Hair Algae

[LCGoldman]

I kind of drifted off topic on my cyano thread about the hair algae outbreak that I have especially in my frag tank and in my refugium so I thought I would start a new thread on that subject.

I tried a Bali Sea Monster in the frag tank... it died after about a week. (Sorry Chris) :(

I bought a new (blue dot) Sea Hare last week for the frag tank. But, it's been missing in action pretty much ever since it went in to the tank.

Can anyone recommend anything else to combat my hair algae?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[cb747]

Get another Sea Hare but a big one like mine. www.nyaquatic.com has them priced nicely. I got a few things from him 2 weeks ago and it was 6 and change for shipping :) Cant drive over the bridge that cheap! http://www.nyaquatic.com/servlet/the-159/Giant-Sea-Hare/Detail
I got one and it seems to have laid a boat load of eggs on the glass.

[cb747]

or plan B bring over hair algae infested rock and we can put it in with my tangs LOL I dont have a spec of it in the reef but i do in the cube which only houses a hippo and some clowns.

[jnfallon]

sorry, no magic cures from me.

increase flow to fuge and frag tank. put in a powerhead in frag tank - keep flow 40x +. less than 40x in fuge but still cranking. I pass 1000g+/hr through my fuge and chaeto loves it. I have tried slow feed to fuge and had one issue after another.

Increase flow in main tank. As much as you can without making a sand storm. Alternate flow as much as possible to keep stuff suspended and not collecting in eddies.

Skim like crazy. EVen add a second skimmer for a while.

If your using low k bulbs switch over to 1ok+ , I had it bigtime one time w/ xm bulbs, when I switched to a less yellow bulb it dried up quickly. Anecdotal for sure, but I have heard that from others as well. If your bulbs are old/low par that could contribute too.

test phos. change/add carbon. use gfo if phos is above .01 (ie any color at all)

frequent water changes. supplement to get/keep alk in high range- 8-11 dkh.

stuff fuge with fast growth form of chaeto. it will outcompete the hair algae for nutrients. Theres a guy named seti on the for sale board, sells a couple gallons for like 25 bucks shipped. Grows like a weed.

do all that and it will be gone in 45 days.

[rtecanoe]

Rowaphos did the trick for me.

[JB NY]

I second the rowaphose to help out. But I had hair aglae in my frag tank as well. I had it no where else at all but in my frag tank. snails didn't seem to do anything. Eventualy I just pull out the frag racks once a month and clean them by hand. :(

[jnfallon]

drsfostersmith.com is selling gfo under their own brand for $26/900g. Its less than half the price of the name brands.

It's the dry, like TLF (phosban), not wet like rowa.

[Fragmented 99]

If you keep the Salinity & Temp & pH the same, you could just transfer the tang in when the hair algae is out of control

[LCGoldman]

All the tanks are plumbed together.... though I don't know if I'd have any luck trying to catch my yellow tang in the display tank.

[LCGoldman]

Thanks for the inputs... keep 'em coming :)

I did increase the flow in the refugium and frag tank yesterday.

I am running sub 10k bulbs on both those tanks :(

I do have a phosban reactor that I'll re-fill this evening and get that back running again too.

[Spracklcat]

Also Lonnie, all sea hares are not created equal. The Dolabella auricularia species are the ones I get, and they do a pretty good job. (do a Google image search--they are kind of speckled, bigger than the "bali monster", and blend well with rock). Your hare is probably still in there. Mine disappears under the sand or behind the rocks for weeks at a time, and mostly comes out at night.

And, not all hari algae is created equal either. There are lots of different speices that look similar but not exactly the same. Some are stiff and wiry, some are long and flowy....and different critters eat different kinds.

I have some in my tank now, and my dear aquarist counsellor recommended a couple of big water changes, manual removal of the worst patches, and really aggressive skimming, cleaning the skimmer neck daily. So far there is a marked improvement.

[Reefist]

I had a hair algae problem for years but the one thing that worked for me was weekly large water changes. At first it seemed to stress the tank but after the 3rd week the tank started to look better then ever eventually the hair algae dissappeared but it took about 2 months. I wished I had done it before . I had HA for about 3 years. I was changing about 40G's on a 170G system every week. I went thru ton's of salt but it worked. No HA since. Now watch...

[cb747]

Christine that was the sea hare i gave Lonnie. Pets of NHP sells it as a "bali sea monster". It was a good 4 to 5 inches long. I just got a replacement one too thats 5 to 6 inches long. I think it laid eggs too or atleast thats the only thing i can think it is. It would make sense if i took a pic of these things wouldnt it? LOL

[fishome25]

these are the ones I used to sell. they always did well.
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=dolaauri

[Spracklcat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9526594#post9526594 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cb747
Christine that was the sea hare i gave Lonnie. Pets of NHP sells it as a "bali sea monster".

Good then--I like those guys, and they are the same that Tom used to sell. Likely then, it is just hanging out in the tank somewhere unseen.

I have never heard of them laying eggs though--what did they look like? ARe you sure it wasn't just poop? They do poop a lot.

[cb747]

Christine i dont remember. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and this is one of those times! :) There still stuck to the side of the tank. Ill grab a pic of what i think is eggs as well as the sea hare itself, when it emerges :)

[Spracklcat]

Thanks!

[cb747]

Poop or eggs? Its in the middle of the glass on my 30 cube.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/27580mini-DSC01015.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/27580mini-DSC01016.JPG

The culprit :)
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/27580mini-DSC01017.JPG


Whats the verdict? :)

[fishome25]

ahhh, now that I see the picture it sparks a memory. whenever I'd get a new shipment of sea hares the following week I'd find a lot of those egg masses in the tank, although nothing ever developed.

[LCGoldman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9528028#post9528028 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishome25
these are the ones I used to sell. they always did well.
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=dolaauri
Tom,

Are you no longer in the business?

[cb747]

http://www.islandreefs.com/

[LCGoldman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9532947#post9532947 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cb747
http://www.islandreefs.com/
* sigh *

I guess not :(

[cb747]

So Christine whatcha think? I have 1 vote for eggs! Its been there for 3 days now.

[fishome25]

nah I haven't been selling stuff for a while now.