My GHA nightmare is back in just over a week.

GrouperBait

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I had a GHA problem last year after a snail died in the overflow. I tried every single remedy I could find with no luck. It would not go away. That bible mentioned above did not work for me. There are different strains of gha...definitely not a single bible for all strains. I tried all methods I could find except hydrogen peroxide and fluconazole. After 3.5 months, I gave in and tried hydrogen peroxide according to whatever was suggested at the time. Still didn’t work. Then I dosed fluconazole and it was mostly gone in 10 days and all gone in 2 weeks. No harm to corals or inverts including rbta and red serpent star.


I now have the problem arising again as I cannot find my male mandarin after I was out of town on vacation. I still can’t find him. If he didnt carpet surf, then I assume my current problem will need the same remedy...fluconazole. (And hopefully I can’t find his rotting carcass). I freaking hate GHA.


****there is also some really bad advice on this thread. Take it for what it’s worth. No one is correct for your problem because reef is different than theirs. Fluconazole worked for my strain of GHA. Nothing else helped.
 

DHill6

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I agree with @GrouperBait to a certain extant, every tank is different to how remedies respond. Half choose to dose a product, the other half choose the natural route. After the last post I removed the cup with batting. Whatever small amount of GHA makes it to the scrubber let it be to start growing there. Along the battle I’ve also pulled what I could using a turkey baster and tweezer. It’s also BB. I use the blue large ultra low Hanna phosphate meter, definitely trust this one.
 

Lousybreed

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That long article is really good stuff. However I do not totally agree with all of it. I have lots of tangs. They eat algae. Without them I would have algae everywhere. I also have a fuge and I pull out lots of it every week. Adding a fuge and some tangs can do wonders. I do try to keep all my tanks circulation rates at or above settling times of waste. This has helped. I really don’t use much mechanical filtration. I have a decent amount of snails too. They are amazing. Getting a sea Hare is a way to keep the GHA at bay. Then after you have stuff eating it, figure out what is causing your algae and work towards getting rid of it
 
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saullman

saullman

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Are you running any phosphate removal media? I hear a lot about balancing nitrates and phosphates and most people seem to agree that you need some of each to keep things healthy. If you have one without the other it limits what can be used.
I would also increase the percentage of water change or at least siphon out as much algae as you can while scrubbing with that toothbrush will do a world of good as well. Simply scrubbing it from the rock and not removing it from the system the nutrients are still in the tank.

I am not currently running any phosphate remover. I was using rowa phos in my tank for about 1 month. Then I took it out when I kept getting zero phosphates.
 

DJO

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I am still fighting hair algae although I have slowly lowered the phosphate and nitrate. I was told to reduce the light time from 12 hr to 8 hr. It made a tremendous difference, about 80% reduction in algae growth. The GHA were using up all the nitrate and phosphate in the water according to the Red Sea and Salifert tests. The coral improved, likely due to being able to use nitrate and phosphate and not having so much algae next to them. I now have detectable phosphate and the red slime blue-green algae in my sand. I should do more frequent water changes, but don't like disturbing the corals. At least, now the GHA is not back for a couple weeks after cleaning.
 
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saullman

saullman

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I have been using the Salifert brand phosphate test for a year. Recently upgraded to the Hanna ULR phosphorus tester. My Salifert test always showed 0 phosphate, so never used media that targets phosphate. I had a bit of nuisance algae on my rocks and taking over my sump. Hanna checkers showed .125 ppm phosphate in my water, was very surprised at the readings from the two test kits. Started using media to bring my phosphate to .03-.01 ppm 0n the Hanna tester and all my algae issues are gone. Algae needs phosphates to thrive. I was finally able to bring my nitrates up as well without fear of massive algae bloom.

Yeah, I really want to get a Hanna ULR phosphate tester. Just don't have the extra money to spend right now. Just bought my first house and need a bunch of stuff for it.
 

Nokiaec11

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I agree with the dirty tank being the root cause...not that you have a very visible dirty tank, but does you glass or acrylic get a film on it repeatedly? How is your sand, if you have it? Cleaning your rock does not eliminate possible leaking phosphates, that could be coming from your sand or food that has worked it way into crevasses where you can't see...Also, as someone insinuated, you could be reintroducing the problem if you do not clean your filtration system as well....skimmer...everything
 

MARK M. DAVIS

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The algae control bible as prescribed by fish_sticks.

The rules of algae management:

1. do not make sudden changes, do not use hydrogen peroxide, do not turn off your lights and perform a tank blackout (this is not only bad for your corals, but your fish), or do anything that would be described as a fast fix. These strategies do not work long term. As soon as you stop dosing, as soon as you turn back on the lights, the algae will come back. These are foolish strategies.

2. patience. Understand that it will take a few weeks or even a month to fix the problem. This hobby is based on the slowest changing thing in the world, the ocean. Patience is required to achieve success in the hobby.

3. algae is not a bad thing. Sure its ugly, but its not going to crash your tank in a few weeks. Every single tank on the planet has algae, there is no way to get rid of it. The secret that nobody talks about, is that you never get rid of algae, you control algae.

4. during this process, you should be manually removing algae from the tank when it reaches high levels, or when it threatens the well being of your corals and fish.

5. do not do too much too fast. Take things slow and focus on changing your habits. The algae will dissipate with time if you perform a responsible maintenance routine. Plus, fish love a little snack of fresh grown algae, they are probably having a ball while they watch you run around like a crazy person changing a hundred things on the tank and ruining the balance of the ecosystem.

6. this bible assumes that you arent running your lights for longer than 14/16 hours. Although algae likes light, it cannot survive on just light. If you have a dirty tank, you can grow algea with lights on for only a few hours a day. Fix the real problem...

7. do not add more snails, shrimp, fish or any other animals to the system to eat your algae. This is another fool's tactic. Your just creating more crap. Fix the real problem...

Why do you have algae? Its plain and simple, don't let anyone fool you.
Your tank is dirty; maybe not chemically, but physically.

Nitrate levels around 10-20 are perfectly fine. Phosphates dont even really matter that much. Algae doesn't even really like nitrogen, what they do love, is ammonia!

For algae to use nitrogen, they must convert it into ammonia.

Algae love ammonia because it is less work for algae to consume ammonia than nitrogen.

When detritus (fish crap uneaten food) breaks down into ammonia, the ammonia is usually taken up by the bacteria in your rock; however, because algae use ammonia very efficiently, algae can use ammonia before the bacteria have a chance. This causes some bacteria to die off and for the algae to get worse over time.

Can you see how this would create a snowball effect?

Your algae is essentially taking over your bacteria.

This gets even worse because the algae also contributes to clogging up your rock and taking up valuable surface area that bacteria need to live. Algae can overtake your bacteria when it comes to using ammonia. Think you can keep reducing your nitrates into oblivion and starving your corals in hopes your algae will magically disappear? Think again. Your tank is dirty.

So, if you remove the detritus, you solve your algae problems. Don't let anyone fool you otherwise!

Where is the detritus?
It can be in the holes and pores of your rock. Detritus looks just like you think it would, brownish green fish poop.

Fix: use a turkey baster to blast out only a few rocks per day, overtime your equipment (skimmer or filter socks) will collect the detritus. You also create more surface area for bacteria to live inside the rocks.
It can be in your sand bed.
Fix: Vacuum out your sand bed with a gravel vacuum. This can and should be done on a regular basis during your routine water changes, and you kill two birds with one stone; changing the water, and cleaning detritus! I like to vacuum out with my right hand, hold the end of the hose with my left, and control the flow of water in the siphon hose with my left hand fingers.
It can be in your equipment.
Fix: Clean your equipment on a regular basis, check any sponges, filter floss, pumps, wavemaker suction cups. Detritus can get lodged anywhere.
It can be in your sump.
Fix: I like to suck it up with a turkey baster. The best part about the baster is you can use it to blow water out, or suck things up.
It can be in your macroalgae (if you're growing macroalgae).
Fix: After a small 1G water change, just shake out your chaeto macroalgae in your water change water.

Great so now I can go crazy cleaning my tank right?
Not so fast. Doing too much at one time can cause your tank to crash. Only do a fair amount of maintenance a day. Doing too much than your equipment can handle will cause your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate production to rise too much too fast. This is not so much about getting rid of the algae as much as it is improving your maintenance habits. If you fix your habits, the algae will be under control; and stay under control.

How do I avoid detritus buildup?
Well if you look around your tank, I'm sure you can find dead spots where water inst flowing very well. See if you can find some dead spots and fix them.

If you have a power head pointed directly at a rock, its gonna lodge a bunch of crud into there.

But I have friends coming over and I want my tank to look nice fast.
That's just too bad. The algae has be slowly gaining power overtime and getting stronger and stronger though weeks of work because you have detritus build up. If you think you can fix all that in one or two weeks, then you're out of luck.

But I have super duper deadly byopsis, cotton candy algae, (insert buzzword terrible evil algea here, AHHHH NITRATES ARE AT 11 PPM IM GONNA DIE, I NEED TO USE PHOSBAN ASAP. IM NEVER GONNA FEED MY FISH AGAIN!!!! MAYBE I NEED TO RIP OUT ALL MY ROCK AND TOSS IN IN BLEACH !!!! OR JUST CHANGE MY T5 BULBS AND IT WILL GO AWAY AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!)
Calm dowwwwwn. So what. All algae does the same thing. They feed off the ammonia produced by the detritus in your aquarium. You can carefully physically remove the algae just like normal, remain calm, dont do anything too fast, dont result to stupid quick fixes, have some fun, and follow the algae bible.

Lots and lots of people are gonna tell you otherwise, but that's not their fault. They don't know any better.
This is your tank.
You've been given the algae bible. Follow the rules. If you don't use it, your tank will only have you to blame, not random people on the forums who suggested you try a couple of foolish quick fixes in a hobby based entirely on patience; based around the slowest changing thing in the entire world, the ocean.
Do you have a tank? Let’s see some photos!
 

MARK M. DAVIS

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Lighting, feeding, not enough nitrate export, silicates. Reduced light cycle. Less red and green light. I have a 300 g sps dominant 13 tang system. 4 mysis cubes a week. Minimal reefroids, reef chili and benepets, oyster feast. Nori. I export with algae scrubbers. Santa Monica scrubbers. I use silica removing ro membrane and silicabuster di resin. Change filters every 3 months when tds is still 0 or 1. Manual removal, too. It’ll subside. Read a few of my blogs on export, nitrogen cycle and algae control. See photos. Advanced aquatic solutions: public Facebook page. Good luck !
 

nden

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Have you tried using trochus and turbo snails? Putting in two turbos made quick work of the hair algae in my tank. I also did a bunch of work by picking at large patches manually. Also used airline tubing to "scrape" at the base of small patches on rock I couldn't pinch and for the sand during water changes.
 

HB AL

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How much rock do you have. In my 92g I have a ton of rocks, 14 good size fish that get fed 8 cubes of frozen Hikari a day, a tank full of corals and 5 Kessil lights on for 14 hours a day. This current tank has been running for a little over 3 years now and have never had any noticeable gha. You would think it would be covered in algae with the amount of fish, the amount I feed them, the lights blasting for 14 hours a day but it’s not, my theory is simple, have lots of rock.
 

Harriswill1987

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I had an algae issue in my 180 mixed reef tank that quickly took over my corals and wiped them out! I did have excessive nutrients! Nitrates were around 10ppm and phosphates were at about 3ppm! I had a lot of food in the tank as my son knocked in the auto riser and dumped a months worth of food in my tank! So load of issues right!

So my fix was to blast and scrub all of my rocks everyday for two weeks. I completed a water change every three days while I was changing my filter socks! I started looking at nutrient reducers. Tried a few for around two Weeks and had very little results. Then I learned about a new line that has just arrived in the United States called Quantum. Received excellent customer service from the Australian Chemist. So I gave his product a try! I tried the LR nitrate remover as well as the phosphate remover that they offer. I dosed the tank daily like I was instructed while continuing my blasting the rocks and scrubbing them with a hard bristle brush. While completing my water changes and within a week my levels were cut in half!!! Within ten days as I was scrubbing the algae it was actually coming off the rock! After 14 days the algae was gone and my nutrient levels were down to acceptable ranges. Phosphate was .08 and Nitrate was 0.25. Since I had such a success with the nutrient removers I then ventured over to the rest of their line!
 

hawkeye792001

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I had it for months. You need to hit hair algea from every angle. It can survive almost anything. With that said.......this requires several days a week of maintenance at this point. During the week, every day make sure you take a Turkey baster an blow out ever book and cranny of the rocks. Keep the crap in the water column so your socks can get it.

Change socks every other day.

If you have sand, vacuum 1/4 of the sand be thoroughly each week. You dont want to do too much at once, especially if you never do that. If you already do, then do the entire bed weekly. Suck the sand out until it is clear and not cloudy. Mine took 30 gallons to clean a 125 till it was pretty clear.

If possible, fill a bucket with salt water and scrub the rocks in there. When you do it in the tank, a lot of the algea stays behind. Even if it rots, it releases everything back into the tank.

I increases skimming, added a refugium, and did 30% water changes every 2 weeks. Absolutley use RO/DI water too. I hear great things about algea scrubbers too.

After months of doing this the algea really slowed its growth.

If you are lucky tangs, fox faces, blue legs, emerald crabs will help eat it faster than it can grow, but dont go crazy adding too many things at once.
Mt yellow tang, starry blenny, and foxface hardly touched the stuff.

I finally added flucanozole. This didnt kill it right away. It took 2 doses and 6 weeks to finally clear it out.

I added GFO right after dosing to manage the phosphate.

Now, some people say running higher nitrate and phosphate is ok.......not in a new tank. When you have a 2 or 3 year old tank packed with coraline and growing coral, then you can let them build.

Finally, when it is gone, keep up with the maintenance. It can come right back if you let it slip.
 
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saullman

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I agree with the dirty tank being the root cause...not that you have a very visible dirty tank, but does you glass or acrylic get a film on it repeatedly? How is your sand, if you have it? Cleaning your rock does not eliminate possible leaking phosphates, that could be coming from your sand or food that has worked it way into crevasses where you can't see...Also, as someone insinuated, you could be reintroducing the problem if you do not clean your filtration system as well....skimmer...everything

Yeah, I do get a film on the front glass if I don't clean it every week or so. I am using crushed coral for my sandbed. It also grows algae on it after a week or so. Right now I don't have tool that will clean the sandbed. I used a cheap siphon hose that I bought from home Depot. I did want to take the Rock out of the tank to scrub, but I have corals glued down so I just scrubbed inside the tank. My filtration compartment is pretty clean. I will clean my skimmer again. The collection cup is dirty.
 

Joe De Leo

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Had bad GHA one time ,was getting a false test results the Algae was eating up the phosphates, Just manually remove, Get a power Head and blow out your rocks at lease once a week and run Good GFO in a reactor....Good Luck
 
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saullman

saullman

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Have you tried using trochus and turbo snails? Putting in two turbos made quick work of the hair algae in my tank. I also did a bunch of work by picking at large patches manually. Also used airline tubing to "scrape" at the base of small patches on rock I couldn't pinch and for the sand during water changes.

My next step is buying some snails. I stopped buying snails because my hermits kept eating them everytime I bought them so I just removed the hermits 2 days ago. I am going to buy snails on my next day off. Right now I have 2 nassarius snails and 2 other small snails (not sure what kind) but I know that is not enough to make any kind of difference in my tank.
 

Berickson24

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I had a massive GHA nightmare after I removed too much of my calpura algae (wanted to try chaeto) and the sump had no way to remove what the calpura removed! So the GHA went crazy in the display. The remainder calpura died and also the chaeto. The GHA was growing like crazy and replacing where I grew the macro anyways so I decided to embrace it. Let it grow pretty big, bought some more calpura algae and proceeded to "prune" the GHA (heavy pruning display side, easy in the sump) until I saw the calpura had took hold again and then removed the remainder. Mission Success! learned a key fact; life will always find a way. Embrace it and make the best of it. Macro algae is macro algae, even if its GHA. As I pruned the sump GHA, a tiny bit would try to take hold display side
 
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HB AL

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How much rock do you have. In my 92g I have a ton of rocks, 14 good size fish that get fed 8 cubes of frozen Hikari a day, a tank full of corals and 5 Kessil lights on for 14 hours a day. This current tank has been running for a little over 3 years now and have never had any noticeable gha. You would think it would be covered in algae with the amount of fish, the amount I feed them, the lights blasting for 14 hours a day but it’s not, my theory is simple, have lots of rock.

I did leave out I keep a bag of phosgaurd and a bag of purigen in my sump, those items are probably helping have no really noticeable algae, but for sure are not harming the reef. Good luck with whatever advice you take.
 
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