Hair algae problem

valley · Feb 18, 2024

Hello, I have had this tank set up since October 2023 and it’s always been very “green”. Here are some pics of how it looked along the way; very nasty! As much as I tried to clean it the algae always grew back overnight! The hair algae on the top is getting shorter but there is now very short algae ( I don’t think it’s hair algae) growing on other rocks. I just don’t understand why there is still so much algae. What I’ve been doing is using chemipure elite which has gfo to lower my phosphate which was an out of range value to a solid .13. I’m still using it and changing it out every month. I am also doing weekly 10% water changes and plucking some algae off the rock on top. Is there anything else I should do? For reference my light is on for 12 hours+2 hours of moonlight. This is a Fluval evo 13.5 gallon and is stocked with 1 tuxedo urchin(very small just added, 3 electric blue hermit crabs, and 2 trochus snails (these snails have been very inactive; don’t know why). I do not have any fish right now but I am feeding coral reef roids 2x a week. I have lps and softies; the algae doesn’t seem to bother them much.

Parameters as of 2 weeks ago:
NO3: .2
pH: 7.8
Ca: 370
Mg:1110
PO4: .13
KH: 11.1

I had just added new lps coral that day; im assuming the calcium and magnesium went back up because I’ve always had stable and ideal calcium and magnesium levels up until then. I know that algae lowers pH in freshwater tanks, not sure if that also applies here.

Kevinmj70 · Feb 18, 2024

My number one fighter of algae is tuxedo urchins. Drop the lighting schedule way down and stop the Reefroids for a bit. I’d try an emerald crab, too. Good luck

saltienewb · Feb 18, 2024

I’m in the same battle brother.

What’s helped me beat back gha and bryopsis:

Weekly 10-15% water change, ditched the gravel vac, just straight hose. Grip, rip, siphon out.

Adding pods once a month, dosing phyto

Adding waste away once a week. Intermittently doing 1ML/10 gallon peroxide at night. This weakens the “roots” and makes it easier to pull off the rock

Added trochus, Mexican turbos, emerald crabs for the algae. Nassarius and dwarf hermits for uneaten fish food

Mine is 80% gone but it’s much better than it was before. If you do go the snail route, try and at least get the GHA shorter even if you can’t remove all of it. They won’t touch the long stuff