Is hair algae a fact of life, no matter what?

[salty joe]

Just wondering if a tank started with dead/dry rock and sterile water will get hair algae. I'm not talking being smothered, just a tiny bit here or there. In other words, is it inevitable that every system will have hair algae just like every system will have bacteria?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Just wondering if a tank started with dead/dry rock and sterile water will get hair algae. I'm not talking being smothered, just a tiny bit here or there. In other words, is it inevitable that every system will have hair algae just like every system will have bacteria?

If you have certain algae eating fish (like a one spot foxface), you won't have algae.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Good algae eating inverts like trochus snails, urchins, and hermit crabs (also emerald crabs but those can nip at corals) do a lot as well (especially if the tank is too small for a tang or foxface).

 

[Joe462]

Probably. If you use dry rock that has never been in the ocean or an aquarium, don't add any fish, coral, or inverts, you could maybe avoid it, but then what would be the point.

best you can usually hope for is to control it with clean up crew and fish as mentioned above.

 

[Subsea]

Just wondering if a tank started with dead/dry rock and sterile water will get hair algae. I'm not talking being smothered, just a tiny bit here or there. In other words, is it inevitable that every system will have hair algae just like every system will have bacteria?

Algae in a marine system is a necessary fact of life. Zooanthelia is an integral part of coral survival. Cynobacteria are imbedded in coral biomass to convert dissolved nitrogen gas into ammonia to grow the coral. I personally don’t subscribe to dry rock & dry sand due to lack of biodiversity but GHA can come in with your inverts & corals. When you lack competition or grazers, GHA can be a problem.

 

[FishyDP]

I think it would be hard to avoid introducing it to your system at some point. It is very common. If you pick up any inverts/frags from the lfs there will likely be spores on some of them. Whether the spores take off and multiply in your sytem will depend on your water quality, lighting etc. I personally don't think a little hair algae is a huge issue, as long as it doesn't take off and start smothering corals/taking up too much nutrients.

 

[homer1475]

Algae is just part of owning a reef tank. You can only contain it with CUC, and algae grazers.

In order to have a thriving reef tank, you will always have algae growing somewhere. The 2 just go hand in hand. What you need to have healthy, thriving corals, is also what algae needs to thrive.


That doesn't mean you have to have visible algae growing in the display, but it most certainly will be growing somewhere.

 

[salty joe]

Algae is just part of owning a reef tank. You can only contain it with CUC, and algae grazers.

In order to have a thriving reef tank, you will always have algae growing somewhere. The 2 just go hand in hand. What you need to have healthy, thriving corals, is also what algae needs to thrive.


That doesn't mean you have to have visible algae growing in the display, but it most certainly will be growing somewhere.

I think it would be hard to avoid introducing it to your system at some point. It is very common. If you pick up any inverts/frags from the lfs there will likely be spores on some of them. Whether the spores take off and multiply in your sytem will depend on your water quality, lighting etc. I personally don't think a little hair algae is a huge issue, as long as it doesn't take off and start smothering corals/taking up too much nutrients.

That's what I was thinking but wasn't sure. Hair algae will almost certainly find a way in and be somewhere in the system. It's gonna happen, not a bad thing.

A bad thing is hair algae like I have. A Chaeto filter helped. I'll get it the rest of the way under control-no coral yet and I'm in no rush.

I mainly wondered because I wanted to pass Chaeto around and if it has a speck of hair algae with it, that shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Dan_P]

Just wondering if a tank started with dead/dry rock and sterile water will get hair algae. I'm not talking being smothered, just a tiny bit here or there. In other words, is it inevitable that every system will have hair algae just like every system will have bacteria?

Very likely.

Every time you add livestock, there is going to be all sorts of organisms tagging along, including cyanobacteria, diatoms and dinoflagellates.

 

[mindme]

Just wondering if a tank started with dead/dry rock and sterile water will get hair algae. I'm not talking being smothered, just a tiny bit here or there. In other words, is it inevitable that every system will have hair algae just like every system will have bacteria?

Yes, it's a natural filter of nutrients and good for the tank. If you get a good clean up crew and keep your nutrients from getting too high, it should stay in check for the most part.

 

[Spare time]

Every reef tank should be able to grow algae. You just need something to eat it. Remember, zooxanthellae in coral is algae.

 

[fryman]

It's theoretically possible for a closed system to be devoid of any particular organism. Every organism in our tanks, hair algae included, has to be introduced somehow. Nothing will spring to life spontaneously but some things, like various bacteria, are so prevalent they will get in no matter what you do.

I thnk this may be the crux of your question, and I expect similarly to bacteria and various other types of algae it's not practical to completely avoid hair algae. I think you would probably need some sort of sterilized, airtight chamber and it would not be a very interesting aquarium. However if you have a good cuc you may never actually see it.

 

[MartinM]

If you have certain algae eating fish (like a one spot foxface), you won't have algae.

Are there any less ugly fish that do the job? Clown tang maybe?

 

[Waters]

If you have certain algae eating fish (like a one spot foxface), you won't have algae.

I wish that was the case .....my last two tanks had both dwarf angels and One Spots....still had algae lol. Depending on the individual fish though they can definitely help control it.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Yes we all run into algae issues or other things there’s ways to control/minimize it though I would say you can never get rid of it! And if it makes you feel any better even the best public aquariums have algae and other nuisances in their tanks I’ve seen it firsthand.

 

[Paul B]

Algae is a normal, natural part of reefs and healthy aquariums. You can keep it under control a few
natural ways. But a tank, or the sea with absolutely no algae isn't very healthy.
Algae grows in the tissues of coral also.

 

[MartinM]

I wish that was the case .....my last two tanks had both dwarf angels and One Spots....still had algae lol. Depending on the individual fish though they can definitely help control it.

What dwarf angels help eat algae?

 

[Sharkbait19]

What dwarf angels help eat algae?

Maybe not hair algae, but my coral beauty is constantly grazing on various algaes in the tank.
Kept the qt spotless.

 

[Waters]

What dwarf angels help eat algae?

They pretty much will all eat algae to some degree.