Please help, hair algae dilemma

[Mrcote1]

Hi everyone,

I have had my current setup for going on 2 years. I have had a terrible hair algae problem for the majority of those 2 years. I have been in the hobby on and off for 15 years and never dealt with anything like this. I cannot get rid of this hair algae.

I have spent many hundreds of dollars on cleanup crews. I can keep everything alive except turbo snails and sea hare (which I have bought probably around 50-70 turbos and 5 sea hares all which have died). Urchins, shrimp and all other snails do great and even breed.

My tank:

Mariner 130 (130 gallon display with a ~30 gallon sump)

2x mp40s set to about 1600 gph each

2x radion xr30s on the radiant color template with about 2 hours of added lights on with an intensity of 40%

I run a UV sterilizer 24/7 and have a protein skimmer that fills up probably every 2 weeks

I have 13 small to medium fish

I started with all dry rock and 2 live rocks to seed


Parameters:
Nitrate: 0.1 ppm
Phosphate: 0.19 ppm
Alkalinity: 8.1 DKH
Calcium: 470 ppm
Magnesium: 1550 ppm

I do ICP tests every 6 months (i can include results if helpful)

What ive done so far:
-I manually pull as much as I can every few weeks but the roots are really strong making it tough

-started a refugium. Cheato took off in growth when my nitrates were higher in the 20s. Then when it dropped near zero all cheato melted

-upped water changes to 20gallons per week

If anyone has advice i would be very open to trying anything. I am at a point where I cant stand it and its been frustrating

 

[Mrcote1]

 

[FishTruck]

 

[Channas]

Manual removal is the way to go and consistency, one time wont be enough you need to keep it up until phosphate and nitrate balance up a bit before it eventually dies back and thats when your cuc take over to keep it at bay as Well. One thing i did was i bought a urchin, took out my trusty tooth brush i use for new corals and i went to town with it when pumps where off then i took a filter sock and sucked it out and filterd it through the sock then i put back the water. I did this about 2 times a week for a month then about every 2 weeks for another 3-4 months, now it’s completly gone.

One thing to consider is to completly stop dry foods if you use it.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Silly question but I didn’t see it mentioned. Are you using RODI water? Do you make it or buy it?

 

[W31Olds]

GHA is tough to beat. One thing that may help if you have Filter Socks, change them very frequently. It's basically a way to export decaying matter and nutrients.

 

[Mrcote1]

I do use RODI water and consistently do manual removal every few weeks. A toothbrush doesnt even seem to work its so well rooted into the rocks so manual removal is tough.

I did actually buy that hygger brush but i got nervous about putting it into the water as I didnt trust it so I returned it.

 

[MadreeferNJ]

You can dose peroxide temporarily. It will eventually turn the HA white and make it easier to remove as it dies.

 

[Mrcote1]

You can dose peroxide temporarily. It will eventually turn the HA white and make it easier to remove as it dies.

I may try this, looks like 1 ml per 10 gallons of 3% based on some other posts?

 

[MadreeferNJ]

I may try this, looks like 1 ml per 10 gallons of 3% based on some other posts?

That's what I used. I still dose 5ml weekly in a 100g system to avoid any algae.

 

[Mrcote1]

I may try this, looks like 1 ml per 10 gallons of 3% based on some other posts?

That's what I used. I still dose 5ml weekly in a 100g system to avoid any algae.

Any negative impacts on shrimp, cleanup crew or corals?

 

[BeanAnimal]

A dozen or two tubro snails and a tuxedo urchin or two will mow a lot of that down as you continue manual removal. The snails will keep it short and the urchins will chew it to the rock. If you can keep up with it, then the rock has a chance to grow coralline and other beneficial algaes instead of the GHA.

I would try that before using peroxide or algaecides.

 

[BryanM]

The nuclear option is Fluconazole, but I would research that thoroughly before going down that road.

A much better option with success stories is an algae turf scrubber, which after it gets going (~6 weeks), basically outcompetes the GHA and it eventually dies off. It more efficiently grows a similar algae that uses up what fuels GHA, basically.

You can ask the folks over at santa monica filtration exactly how it works, but this would be a good, natural method to rid yourself of GHA. One note, its a nitrate and phosphate exporter as well, and you should probably be ready to dose something for both of these if you go down this road as you'll likely bottom out both N and P with your current levels.

 

[MadreeferNJ]

Any negative impacts on shrimp, cleanup crew or corals?

I don't have shrimp. No impact on anything. Coral may close up a bit but opens back up.

 

[Mrcote1]

The nuclear option is Fluconazole, but I would research that thoroughly before going down that road.

A much better option with success stories is an algae turf scrubber, which after it gets going (~6 weeks), basically outcompetes the GHA and it eventually dies off. It more efficiently grows a similar algae that uses up what fuels GHA, basically.

You can ask the folks over at santa monica filtration exactly how it works, but this would be a good, natural method to rid yourself of GHA. One note, its a nitrate and phosphate exporter as well, and you should probably be ready to dose something for both of these if you go down this road as you'll likely bottom out both N and P with your current levels.

I wish i could do an algae scrubber but i have a 5" x 7" space in my sump open which is too small for any algae scrubber. Thats what prompted me to do the refugium which bottomed out my nitrates then the cheato died and the gha thrived the entire time

 

[Mrcote1]

A dozen or two tubro snails and a tuxedo urchin or two will mow a lot of that down as you continue manual removal. The snails will keep it short and the urchins will chew it to the rock. If you can keep up with it, then the rock has a chance to grow coralline and other beneficial algaes instead of the GHA.

I would try that before using peroxide or algaecides.

I have a tuxedo urchin and a pin cushion right now. Ive bought dozens of turbos but they barely make a dent then they die a month later

 

[cba191]

does anyone use electric toothbrushes so as not to slosh the water around too much?

 

[promotheus2070]

does anyone use electric toothbrushes so as not to slosh the water around too much?

i have been thinking doing that for a while .
as ive added a grounding pin to the system the other week i think i will buy myself a cheap one and try that out .

 

[slingfox]

You should exhaust every natural option possible first. It seems like you have invested heavily in CUC and been willing to do extensive manual removal so it must be frustrating to deal with the uglies for so long.

You still have a few nuclear fuel options left . First, Fluconazole which you can run for 4-5 weeks. Second, you have the Brightwell Continuum product line which requires dosing 3 separate products including an ORP escalator. Third, there is API Algaefix. Each of these options have risks and drawbacks. The dark green/black turf algae I had were impervious to any livestock or chemical treatments!

I eventually got so frustrated fighting with a dark green/almost black turf algae that after six months I did a complete tank reset. I replaced my dry rock aquascape with 100% ocean live rock. It has been 9 months and largely nothing but smooth sailing!

I feel your pain and hope you can find a way to get your rocks into shape!

 

[sdreefer619]

What tangs do you have if any? Tang gang for a reason. Feeding regime and flow?