Algae - Green Hair/Beard

[Sjeckell]

I'm having a real time with algae in my 30gal tank. I have done 30% water changes with fresh sea water (from the local supplier) every week for 6 weeks. I replaced my corallife 65watt compact flurescent tubes (1 daylight, 1 actinic blue)

I also purchase some new crabs, including an emerald crab and a Lawnmower Blennie. The Blennie is really eating alot!

I just tried an old trick - turned out my lights and blacked out the aquarium for 7 days!

I thought algae was photosynthetic and would die without light. Not this stuff. It reduced a little but there is still lts. Problem places are sides of a feather duster and the spines of my sea urichin.

My levels are normal - as they should be with all the water changes and I only use RO to top off.

[kreblak]

Green hair algae is a pain in the a$$. I've got a nice growth of it in my tank, and I am left to cleaning it by hand. Your emerald mitrax crab ought to start working on the green algae, but it will take time before he can make a difference.

Using RO water is a start, as it will help gaurd against phosphate builup. Your other issue is nutrient accumulation. If you are doing weekly 30% water changes then your nitrate levels ought to be low. The only suggestion I can make is that maybe you are over feeding in between water changes, and this is allowing the dissolved nutrients to accumulate and the algae to grow. What is your feeding schedule?

By the way, blacking out green hair algae doesn't work, as I'm sure you have now realized. I tried it for 6 days, with zero effect. You might try adding in a few blue legged hermit crabs. They seem to like green algae.

[Corax]

Are you sure it isn't............... BRYOPSIS? (ominous music plays in the background, someone screams in the distance..) Got a pic of it? Identifying exactly whatcha got is key in making it go away.

[kreblak]

Huh...

No sooner than I post about nothing going after my green algae, I look at the tank today, and it is gone! There is a slight film where it used to be, but something got awful hungry and mowed down that green hair algae.

[VoodooChild]

Make sure that you supplement the blenny's diet now that he's pigged out on the natural stuff. And my tank has that happen too. It's like my mythrax has to eat like a shrew to survive, then kind've goes on a lull until it builds up again.