Green Hair Algae

PeteGibbons · Oct 17, 2020

Hi
My tank has been running for about 3months now. I am battling green hair algae at the moment.
I have tested my RO water (0TDS and 0 phosphate), my top off container water 0 phosphate). Tank water reads <0.03ppm/0ppm phosphate with salifert test kit.
I have 4 small fish in 310 litres and nitrates -<1mm and if anything under feed.
I am running a skimmer and reactor with RowaPhos.
Yet I have green hair algae and not sure what is wrong or what to do about it. The only thing I’ve read/heard is test kits read free phosphate and there may be phosphate stored in the algae which the test kit wouldn’t detect? But Im wondering why it is still growing if there is no free phosphate available or why the RowaPhos isn’t taking it out before the algae?
I’m not sure why to try next? I haven’t got a refugium and was thinking of setting one up and/or vibrant?
Thanks

Conchman · Oct 17, 2020

At 3 months its likely bound phosphate. Leaching possibly from rock work, keep w/changes up, dim the lights for a while and pull and clear as much as you can, this is the NTU's (new tank uglies...)

JGT · Oct 17, 2020

PeteGibbons said:
Hi
My tank has been running for about 3months now. I am battling green hair algae at the moment.
I have tested my RO water (0TDS and 0 phosphate), my top off container water 0 phosphate). Tank water reads <0.03ppm/0ppm phosphate with salifert test kit.
I have 4 small fish in 310 litres and nitrates -<1mm and if anything under feed.
I am running a skimmer and reactor with RowaPhos.
Yet I have green hair algae and not sure what is wrong or what to do about it. The only thing I’ve read/heard is test kits read free phosphate and there may be phosphate stored in the algae which the test kit wouldn’t detect? But Im wondering why it is still growing if there is no free phosphate available or why the RowaPhos isn’t taking it out before the algae?
I’m not sure why to try next? I haven’t got a refugium and was thinking of setting one up and/or vibrant?
Thanks

Siphon off the hair algae, ensure you have a CUC, keep your phosphates/nitrates near 0 but continue feeding your tank so corals/fish get nutrients. Consider addition Vibrant, NoPox, or Phosphate-e to help in the battle. Will take time so be patient.

725196 · Oct 17, 2020

Hi. I know that GHA is horrible and I hope I can help a bit. I had a bad outbreak about a year ago that lasted me 5 months. I tried everything people tolerate to do, every gimmick (turning off lights) to every additive (I won’t name any, I think they are all snake oil). After 3 1/2 months of trying EVERYTHING I was told would end it I was frustrated and wanted to quit. My wife was upset the tank in our living room was an eye sore. So I did what is all too often someone’s last ditch effort, I read. I read everything I could on GHA and how it grows and what causes it. I had anti sift through myriads of information but in the end I found some ideas that worked for me.

I first took a turkey baster and blew out the rock work just before doing my daily 5 gallon water change. I started using a hose about 1 size up from an air tube hose. I did this to suck the water out slowly and I used it to suck out as much GHA as I could. I did this for a few reasons. 1. I had learned that GHA can pull all the phosphates from the water so when you do a test kit the reading will show normal. So you are reading fine but it’s because the GHA has already used it up. 2. This took out some, or as much as I could get, of the GHA thus making the tank a bit better looking. 3. The water change helped to reduce any phosphates/ nitrates left in the tank. Lastly I made sure I put in a phosphate reducing element, for me a macro algae reactor.

This took me about 5-7 weeks of consistently working at it daily. For me it worked. I have not had GHA since then.

Good luck. Let me know if you try this and it works. Of course maybe you will get other good ideas on R2R too.

Remember, the most expensive part of this hobby is impatience!

vetteguy53081 · Oct 17, 2020

Pull as much as you can by hand and lower your white light intensity.
Is tank at or near a window ?
Liquid vibrant also works well in getting rid of it

Subsea · Oct 17, 2020

First, your tank is very new so quit chasing numbers. It will give you & your tank stress.

After 48 years of keeping marine ornamentals, I seek to find balance with nuisance algae management using diversity in herbivores from fish down to the janitors using snails and the pod brothers, Amphi & Cope.