green hair algae

[umbrellacorp]

so a friend of mines nano corral tank has started to get green hair algae. She asked me what to do about it.. ive never had it myself *knock on wood.* I did some reading up on it... and apparantly its REALLY hard to get rid of? Have any of you successfully gotten rid of it and how did you do it? Thanks so much for any advice i can give her.

 

[bcrueter]

a tang.... i tried everything but as soon as i put a tang in there it was gone in days

 

[ripped tide]

Tangs don't last very long in a nano tank. The key to getting rid of it is to figure out why you have it. It usually grows when you have excess phosphate, silicate or nitrate. The light being left on for too long will promote growth.

If you can narrow down on one culprit, fixing that problem will inhibit growth, but will not take care of what you have already. Manual removal is garaunteed to work. Turbo snails and crabs might nibble at it. Some people have used algaefix with success.

So regardless what you do to get rid of it, if you don't fix the source problem, it will come back.

 

[combsatl]

Tangs won't eat green hair algae - they'll pick around it. Like Ripped Tide said, it can be caused from an abundance of phosphates in the tank. Do you know if he's topping off with tap water, or is he using RO/DI water? Tap water is notorious for having a high phosphate levels.

What I've found is
a) do frequent water changes with RO/DI water. Make sure you're doing it every week or every two until the GH is gone.

b) decrease the number of hours your lights run per day. If you've got them running 8, turn it down to 5. Over a week or so you should start noticing a difference.

c) chem-marin stop hair algae. There's a product which is, basically, a reef-safe paste which you just spread over the green hair algae and it gets rid of it. I, personally, haven't ever used it but if it's a huge problem, it may not hurt to try in a small spot and see how it does.

I've got one spot on my tank where there's green hair algae (at the highest point) and I'm sure it's from having my lights on too long but, at this point, I'll deal with it because my corals are going very well. You can also pick it out with your hands and remove it from the tank - that will help a bunch.

 

[umbrellacorp]

Thanks guys... Im pretty possitive she is is using tap water. I will take all these suggestions and pass them along to her. Ill probably end up going over there to test the water myself and see whats out of whack. Thanks again.


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[grouper therapy]

combsatl;708669 wrote: Tangs won't eat green hair algae - they'll pick around it. Like Ripped Tide said, it can be caused from an abundance of phosphates in the tank. Do you know if he's topping off with tap water, or is he using RO/DI water? Tap water is notorious for having a high phosphate levels.

What I've found is
a) do frequent water changes with RO/DI water. Make sure you're doing it every week or every two until the GH is gone.

b) decrease the number of hours your lights run per day. If you've got them running 8, turn it down to 5. Over a week or so you should start noticing a difference.

c) chem-marin stop hair algae. There's a product which is, basically, a reef-safe paste which you just spread over the green hair algae and it gets rid of it. I, personally, haven't ever used it but if it's a huge problem, it may not hurt to try in a small spot and see how it does.

I've got one spot on my tank where there's green hair algae (at the highest point) and I'm sure it's from having my lights on too long but, at this point, I'll deal with it because my corals are going very well. You can also pick it out with your hands and remove it from the tank - that will help a bunch.

Mine does. obviously not the solution here though.

 

[KrisDeitz]

I have ha now in my bc being that I had my lights on for way to long. I bought a small yellow tang and he will eat it like a salad if it's small but won't touch it if it's long

 

[combsatl]

Really.. your tangs eat the green hair algae?

This friggin thing is warped! Why do I always get a warped one?! (blazing saddles..... anyone...?)

Seriously though.. my tang must be freaking retarded. Oh well. Water changes FTW.

 

[hud3339]

My Yellow Tang always takes care of my algea, so yes they can eat green hair algea

 

[koko]

I just had a huge green hair algae outbreak in my 54 gallon and my son's 14. The 54 is totally under control again but the 14 has been much harder. I totally agree with less light and agressive water changes. Heat was a big problem in my tanks as well. Getting the temp to 78 or lower made a big difference. I also bought the commercial Algae Rx which did seem to help. Other than a sea slug, I have not found any fish or critters that will eat the longer hair algae.

Good luck to your friend! It will take awhile to get rid of but the quick fixes are probably not good for your tank.

 

[davidinga]

Tangs always help me.