Green Hair Algae

FtwayneFish

FtwayneFish

Pump Paintball!
Dec 7, 2007
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Fort Wayne, IN
Sorry this is a popular topic, Ive read a bunch. But I think with my stats you guys can point me in the right direction. Im trying to nip GHA in the bud before it gets bad.

I had it on a really old rock in my 2.5g pic and swapped to a 10g nano and a week to two later added a 150w MH ( 22In above the tank ) slowly dropping a inch every 3 days till its low enough.

But I then got some frags from a guys tank and it was alllll GHA, so its moving from those frags to the rocks now. 2 spots now 4 spots anf 6 areas about the size of a quarter now.

Ive read substrate- Im BB and clean it very well.
WC- I do them religously 40-50% every week.
Ive read over feeding, my corals seem to grow when I dont- lucky me.
Ive read carbon gives off phosphates??? I did just add carbon to my spare just for flow HOB.

I dont know if it was the light, frags, carbon?

Ive had my HOB fuge light off for 4 days, but was on at night for a week. Algae started to grown, just between the divider and hob wall, thinking of cutting it but I dont know if it would start on the rocks, they would be a few inches away from the light vrs RIGHT on it. See the AC 20 basket has a mesh cut like sides. And the light gets in good just grows hair algae on the basket side. Rocks right on the other side of the crate like opening didnt get nasty?

New MH is 6month old bulb, far as I know. Its way up on the ceiling too. on 11:30 to 6-7pm.

Should I use chemi pure instead
Get lil blue leg hermit crabs?
Lawnmover blenny ok in a 10g?
Nitrates or phosphates?

I dont have a test kit or numbers, im sorry.

It is growing tho, so Ill assume one of the two are high, but I do them water changes on time like theres no tommorow.
 
My hair algae (SP) was always due to phosphates, which are basically not easily tested because it gets used by your algae.

Are you using RO water? That took care of mine. I never use carbon, but if you do you should change it often.
 
Sorry, I do use ro/di? or at least ro. from my lfs who stays on top the filters and mixes salt for there tanks daily. Ive been using there salt and top off water for close to 2yrs.

I just added the carbon a week ago, few days after the algae on the frags were added. and the full order is:

3wks tank swap, 40 PC 2.5g AC20 fuge, virtually no light, chateo never grew.
to 10g nano BB, went with PC light for 2 weeks. 20g hob, 10g hob, and a korlia nano powerhead.

tried the fuge light after week one and on at night during week 3. off now for the end of week4

last week (4th week) added the corals, then carbon, then MH. all has been togother for a week and its now growing in other spots. starting week 5
 
You can try using a phosphate sponge. Put it in a high flow area and it should suck up phosphates. Get several of them because they wear out pretty quick.
Algae blooms are usually caused by excess nutrients. You say you do pretty big water changes. Even though "experts" may say lighting doesn't cause algae, i'm not so sure. Maybe your MH is too much for such a small tank? I know you need light to grow corals, but a MH halide that big might be too much. Just my thoughts.
 
You should keep maintenance up with that fuge....keep it pruned so to speak...you don't want it all compact in there...detritus will get trapped...and it can only suck out so much nutrients.

test your LFS Water source next time...be sure its phosphate or nitrate free. The filters they have can go bad to...

Phosphate can be introduced by frozen foods...rinse them off before you toss them in....

Still on a tank that small....you can go for 75% water changes weekly.....

Skimmer info is in sig....tank that small...I think it's a waste of money. You can do huge water changes easily....

As for that algae: hand pull it...scrub rocks in a bucket of siphoned tank water..... even if you got a sea hair that eats the stuff in there..it'll only starve after its gone.
 
<3Oscar said:
Will a protein skimmer remove most phosphates?
Click to expand...

No.

Another thing you can do is add some macro algea. If you have a lot of phosphates you will be pruning it weekly, but it will greatly help reducing them in your tank.

We used to call mine cousin it! Now it barely grows at all.
 
Fuge is needing to grow first to be pruned lol. It is growing now with the MH.

So rinse food?
Check LFS filters?
 
FtwayneFish said:
Fuge is needing to grow first to be pruned lol. It is growing now with the MH.

So rinse food?
Check LFS filters?
Click to expand...

Here is exactly what I would do... The water you get from LFS...test it....you see phosphate readings registering and other bad elements such as Nitrates.
Yes...you can say you should point that out at the store. Their RO/DI filters may be going south on them.

Rinse the frozen cubes off a little is all....just to lower the phosphate introduction. Some foods contain a lot of phosphate ..like Krill Cubes. Switch out to mysis shrimp is what I would do.

Tank that small though....like mentioned if you put in pristine water...and change out large changes weekly. It will be good.

If you really wanted to go the extra mile , you could put in a phosphate removing media in place to. Just think that is over kill on a tank that small.

PS. Once your fuge gets going...that is a great nutrients export and will eat up phosphates ....so I think if you keep up on water changes....and only taking in good water on top off or changes.. You will be doing fine.
 
I have a thread on "your inputs please". Id like you to read it. It list my water params. There off. I dont know if it was the stores water or their test kits. So I have to get it tested again somewhere else to double check.
 
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