Hair algae is getting worse and I can’t stop it.

[Montressor]

I had green hair algae come in and get established very early. Asked for help (elsewhere) and everyone was convinced it was a nutrient problem, I didn't have any fish, and didn't feed for the vast majority of the time at issue. I measured constantly, did everything from draining and pumping 3% peroxide onto the rocks, manual removal blah blah. I was told everything is out of balance, clearly its a systemic problem. My numbers haven't strayed since I started the tank, ph is low because of where I live, but other than that solid on the recommended numbers. Coraline was growing everywhere the gha wasn't. I tried manual removal, peroxide, algaecide (Since Vibrant appears to be a scam, I just tried API Algaefix) none of it worked. I have a 20g nano so couldn't get fish that would eat it and I'm very hesitant to get larger algae eaters (sea hares, urchins, etc) that might starve later.

Eventually talked to the right person and they recommended fluconazole (Reef Flux, Flux RX, etc), but I couldn't find a lot of great details and I was concerned. Almost all threads here will tell you macros and manual removal is the only answer. I was convinced I could do it with manual removal and peroxide, so I put it off. Unfortunately I burned one of my Astraea snails accidentally and he didn't make it. After a month or more struggling, I gave in and used the Flux. I should have done it months ago, and I wouldn't have killed my poor snail.

The midas blenny I have didn't mind it. He probably liked it better since the constant draining and refilling is a serious stressor though I never used peroxide in the tank while it had fish. The coraline, 7 zoas, birdsnest, clove, and the duncan showed no care at all with the flux. Now they can breath because the danged hair algae isn't trying to strangle them. I left it in the tank for the recommended time. Then scrubbed the rock with a tooth brush, did the water change and managed the diatoms. Everything looks amazing, the coraline is exploding. Sometimes these pests get a hold in your tank and it's not the numbers. It seems that in these cases the medical / chemical treatments are a much needed solution. The gha has been dead for about 2 weeks and I'm at unmeasurable nitrates (I'm worried about it, I expected it to come up with the death of the algae) and .04 phosphates. So it seems that clearly the algae wasn't storing it, but I'll keep testing weekly to see if there is a shift.

 

[signal7]

+1 for considering a sea hare. A large one (4") took care of all of the GHA that covered every rock surface in my 220 in a matter of about two weeks. I had to re-home it immediately afterwards so it didn't starve. I'd definitely plan for that if you get one.

 

[santeeeyyy]

hmmm, I might consider getting a sea hare. Ask my LFS if i can borrow one

 

[Blackstar]

I just removed it manually & eventually it will burn itself out as the tank matures & stabilises. I also had an outbreak of bubble algae & that also burnt itself out. I don't think there is any need for using chemicals to kill it A UV steriliser will help I also have an Algae/Lawnmower Blenny & he is like a lawnmower & soon decimates any algae that appears. I do allow hair algae to grow in my refugium specifically for feeding blenny

 

[Reef Devils]

What is your NO3 and PO4? And what test kits?

Nitrate is 4.8 and PO4 is 0.02
Hanna checker

 

[Reef Devils]

hmmm, I might consider getting a sea hare. Ask my LFS if i can borrow one

Are they reef safe?

 

[Reef Devils]

heavy mass of GHA. Scrubbing work but you must also identify the source and eliminate it.
Seeing no coral on this rock, I would place it in a container of tank water and pull off as much as you can by hand and scrub the rest with a firm toothbrush and some 3% hydrogen peroxide.
Return to tank, reduce white light intensity and number of hours of white lighting and add some snails such as :
Astrea
cerith
turbo grazer
trochus

A Pencil urchin

8-10 Caribbean blue leg hermits

Are you using RODI water or tap water from the faucet ?
What is your phosphate level?
Is tank at or near a window?

I can’t pull rocks out because they are glued and corals are on the top of them.
I can lower the white light. It’s only at 10% and blue is at 70%. Should I loweR that too?
I recently add a bunch of snails and a tuxedo urchin.
I am using RODI.
PO4 is 0.02
tank is not near a window

 

[Reef Devils]

I’ve used a sea hare successfully and they clean every last spec of gha in my tank then I return it to the lfs when it’s gone. I’ve done this three times. My tank was in the front of my house that got a lot of natural light. I didn’t do any manual removal and some of it was very long. It took about 4-6 weeks for it to munch through it all.

Does it eat the long stuff?

 

[Reef Devils]

As others have stated GHA is a normal part of a tanks evolution. Can take multiple months before it subsides. If you do your part the tank will do its part. If you have no patience then this hobby is not for you. Harsh chemicals will destroy your biome. Daily manual removal, diverse cleaner crew, water changes, focus on stability. Once GHA goes away it is commonly replaced with coralline.

Coralline is starting to grow. The past month is when I have started to see lots of the coraline grow especially on the glass.

 

[santeeeyyy]

idk but me and you are in the same boat lol. I just tore some long hair and added a red line snail i think? its a red something snail

 

[luilui]

Buy the largest Mexican Turbo Snails you can get. I had a hair/Bryopsis jungle when I returned from my business trip. My kid overfed the tank and my phosphates were over the scale. I tried H2O2, didn't even make a dent. My hermits, Tomini Tang, and lawnmower blenny didn't touch the stuff. I didn't want to use chemicals, so I bought 9 1.5 inch turbos and they took care of the problem in a week! even the 1.5-2 inch stuff. The smaller Turbos didn't do much. Get the biggest ones you can find...larger snail, larger appetite. The Turbo Snail in the photo is about 1.5 inch. That rock was completely covered with algae 5 days before the photo was taken. The snails are now the size of a golf balls. They grew fast. BTW, they never showed interest in eating the Dragon's Breath that is in the tank.

 

[Peair]

I think flux rx would be ok, but I would do a 20% water change about 5 hours later to be safe, and if you can get that rock the heck out of there and scrub that dam hair off then put it back with no hair.

 

[Magic031707]

I think flux rx would be ok, but I would do a 20% water change about 5 hours later to be safe, and if you can get that rock the heck out of there and scrub that dam hair off then put it back with no hair.

I've did flux rx with no issues with coral in the past. I did not do a water change until day 14

 

[hubble]

As said earlier, Algae Turf Scrubber. You'll be glad you did and want to kick yourself for not setting on up from the start.

 

[slowwrx137]

I just went through a green hair algae outbreak and it took a few months to beat/get under control (End of Nov - Beginning/mid Feb). I generally spent 10-15 minutes a day manually removing what I could from the rocks during the week and a bit longer on the weekend during my weekly maintenance/water change.

I also used a toothbrush and removed what I could using the toothbrush.

Finally I replenished my clean up crew and that combination of things worked for me.

This is what I added/worked for me, my tank is a 40g for reference.

 

[Peair]

I've did flux rx with no issues with coral in the past. I did not do a water change until day 14

14 days might be too long, this is what I read from Flus RX, fluconazole, the main ingredient in Flus RX, can cause rapid death of these algae species as a side effect. Hair algae can bind significant amounts of nutrients in their tissue, and if they begin to die, they will release these nutrients, including nitrate and phosphate, back into your aquarium, so you should be prepared to perform water changes and take other action to maintain water quality.

 

[Magic031707]

14 days might be too long, this is what I read from Flus RX, fluconazole, the main ingredient in Flus RX, can cause rapid death of these algae species as a side effect. Hair algae can bind significant amounts of nutrients in their tissue, and if they begin to die, they will release these nutrients, including nitrate and phosphate, back into your aquarium, so you should be prepared to perform water changes and take other action to maintain water quality.

That's funny cause the instructions on box say "10-14 days to see results". They don't say nothing about changing water before that timeframe. They state do few water changes after the 10-14 day mark. I may not be understanding that. The screenshot is the instructions per BRS website.

 

[Peair]

That's funny cause the instructions on box say "10-14 days to see results". They don't say nothing about changing water before that timeframe. They state do few water changes after the 10-14 day mark. I may not be understanding that. The screenshot is the instructions per BRS website.

Hi, you instructions doesn;t say wait after the 14 days to see results to do your water changes,

That's funny cause the instructions on box say "10-14 days to see results". They don't say nothing about changing water before that timeframe. They state do few water changes after the 10-14 day mark. I may not be understanding that. The screenshot is the instructions per BRS website.

Hi, your instructions say "Allow 10 to 14 days for results" it doesn't say Wait 10 to 14 days to do water changes it says "After treatment, we recommend a series of water changes" Treatment is when you put the chemicals in the tank, then that's it no more treating with chemicals, now to see results allow 10 to 14 days. And the more I am reading about this chemical, I think it's Toxit to do nothing for 10 to 14 days, especially 14 days like you did. I do think Flux RX is ok, and I know it works because I used it, I am going to give you a couple Links to their websites and the place I bought from, I think the website links will give you a better understanding.
Links:

BLUE LIFE REEF FLUX (FLUCONAZOLE) POWDER - Aquatics Unlimited

Blue Life Flux Rx is an extremely safe and effective aquarium treatment and can even be used in reef aquariums with corals present.

aquaticsunlimited.com

Links: a little old: https://bluelifeusa.com/flux-rx/

 

[vancouverredsea350]

Does it eat the long stuff?

It eats everything!

 

[Lonster00]

Hey,

I’ve been dealing with hair algae for the past month and a half or so. I can’t seem to stop it from growing like crazy. I know my nutrients aren’t high because I have tested them and I think the hair algae is consuming a lot of the nutrients. All of my corals still seem super happy, but some are starting to get covered by hair algae.

I ordered a tuxedo urchin and a bunch of snail but they haven’t done much. I think they haven’t done much because the hair is so long. I go in there and do a lot of manual removal, but it keeps coming back. what am I doing wrong here? Is there something that I could dose to kill his hair algae?

Thank you

One of the best things I did was take a small powerhead and placed it low one end of the tank forcing water behind the liverock along the back wall. It kept any detritus from accumulating back there. I also put in some resin fluval pouches for removing Phospate, nitrate, etc in the filter. I love the Pincushion Urchins, but you have to get them really tiny so they cant carry much around on their backs. Its hard to find the tiny ones at LFS but I grab half a dozen when I do. Make sure they arent in with the fish or you could bring in fish diseases. Might be better to order them online if they are listed as small. Ordered one once that didnt specify and I sware it was 4 inches across .