Refugium help! Dying plants and Red hair algae

[ckarkosh13]

I have a small refugium on the back of my 30 gallon saltwater tank and the chateo keeps dying and the entire refugium is consumed with red hair algae. I don't know what I can do to stop this.. I've tried physical removal, cleaning the rocks, water changes, less light. Nothing seems to stop it. The chateo is dead in 2 weeks..

 

[RMS18]

I have the same set up but I turned mine into a "sump" I have a power head in there. I grow chaeto with any problem, no alega issues either. I also replaced the Rio 400 (144 gal/hr) pump it came with, with the 800 (211 gal/hr). I'd toss the rocks, add some dry sand a few small pieces of rock and add some flow.

 

[Tateopotatoe]

Also, you could throw a couple of hermit craps and snails in there just to clean that up. After they finish you can get the algae you want and throw them into the main tank.