Hair Algae

[jp30338]

Well ive had my new 210g up and running for about 2 weeks now. I had a bad issue with hair algae, and now with the new tank an determined to get rid of it completely. I reduced my sand bed from 3-4inche to about an inch, and have not turned on the lights except for about 5hrs. the other day.

How long you think it would take of no lightning to have the rest of the hair algae on the rocks die off?

 

[markv]

Lights out for 3 days will help a bit, but the spores will still exist in your tank. And spores can go a long time without light. Have you tested your phosphates and nitrates? Those numbers would help determine what the cause is. The best solution to hair algae is attacking it from all fronts:

1. use RO water, and test the TDS of the output regularly
2. Run a refugium or GFO, or both.
3. Keep bioload low
4. Feed less
5. Keep an aggressive water change regimen till things settle down.

Once the tank is a little more mature, a tang or rabbitfish will greatly help as well.

 

[hnguyen]

Turning off your lights will only slow down the growth of HA, but if you want to rid of it completely then you have to find a source of your problem.

 

[jp30338]

The nitrates in the old tank were in 100 range...My nitrates have always been high because I have a fowlr set up.

Ive reduced my feedings, have a blonde naso tang that eats the shorter stuff, I use a RODI.

I do know I need more live rock, as I only have about 200lbs.

As for the spores since I used mostly new water for this setup will the spores die off quicker coupled with me not turning on the metal halides for a few weeks?

Edit: As for the source, that is where I am completely stumped....

Could it be the combination of the 3-4 inch sand bed and the low amount of live rock?

My phosphates come back at 0, but trates always 100+

 

[peaches7412]

Use a UV sterilizer for the spores.

 

[markv]

I would tackle the nitrates first. 100ppm is not only good fuel for the algae, it's not ideal for the fish. Can you describe your filtration and bioload. The nitrates can be tackled in a variety of ways... Biopellet reactor, vodka dosing, turf scrubber, or a refugium with macroalgae. How often do you do water changes? With that kind of Nitrate number, I would do some hefty water changes first, and then look at ways to keep it in check.

Also, if it's a FOWLR, I would cut the lighting down to just enough to enjoy the fish. If you aren't growing coral, you might as well avoid giving the algae enough light.

 

[jp30338]

Markv;671773 wrote: I would tackle the nitrates first. 100ppm is not only good fuel for the algae, it's not ideal for the fish. Can you describe your filtration and bioload. The nitrates can be tackled in a variety of ways... Biopellet reactor, vodka dosing, turf scrubber, or a refugium with macroalgae. How often do you do water changes? With that kind of Nitrate number, I would do some hefty water changes first, and then look at ways to keep it in check.

Also, if it's a FOWLR, I would cut the lighting down to just enough to enjoy the fish. If you aren't growing coral, you might as well avoid giving the algae enough light.

For filtration I run a marlineland pro skimmer rated up to 300g, with a 20g fuge. i cant get a bigger fuge cause I live in an apartment. 200lbs. live rock and my sand bed is now only about an inch deep, I had some macro algae but tossed it when it when I moved recently, so will be getting some this weekend. i have a UV sterilzer but the bulb burnt out, so need to replace it.

Bio load: Porcy puffer, sharptail eeel, blackback butterfly, saddleback butterfly, blonde naso tang, lunare wrasse. Sadly the Goldflake angel jumped and smahed his face on the bracer in a 50g holding tank and died...

I tried vodka dosing but after 2mos saw no change, so I stopped.

I never had HA issues until I moved to alabama. Even though my nitrates were high in Atlanta, I never had HA.

Water changes I was slacking on, but am more diligent about them now. I do 40g every 2 weeks.

 

[markv]

Bummer about the Goldflake. Love those fish. 20 gallon fuge is a good size, imo. You can adjust the performance and harvesting of the algae by maximizing the light over the fuge.

If you ever get the itch to upgrade something, I'd look at the skimmer. I usually cut skimmer ratings in half. The Marineland Pro is a nice skimmer for the price. But for a 200 gallon tank, I would go bigger. Vodka dosing and biopellets work best with a larger skimmer as well.

I would hesitate to add more fish, but you might think about a doliatus rabbit in the future in place of another angel. They are voracious algae eaters. But your bioload seems good as it is. I imagine the puffer and naso are putting a large amount of waste in the tank, but are also the most personable of the bunch.

 

[gas7057]

Good luck. I have been battling algae for over a year. Its alot better but I cant seem to get rid of it completely.

 

[jp30338]

My next upgrade will be the skimmer, I originally got the skimmer with a 125g.

The eel and puffer are certainly messy, its like a crop duster in my tank when they poop :wow2:

Thanks for the advice, ill be doing some bigger water changes, getting the bulb replaced for the uv. Would vodka dosing be effective?

 

[stefani]

I'm having a very similar problem . . . however my nitrates are nearly zero, which is puzzling. :confused2:

I moved my 90 g to a new home about 6 weeks ago. There's 150 lbs. of live rock, a pistol shrimp and some crabs and snails. So, super-low bioload, hence the non-existant nitrates. I also use RO/DI. But, I have hair algae completely taking over specific rocks and areas of the glass.

Is there any truth to the "old bulb" theory that CF's degrade after about 6 months, and really need to be replaced?

Does temp. and/or salinity affect algae??

Are there any other obvious places to look to identify the cause?