Hair algae

Discussion in 'Algae' started by Pipe_Organ, Dec 12, 2003.

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  1. Pipe_Organ

    Pipe_Organ Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Dec 12, 2003
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    Location:
    Hackettstown, NJ,New_Jersey
    I have a two year old reef that slowly started growing green hair algae. It looked cool at first but now is starting to get out of hand. Is there any critter out there that will eat this stuff. The tank is also growing Bubble algea. I've been doing the "toothbrush thing" to keep it under control but any other suggestions would be appreciated :)
     
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  3. karlas

    karlas Fire Goby

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    how often do you do water changes? increased smaller changes can help get rid of it. also trochus snails will eat hair alge i had some and they devoured it like crazy. also when you do a water change vacuum the hair alges areas also you can do this with the bubble agle. you say that you use a toothbrush but if your bursting the bubbles you may be breaking them. this will release spores and make more bubble alge. also an emerald crab or 2 can help with the bubble there about the only critter that eats it.
     
  4. Pipe_Organ

    Pipe_Organ Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Location:
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    Hi Karla,

    Thanks for the reply. I do a approxmate 6% water change every week. I was told even if the Bubbles break the protein skimmer will skim out most of the spores :-/. Thanks for the heads up on the trochus snails too, how many should I get? I have a 75 gal. The hair algea isn't real bad. I want to take care of it now before it does get bad.

    Jack
     
  5. karlas

    karlas Fire Goby

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    when i got my detrivore kit there were 6 trouchus snails along with the other critter mix. they did fine in my 75 i wouldnt have added more becuase these things are eating machines. some of the real long hair alge i had to pull out but they ate most of the shorter stuff. also i had picture rock instead of live rock at the beginning and the diatom alge that covered the rock these guys after they cleaned a spot made it look like new rock.
     
  6. Craig Manoukian

    Craig Manoukian Giant Squid

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    Dec 15, 2002
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    Location:
    Marina del Rey, California
    The Black Sailfin Blenny Atrosalarias fuscus will munch hair algae.  But only if you really want a Blenny in your tank.  If you've got at least a 30 gallon tank this might work for you.

    [​IMG]

    From www.liveaquaria.com I quote:

    "This species is an ideal fish to consume hair or string algae in the marine aquarium. The Black Sailfin Blenny may nip at some small-polyped stony corals and clam mantles."
     
  7. toryboy

    toryboy Plankton

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    Jan 1, 2004
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    Location:
    Eastcoast,
    Hair algae :(
    As this is my first post I would like to say hi to every one first, been reading loads of posts, great site and I think I’m going to like it here. ;D ;D ;D
    Now back to that pesky alga >:(, a few months ago I had a really bad case of this stuff, it started to strangle everything when I say bad I mean I was taking about a pound and a half in weight out every other day. I tried everything!!! :eek:
    I was at the point of calling it a day. I even bought 50 snails as a friend said this was a sure fire way to curb it. (I already had about 50 in there)
    In the end I had to take nearly every bit of rock out and scrub it under the hot tap. I’m sure my experience was the extreme, but if you could see the difference it made now only one month later you would swear it was a different tank.
    Good luck !!!!
     
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  9. david

    david Peppermint Shrimp

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          Listen to karla guys,she helped me before with the same problem.Less water and every two weeks instead of four cured the problem quick. Just be sure your water is a good quality from the get go. Your tap water might not be the best you could use! [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]
     
  10. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

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    13,466
    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    I've done the scrubbing, water changes, phosgard, etc.. with mixed results.

    Seems to me a good route is to take a look at your freshwater you use and see what's in that.

    Look for silicates and phosphorous.

    Also look at your lights, their spectrum and how old they are. And don't leave them on 24 hours a day like someone else did recently.

    ;D

    Welcome toryboy! Thanks for joining!

    [flash=468,60]http://www.3reef.com/fish/sitepics/threesteps3.swf[/flash]
     
  11. Pipe_Organ

    Pipe_Organ Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Thanks to all for your help. I have to say at least for my circumstance, I think Karla hit a home run. I took a hint from Matt too and replaced my 60GPD membrane on the Kent HI-S. It was 3 years old. My lamps are 5 months old, I feel I have until the end of Jan. on them.

    ~JC
     
  12. Phil5613

    Phil5613 Purple Spiny Lobster

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    Sep 29, 2003
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    Location:
    Wheaton, Illinois
    I have used this product I got it at a lfs in my area. It works on a lot of algae and all my tests came up SOP. I used it for 2 weeks and it cleared my hair algae butdid not hurt the coraline. Here is a flyer page 1