Green hair algae

[Michael 2005]

Hello fellow hobbyists. I have a 75 gallon mixed SPS an LPS reef for about 1 year. sand bed 1.25". live rock 70lbs. 2 AI hydra output at 45%. I run a DIY algae reactor with cheato , skimmer, carbon reactor. Pump dose B-Ionic alk, calcium and mag. Also dose vodka for a good measure. Parameters are excellent. nitrates 0, phosphate 0.03. water change weekly 5 gallons. Live stock 2 clowns and small blue tang, all there since the start. clean up crew 4 emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, and 3 snails that go nowhere near the algae... Blue tang doesn't even touch the algae either. Crabs visibly scrub all rock surfaces EXCEPT where the algae grow!

Coral nutrition: oyster feast 1ml and reefroids 1/8 teaspoon daily. fish nutrition formula 2 pellets and frozen brine shrimp once a day. I feed fish slowly and stop when stop eating.

the algae've been growing for about 2 months and spreading on more rocks despite me scrubbing it off once a week with tooth brush. SPS and LPS growth is very good so I am reluctant to turn the lights output down.

please help!

[Michael Hoaster]

Hello Michael 2005! There seem to be a new crop of chemicals available, that folks are having success with. I'm kind of a natural solutions guy, so here's my two cents.

First off, once you have a problem algae, excellent parameters numbers are not particularly helpful. The algae already has all the nutrients it needs bound up, and they can recycle them.

I focus on three things: nutrient control, competition for nutrients, and a diverse clean up crew.

For nutrient control, feeding less, good export and good, pure water are suggested.

Competition for nutrients, like your chaeto reactor, should help. How is yours doing? If the chaeto is growing well, don't forget to export it regularly. If not, make adjustments like more light and higher flow-through.

Your crew could use some diversity. Add one or two Nassarius snails. These guys don't eat algae. They eat leftover food scraps. Get about twenty Cerith snails. These snails reproduce in your tank, so their population regulates by the amount of algae available. A single sea cucumber and fighting conch will keep your sand bed clean. You could also add another herbivorous fish or two. Lawnmower blennies, Scopus tangs and mollies are three of many choices.

I have a few other random suggestions. Not much goes after hair algae, unless you first manually rip out the long stuff, then place your favorite snails or crabs right onto the shortened patch. You could temporarily remove your clowns and stop feeding the tank altogether for a while. When there's nothing to eat but algae, everybody loves algae! Finally, consider a decorative red macro algae for your display. Chaeto is great for getting high nutrients down, but once they're down, chaeto tends to suffer. Some of the slower growing reds do fine with lower nutrients found in reef tanks.

Well that's about it. I hope there's something useful to you in there. Best of luck!

[lapin]

Exactly what he said.

[mcgyvr]

Fluconazole...do it..
And yes stopping your coral food is a great start at reducing nutrient levels in the tank...photosynthetic corals dont need to be fed..

[Joe0813]

What is fluconazole

[OhsCC]

That's cool. My new nano tank is having a gha issue. If I do this I will post.

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by Joe0813

What is fluconazole

A chemical that kills gha, bryopsis, and bubble algae without harming other macro algaes or anything else...Sold under the name Reef Flux

[Joe0813]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

A chemical that kills gha, bryopsis, and bubble algae without harming other macro algaes or anything else...Sold under the name Reef Flux

hmmm wonder if it will kill turf algae too

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by Joe0813

hmmm wonder if it will kill turf algae too

I believe it does..forgot that one in my list

[Joe0813]

thank you, I'm going to try this out

[CLM65]

Interesting that the Reef Flux product info on the BRS website says it doesn’t work on hair or turf algae, yet there are many folks here that have experienced the opposite. I’m debating between Reef Flux and Vibrant. Both seem to get positive results based on this forum. Not sure which is better for turf algae...

[smatter]

I have had success in keeping filamentous algae in check with aggressive mechanical filtration that is changed frequently and the suspension of water changes. Yes you heard me right, stop changing water for now. It's been mentioned already, but I will say it again, cease and desist with the coral food.

[aquamann183]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

A chemical that kills gha, bryopsis, and bubble algae without harming other macro algaes or anything else...Sold under the name Reef Flux

Will the fluconazole "fix" the problem, or just help you get rid of the algae quickly while you work on getting your phosphates down?

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[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by aquamann183

Will the fluconazole "fix" the problem, or just help you get rid of the algae quickly while you work on getting your phosphates down?

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Fluconazole does not reduce phosphates...The presence of algae doesnt necessarily indicate a phosphate problem either...

[sacremon]

My wife has gha cropping up in her 32g tank, so definitely something I will think about in regards to

I have a pencil urchin that appears to eat pretty much anything on the rocks in my tank. I know that because my chaeto in the sump has clumps of bubble algae in it, but there is no bubble algae in the DT. The one time I tried to start green star polyps growing in the tank the urchin ate those too.

The concept of "feeding slowly until the fish stop eating" would be way too much food in my tank. I can't even imagine my batfish getting sated enough to stop eating. That fish has a bottomless stomach.

[aquamann183]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Fluconazole does not reduce phosphates...The presence of algae doesnt necessarily indicate a phosphate problem either...

Okay, what else does algae feed on? I'm assuming photosynthesis and therefore lowering the intensity/amount our lights are on will help with that. What else can we do to help reduce the algae?

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[Michael 2005]

has anyone tried Dr. Tim's Re-Fresh followed by Waste-Away?

[kware]

I'm very interested in this fluconazole made by Reef Flux. I've been battling bubble algae and a few other algae's for years now. Will this stuff really get rid of bubble algae and not hurt the corals?
The description says it is for treating fungal infections in fish? and doesn't say anything about removing algae ?

[sacremon]

Do a search on the Internet, you will find accounts of people successfully using it to eliminate gha and bryopsis. It isn't cheap if you have a large tank, though.

[smatter]

Originally Posted by aquamann183

Okay, what else does algae feed on? I'm assuming photosynthesis and therefore lowering the intensity/amount our lights are on will help with that. What else can we do to help reduce the algae?

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Iron can fuel algae. Organics that are added to some salt mixes like vitamins and amino acids can too.

[Hybodus]

I tried all the other methods and could never completely eliminate hair algae until I finally tried fluconazole. It took 2 treatments over a period of about 10 weeks but it finally worked.

I kept trying to keep nitrates and phosphates near zero. First, this didn't really help. Two, and more importantly, this was hurting the growth of the corals in my tank. My tank has never looked better and I don't worry so much about over feeding or running GFO etc.

I personally believe that once hair algae is in your tank, it's nearly impossible to completely remove unless you take drastic measures, or treat with fluconazole.... just my opinion though.

[aquamann183]

Originally Posted by smatter

Iron can fuel algae. Organics that are added to some salt mixes like vitamins and amino acids can too.

How do you suggest to keep the algae at bay by reducing iron and the organise added by salt mixes?

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[aquamann183]

Originally Posted by Hybodus

I tried all the other methods and could never completely eliminate hair algae until I finally tried fluconazole. It took 2 treatments over a period of about 10 weeks but it finally worked.

I kept trying to keep nitrates and phosphates near zero. First, this didn't really help. Two, and more importantly, this was hurting the growth of the corals in my tank. My tank has never looked better and I don't worry so much about over feeding or running GFO etc.

I personally believe that once hair algae is in your tank, it's nearly impossible to completely remove unless you take drastic measures, or treat with fluconazole.... just my opinion though.

Is fluconazole something you do periodically? Or a one and done kind of thing? Do you know any good reads on it?

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[Hybodus]

You put something like 1 capsule per 10 gallons all at once. Just follow the instructions if you buy Reef Flux. I left it in for 4 or 5 weeks before a water change and repeated the whole thing one more time. Search this site, plenty on info on the subjuct. Good luck

[smatter]

Originally Posted by aquamann183

How do you suggest to keep the algae at bay by reducing iron and the organise added by salt mixes?

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Cut back on water changes and use a marinemix that doesn't contain added organics like plain old Instant Ocean.