What is this algea? good / bad?
- Thread starter BuGGaPimp5.0
- Start date
It looks to me like the start of hair algae?? Either way it does not look like a good algae and definetly isnt and encrusting or macro algae.
are there any negative effects from this algea? also do you have any tips or suggestions on how to remove this hair algea? I'm thinking of throwing a blenny in there? any ideas? thanks!
You may want to check your nitrate and phosphate levels. Water changes to bring these in check will starve the algae and it will go away.
The main problem is that the algae can overrun and choke out corals.
Blue leg and scarlet hermits will help. I get the impression you have plenty of those already. Emerald crabs will also help.
Making sure your skimmer is running efficiently will reduce the amount of waste available for the algae. I hear lawnmower blennies are good, but have no personal experience.
I see you have a wet/dry. Make sure that there is a prefilter to keep debris out of the bioballs, and that the prefilter is cleaned regularly. Wet/dry systems can be a big source of nitrate, which feeds algae problems.
Blue leg and scarlet hermits will help. I get the impression you have plenty of those already. Emerald crabs will also help.
Making sure your skimmer is running efficiently will reduce the amount of waste available for the algae. I hear lawnmower blennies are good, but have no personal experience.
I see you have a wet/dry. Make sure that there is a prefilter to keep debris out of the bioballs, and that the prefilter is cleaned regularly. Wet/dry systems can be a big source of nitrate, which feeds algae problems.
yea nitrates are currently at 10. i noticed it began to grow when i did my first few water changes using dechlorinated tap water instead of RO. nitrates also kicked up after that. Thanks G!
Thanks Dave,
I just finished removing the last of the bioballs yesterday. I slowly removed them daily to not make such a big impact on the environment. I do have a prefilter up top as well as a carpet filter right where the water enters my wet dry. Hopefully since i removed the bio balls it will help kill this algea faster. Thanks!
I have been going through some tough times with hair algae too. I have plenty of hermits, snails and emerald crabs, but they couldn't keep it under control completely. It seems like it has to be really really short for them to be able to eat it. So I scrubbed the rocks where the algae was every day with an old toothbrush. It has been very helpfull so far. The algae is still growing back some, but less and less each time. Also, if you take a rock out an rinse it/scrub it in freshwater the algae all dies off...but so does probably everything else. Take care of the nitrate, phosphate first, but you might try the tooth brush if nothing else works. 
I had serious hair algea problems when I started my tank with Dechlorinated Tap water. Once I switched to RO/DI and did a few big water changes, it all cleared up.
I assume there was phosphates or something in my tap water, but I never checked it. Just bought an RO/DI and all was good.
I assume there was phosphates or something in my tap water, but I never checked it. Just bought an RO/DI and all was good.