Hair algae yes?

So I have (i think i have) hair alage. Which appeared out of no where soon after I added a bit more sand to the display. I figured it came with it? it was live sand (from the sealed new bags).

Im feeding the bare minimum (3 emerald cubes). I turn off lights for most of the day too. I turn them on for about 5-6 hours for the one coral that still alive.

I did have nitrates before the alage appeared but none of this kind of algae. I figured that with the reduced feeding and less fish and less bioload over all it would go away, but it hasnt yet.
I really don't want to spend any more -extra- money if i can help it but any ideas other than manually removing some here and there?

 

I literally have to unclog the overflows every other day because the water rises because its not draining properly. I am not sure what to do at this point other than take down my tank and call it quits

 

what size is that tank? also whats your bio load?

 

Need more info.
How big of tank? How many fish and what are they? How long has it been running? Lighting? Do you use RO/DI? Please list all available water parameters.

 

Don t give up! All of us have had some type of algae issue with our tanks, particularly when new. For as frustrating as it is, it also becomes a learning experience about your system and will help you trouble shoot things in the future. I have found that looking at things in a step by step manner helps with these issues. It is basically a hunt for nutrients. As Civiccars alluded to, make sure you are using RO/DI water for starters. Look at how you feed. Look for areas that detritus can collect.... usually in places that are hard to see. For my old tank, it was a sponge that was between the sump partitions. I stopped using the sponge filter and my problems were almost eliminated. You can also look at growing cheato in your sump to use up the additional nutrients that are not handled by making sure the system is clean. In the mean time, keep doing manual removal as you chase down the problem. Once you locate the source, you will see that you are doing less and less manual removal and you will know that you have gotten after the problem. Trust me when i tell you that we have all been there. I just looked at your avatar and saw that you have been here since 09, but you may find it helpful to go back and look at some of the "beginner" threads. I try to re-read them about once a year. The keep me in touch with the basics so i don't over complicate things. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

 

Hi, sorry, I went to work the next day after I posted this and forgot about the thread.
It is a 150G tank, with a 55G sump/refugium-its only filled half way so lets say around 25ishG- It has a chaeto ball the size of a basket ball.
Its been running for about 7 years or so. Recently I switched to LED's which look much better, however based on recent events they may be the culprit? more on that in a sec.
I do use RO/DI system.
I havent taken the parameters in about a week. Ill try to take them some time today.
I have a porcupine puffer, a foxface, 5 chromis and 5 batfish (i think thats what theyre called, I forgot).
I am planning on removing the puffer eventually, I just havent brought my self to do it because I really kinda like it. It has so much personality.

SO about the lights. I turned them off completely since Friday. I turned them on for about an hour on Monday or so. 40% of the algae is gone. 70% of the cyano is also gone. The sand actually looks half decent. Manual removal of it today should remove some more too.

Ill take a picture of the fixtures I have. I forget their name as well lol I got them from the LFS not long ago. Maybe they produce too much light? too little?

 

Ive had this tank since I was in highschool, It looked great for the first 3-5 years. The remaining has been on and off. I suppose I forgot my basics and bought new fish which wiped out a good amount of fish i had since 2009. Only remaining ones from then are my chromis which are 9 years old-ish. Coral wise, I've never been able to keep coral in this tank. I dont understand why. Everything I put in there just wastes away. For the first few years I had a HUGE toadstool. Bigger than 2 basketballs, it touched the glass back and front. I also had a bunch of kenya trees. Nothing else seems to survive. Zoas last about 3 weeks and then dissapear. Frogspawns melt away. I dont know what Im doing wrong. At this point im afraid of buying new coral because it doesnt last.
Nitrates could be a possibility, but is it? Ive seen tanks that have a bigger bioload then me. The lights? Acclimation? I've done everything to the T. (i think). There is something that I must be missing..

 

This is how the tank looks now. So as you can see, the period of darkness did something. What does it mean. Is it the lights at fault? or..
I
I also need new mesh as you can see its falling apart lol, but its 50dollars.. kinda expensive atm.

 

Probably not your lights. How often do you do water changes? What kind of RO/DI system? You said you have nitrates, yes? I am going to say all your issues are dealing with poor water quality.