kit are you using for nitrates?

 

[Todd L.]

Are you using RODI water?

Do you have a phosphate test kit?

Which test kit are you using for nitrates?

Yes I am using rodi, but need t replace my sediment filter.
I don't have a phosphate tests kit.
I use the API master sw test kit.

 

[Todd L.]

Are you using RODI water?

Do you have a phosphate test kit?

Which test kit are you using for nitrates?

Even with rodi and weekly wc could I still be getting high phosphates?

 

[mta_morrow]

Even with rodi and weekly wc could I still be getting high phosphates?

Yes you could.
I just finished my battle with hair algae.

My opinion, you must have good test kits.
I use API master test pack as well when I start up a tank.
However once you get a month or so into adding fish and coral, you need to know “for sure” where you are at.

Otherwise you can fight a battle forever cause you don’t have truly accurate test results

 

[Todd L.]

Yes you could.
I just finished my battle with hair algae.

My opinion, you must have good test kits.
I use API master test pack as well when I start up a tank.
However once you get a month or so into adding fish and coral, you need to know “for sure” where you are at.

Otherwise you can fight a battle forever cause you don’t have truly accurate test results

My tank is a little under a year old stocked with pair of clowns, filefish, shark nose goby, 3 blue leg hermits, 3 aster snails.
what test kits would you recommend, my tank is on a tight budget.

 

[mta_morrow]

My tank is a little under a year old stocked with pair of clowns, filefish, shark nose goby, 3 blue leg hermits, 3 aster snails.
what test kits would you recommend, my tank is on a tight budget.

Do you have a LFS?

If so they may have better kits and test your water for free.

Since you are fish only, you have time on your side.

Begging pulling manually and removing all you can.

What are you feeding your fish and how often?

Do you run a skimmer?

 

[Todd L.]

Do you have a LFS?

If so they may have better kits and test your water for free.

Since you are fish only, you have time on your side.

Begging pulling manually and removing all you can.

What are you feeding your fish and how often?

Do you run a skimmer?

The only reliable lfs is about an 20 miles away, so i could start going their more. I have one, but quite using it, it would be efficient for a few days or so, then it would go weeks without removing anything.
I feed frozen brine shrimp and pellets (alternate by day) feed once a day.

 

[mta_morrow]

The only reliable lfs is about an 20 miles away, so i could start going their more. I have one, but quite using it, it would be efficient for a few days or so, then it would go weeks without removing anything.
I feed frozen brine shrimp and pellets (alternate by day) feed once a day.

IMO, you need to get the skimmer going and leave it in. If it’s working properly it will be removing bad stuff and oxygenate your water.

 

[Todd L.]

What can I go ahead and start doing to begin lowering the phosphate or eradicating the algae. I will get emerald crabs asap.

 

[mta_morrow]

What can I go ahead and start doing to begin lowering the phosphate or eradicating the algae. I will get emerald crabs asap.

IME emeralds are cool but the will not eradicate hair algae.

Do some research on rowaphos or PhosGuard here on R2R.

You can use a mesh bag vs a reactor.

Check back here after you read up!

 

[brandon429]

Take one rock out as a test
Pour peroxide 3% across it in the sink let sit two minutes. After two minutes, rinse in clean saltwater and put back.

Notice how that rock looks in five days, you'll want to upscale to the rest of the tank. Why wait weeks for something to hopefully occur, you've stated you're ready to be algae free.

This is condensing the material from hundreds of pages of threads on the matter. It doesn't kill bacteria, it doesn't cause a recycle and it factually works but a simple test is no form of risk, can work incrementally. You can still arrange all tank parameters to prevent growback, but I wanted you to know thousands already opted to be algae free and we've already collected the results. It doesn't harm any other approach or method to opt into killing the algae so it's not there. A neat option to consider.

 

[Todd L.]

Take one rock out as a test
Pour peroxide 3% across it in the sink let sit two minutes. After two minutes, rinse in clean saltwater and put back.

Notice how that rock looks in five days, you'll want to upscale to the rest of the tank. Why wait weeks for something to hopefully occur, you've stated you're ready to be algae free.

This is condensing the material from hundreds of pages of threads on the matter. It doesn't kill bacteria, it doesn't cause a recycle and it factually works but a simple test is no form of risk, can work incrementally. You can still arrange all tank parameters to prevent growback, but I wanted you to know thousands already opted to be algae free and we've already collected the results. It doesn't harm any other approach or method to opt into killing the algae so it's not there. A neat option to consider.

Today: Set back up the protein skimmer, did a 30% WC, and did the peroxide test on the top left main rock. Hope this begins to get it under control. Will keep yall updated.

 

[brandon429]

Thanks tons for the science support~ even one test rocks behavior is sooo handy to see pics and match to predictions. Incremental steps fwd

One of the most unseen aspects of algae is that keeping the tufts in place for any reason is to trap detritus among the strands for on site degredation. Independent of water params, algae are still fed even with low nitrate and phosphate that should be suppressive but isn't. Direct kill never bleaches corals and it's independent of nutrients, so it makes the clean palette to start any common prevention method on top of


W link your thread here as it builds to chart correction for the tank using any method is fine, we just like beating algae in our work threads
we work hard on collecting incremental steps fwd even if just a test rock is featured:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef2reef-pest-algae-challenge-thread-hydrogen-peroxide.187042/


The reason it's actually safer for your tank to manually cheat clean it is because it circumvents weeks or months of shifting water parameters out of favor for coral and into plant starvation

The better you are at balancing fish bioloading and export and lighting intensity the less you'll need to cheat clean. Bottom line is, your test rock is about to look neat 100% chance. Buried in the sublinks above are hundreds of pics of the same strain

Three days then dead by usually five


The no rasp test tells us how the plant responds only to peroxide

The rasping test in that thread on another rock reveals the -anchoring- aspect of the algae, should you unluckily have a rooted strain that grows back after no rasp peroxide kill

 

[Todd L.]

Here is a 24 hour update on the algae.
The peroxide has removed all coralline algae as well as the rocks coloring, there is still hair algae but it is beginning to thin. The fish seemed unaffected to the peroxide cleanse, but my cleaner shrimp seams to be avoiding that rock. (this is generally the rock her perches on)

 

[Todd L.]

Here is 24 hours after peroxide

 

[brandon429]

not bad for 24 hours I bet it'll grab on a little quicker as days go by. if not then we'll know that particular strain isn't all receptive to 3% though it'd be atypical for that light/whispy type of early algae cant wait to see. All cleaner shrimps are very sensitive to peroxide, one reason we like to test and rinse only externally and not use peroxide in the tank when those animals are around. this way is safe. I bet that algae starts to change smell/breakdown/yuck at some point to sensitive animals. snails and crabs usually like it at that point we show in threads, smaller cuc members seem more attracted during the death phase due to whatever mechanism

 

[21reefstreet]

Sea hare will eat green hair algae. They are not much to look at, but they are lawnmowers. I have one in my tank and he is eating it. They are pretty cheap and can be traded back in when they are done. I was told green hair algae is the bulk of their diet and will starve if they don’t have a constant supply. Can be fed nori I believe also.

 

[Todd L.]

not bad for 24 hours I bet it'll grab on a little quicker as days go by. if not then we'll know that particular strain isn't all receptive to 3% though it'd be atypical for that light/whispy type of early algae cant wait to see. All cleaner shrimps are very sensitive to peroxide, one reason we like to test and rinse only externally and not use peroxide in the tank when those animals are around. this way is safe. I bet that algae starts to change smell/breakdown/yuck at some point to sensitive animals. snails and crabs usually like it at that point we show in threads, smaller cuc members seem more attracted during the death phase due to whatever mechanism

5th day update:
All algae from peroxide tested rock is removed. Protein skimmer has begun removing algae from system sit has fallen off rock. Cleaner shrimp has returned to his normal perching spot on top.

Now. Should I remove all rock and treat them then vacuuming the sand bed, or will this "shock" my system somehow?