Massive Hair Algae Problem

[Tennyson]

I have a 46 gallon tank with 96 watt. I have tons of clumps of hair algea growing and spreading everywhere. this stuff is beyond annoying, parts fall off and get blown around the tank and clogg up my powerheads, filter and skimmer. I have to remove it every two days or my filtration won't be able to blow or suck any water in.

I have been plucking out so much of this every week, but it grows VERY fast and I need some hair algea eaters.

I have tried Emerald Crabs, they don't eat it becuase its too big or crawl around it. And small hermits suck and don't eat it either. I don't want sea hares or any fish. Is there anything out there that can eat this stuff naturally thats reef safe? Should I try more emeral crabs? I have tried Sally Lightfoots, but those things are very dangerous to my inverts and fish.

Thanks!

[zdawgnight]

What are you perameters? how many fish do you have and what type? also how often do you do water changes?

[Tennyson]

I do water changes every week. I have alot of fish.

-Midas blenny
-diamond watchman
-yellow clown goby
-firefish
-4 striped damsel
-3 ocelaris clowns
-green chromis

9 fish for a 46 gallon bow tank.

nitrates-15 ppm or lower.
ph-8.5
nitrite-0
amonia-0
phosphate-0
salinity-1.024
alkalinity-10

[jadeguppy]

YOur phosphate is reading zero, but there is probably a source being added to the tank that is absorbed by the hair algae fast enough that the tests don't read it. Live rock, skimming, limiting feedings, and feeding phosphate free foods can all help. You mention not wanting a sea hare, which I assume includes not wanting a lettuce sea slug/ nudibranch, but both will actually eat it. They do not need fed since they eat what is already there and will have very little impact on your bio load. With that said, I'd start by looking at what you are feeding, how much/ often, and how much live rock you have in the tank.

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12319539#post12319539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tennyson
I don't want sea hares
why not?

a sea hare would be my recommendation.

[Tennyson]

I think its the amount of food I feed, I feed twice a day plus direct feedings for my corals 1-3 times a week.

I done want a sea hare because they get too big and eventually die from going into powerheads correct? I guess maybe as a temporary algea controller. Can't they and the lettuce nudbranchs release toxins?

[yankeereefer]

Cut back on your feeding frequency and / or amount

Also, how old are you bulbs?

[Tennyson]

Thanks, I have been trying to cut back on feeding, and it has helped with the nitrates. They were from 20 two weeks ago and now are 15 but probably a bit lower. I think the algea is growing oof of the nitrates.

I think my bulbs are around 5-7 months old, but I am planning on upgrading to a 234 watt in a month or so.

[Tennyson]

So are Sea Hares capable of releasing toxins if harmed?

I think I will get one as a temperary algea eater just so all this algea is gone.

I think I will also get lettuce nudibranchs as a permanent resident, just to keep it under control. Do they also release toxins?

thanks

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12344651#post12344651 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tennyson
So are Sea Hares capable of releasing toxins if harmed?
no.
you're confusing 'Sea Hares' with 'Sea Apples' of the family Pseudocolochirus

'Lettuce Nudis' aren't toxic, either.

[ShannHell]

But unless you have bryopsis, the lettuce nudibranch isn't going to help much, or even survive since they eat it exlusively. I recommend (strongly) dolabella sea hares. I added two to my 125 and they devour the hair algae (I had bryopsis) They have been great and are pretty cheap also

[CadetMKultra]

Once it's tamed, try to get some hover gobies. They're tiny and just eat filamentous algae all day. They won't eradicate it, but they do eat it and are pretty.

[Tennyson]

What are hover gobies? I google imaged it and just got a bunch of pictures of different gobies. I already have a diamond watchman, firefish and yellow clown goby in the tank. Is there any specific goby your talking about?

[CadetMKultra]

I have a hector's goby. they are hover gobies, so are rainford's gobies. There are probably others that I don't know about. very cute fish.

[Tennyson]

Thanks, but I don't think I should get them, not becuase I don't like them, but because they look like a possible victim of bullying from my midas and especially my territorial diamond watchman goby. I checked on an article on them just now and it says they are likely to be bullied by other bigger or similar looking fish.

Are there any other gobies that you know of? I was planning on getting a neon goby, do those do anything? And do these really eat algea?

Thanks!

[Myrddraal]

If you can narrow the species of algae you have to briopsis, I just eradicated mine using Kent's Tech-M magnesium supplement. I increased my mag to 1600 using it, and my hair algae melted in about a week. There's a big thread on using it in the general forum. Side effects I noticed were bleaching of some zoos, frogspawn, and pociliopora, and one of my mushrooms shrunk quite a bit.

[gotoneon]

Long spine urchin (Diadema setosum). I finally gave in and add three very large ones to my 600, with 400lbs of rock and a major hair alge problem that nothing else could fix. Within hours they had trails of spotless clean rock and within two weeks there was no algea in the tank. I was originally worried about other fish running into them or my eel getting stabbed. None of that has been a problem and I have watched my snowflake rest on top of an urchin, the urchin got a little excited but it did not bother the eel one bit.

[jason214]

I feel your pain. the green hair algae started to grow so i started small, first i increased flow. then added skimmer to the tank(its a 29g) bought algae eaten fish. Hermit crabs, snails. No prevail. Added a nudibranch hare(he is on the filter in my pic, he lives on my mj1200. it doesn't bother him) He helped alot. you can see the path he travels if the algae is bad. I've gone to feeding one mysis or brine frozen cube a day doing 2 feedings a day with it. Use phosphate control by Blue Life every other day to lower .5 ppm weather or not phosphate shows in test. And put my lighting on a strict schedule. I started the mag dosing and after a week, the hair algae started turning yellow but my corals were starting to look unhappy so i chickend out. Decided since the algae was obviously weak from the mag that i would start pulling lr out and scrubbing. OMG. try it, get a toothbrush and a bucket of s/w(use water from your tank that you remove during waterchange) to help keep rock "ALIVE". I pulled 15lbs and the water was darker green than my phytoplex. It didn't look that bad on the rocks, i was horrified at how much algae i got off that i didn't see. My tank looks great now. The coraline algae is coming in great. I still have green algae growth, but i think w/ a couple more target area scrubbs, i will finally be able to win the war.
I know its alot of rambling but i hope this helps
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg21/jason21484/007.jpg

[plateboy3293]

I agree with gotoneon try a sea urchin maybe a blue tux or a long spine.
Is the tank near a window or any light changes in the window?

Pic would be helpful of tank and room.

[plateboy3293]

You could also try an atlantic cucumber they have worked for me in the past with hair algae

[Tennyson]

I'm going to try a sea hare since most seem to favor it. Just need my lfs to get them in again.

Don't urchins eat too much coraline along with algea and or eat corals? I have a reef tank and have heard bad storied about them. Are they true? Are they reef safe or not?

I actually don't know where the algea is coming from. Everything is perfect except for my nitrates which stays at a constant 20 ppm becuase of feeding. No phosphates or anything. The tank is on the opposits side of my window, but I leave the blinds over it so no light gets through, so no lighting interfearing with my tank.

But I do leave the lights on from 8 to 9 or 10.

I think a sea hare will solve all my problems.

[gotoneon]

Think a little more short term. You have an algea problem that you want to resolve and you don't want to remove fish or change your feeding habits to actually solve the problem, yet you want to get rid of your hair algea? It sounds like you may have purchased enough critters to maintain no algea but you still have the problem of getting rid of what you have and bringing it down to a managable amount. You are right, a long spine will eat a little good algea as it is mowing through your Hair algea. Just remember your good algea is already being killed by the hair algea, so???? Spend $15 get a long spine, your algea problem goes away, you give the Urchin back to the pet shop, your happy and your good algea has no compatition, seems simple and headache free to me. Or tear your intire tank apart and scrub the rocks with a toothbrush, your coraline will love the massage and your nitrates will spike even higher, that is a bad idea. From my experience with them in my tank the sea hare is better for maintaining hair algea then getting rid of it. I would still add one if I was you, however, a long spine would be the cheapest, most natural way to bandage the wound. Good luck

[gotoneon]

And please put your lights on a timer, that will help everything in your tank and you can actually start monitoring and adjusting things. Nothing like staying at your friends house and leaving the lights on all night to solve an algea problem.

[plateboy3293]

Yes the long spines does eat coraline but it doesn't kill it. It spreads it by releasing the spores. I think.

[Tennyson]

I do have a timer for my lights, but I usually turn them back on or leave the timer off to feed my sun coral.

But aren't urchins not reef safe with corals?

[gotoneon]

No more dangerous then hair algea, we are not talking a long term relationship, this is more like a prom date.

[plateboy3293]

Some are some aren't blue tux and long spined are the most reef safe.