Green hair: good for The Joker, not for a reef tank

[PJs_Bucket_List]

My problem is pretty obvious from the post title. GHA, mostly of the short bristly variety, is spreading all over my rock, with a few small patches of the longer stuff. Other than a couple solitary rocks, I can't take the rock work apart or remove it from the tank. I know, another newbie mistake, but all I can do now is deal with it as it is. I have some astrea snails, and there are a few blue legged hermit crabs in there somewhere. Just got a tail spot blenny, but I don't know if GHA is on his menu. Any suggestions or advice for getting rid of this? Thanks in advance!

 

[shanepike]

Are you sure it's GHA and not bryopsis?

bryopsis - Google Suche

 

[PJs_Bucket_List]

Are you sure it's GHA and not bryopsis?

bryopsis - Google Suche

Not entirely sure, no, but from what I've read about bryopsis, now I'm praying it's GHA (already sure I have some patches of it)! What do I do for bryopsis?

 

[shanepike]

Here's what's worked for me to eradicate GHA in three different tanks:

• Get your phosphates under control - removes the food that the GHA requires in order to grow
• Mexican turbo snails (and maybe pincushion/tuxedo urchin) - just absolutely decimates the long pieces that nothing else will touch
• Scarlet hermits - eats the smaller filaments that the big guys leave behind
• Regular CUC - eats the GHA when it's still tiny, before it can get a foothold

What (and how many) of each depends on the specifics of your tank.

Bryopsis is a whole different story, so you need to figure out which it is. Here are some threads that will probably be useful: https://www.google.com/search?q=bryopsis+site:atlantareefclub.org

 

[ecoreefguy]

Was rock cured before you started? Might be a lot more coming if rock is leeching

 

[PJs_Bucket_List]

Yes, the rock was cured. I already know I need better filtration (no sump, hob filter), maybe a skimmer would help?

 

[PJs_Bucket_List]

Regarding the CuC suggestions, would my tank be big enough for an urchin? Given that my current filtration isn't all that great, I don't like the idea of dumping chemicals in the water. I'd prefer a more natural remedy, and the new little critter to look after would be awesome.

 

[Cook]

Manual removal is unfortunately the best way to control it. My tank stubbornly continues to grow GHA though it has moderated over time.

 

[AWarnick]

The urchin will do wonders. What is your lighting intensity like? Other than that monitor Phosphates and Nitrates and let us know what those numbers look like. In a lot of cases you might find them low but the algae is living off of something.

 

[AWarnick]

The Blue Tuxedo Urchin has been great in my aquarium and I have a hard time finding any algae in my tank now (other than Calcareous)

 

[BookFam]

Watch the lighting in the room. When I had a bad problem with green hair algae, it took someone coming over to tell me to shut the blinds even though I had the tank light only running 4 hours a day.

I was going mad trying to figure out a solution, with lowering the phosphate, adding 2 mexican turbo snails, a lawnmower blenny (who seemed to like flakes more than algae). But the thing that really turned the corner was getting the room light down in the tank, even to a point where I was putting a blanket on the side where the window was.

 

[shanepike]

Wow. That is such a great point. It's easy to overlook the effect that getting that full-spectrum sunlight can have. And it changes through the year. Most of the year, my tank doesn't get any direct sunlight. But now that the sun is lower in the sky and the leaves are off the trees, it gets hit for a while later in the day.

 

[PJs_Bucket_List]

I've taken all of the advice I've seen on here into account. Just got a turbo snail, made sure there's no natural light getting to the tank and lowered the white light spectrum and exposure time. Manual removal and maintaining the water parameters as best as I can. My tail spot blenny isn't interested in the hair algae, but he's adorable, so I reckon I'll keep him. If the turbo snail doesn't work I'll try an urchin. I'm learning to enjoy the whole process. Trying to not let the setbacks get me too down, because every successful reefer has to pay these dues, right? I'm no stranger to fighting tough battles, so I'm not about to let the saltwater equivalent of growing grass beat me!

 

[jcook54]

Water changes and CuC are the best long term solutions but I've had luck with flucozanole. It's readily available for use in fish tanks. Specifically I use Flux Rx from Blue Life. As with all chemical treatments, it does not address the causes of GHA (or bryopsis) but it'll knock it out when it gets out of hand.

I've dealt with a type of green algae that looks like GHA but is stuck like glue to the rocks. Standard GHA comes off in clumps when I pinch it and it's readily siphoned up. This now tough stuff? No such luck. I'll grab a good pinch of it and end up lifting the rock. Can't siphon it either. Flux Rx was the option I finally used to beat it back.