Help with hair algae

[Topekoms]

Honestly i would cut out the shrimp from your feeding also.

 

[oliverout]

I just tested phos 2 more times and it seems like the first test was a bad test or something, it reads 0 although I can't really tell. Probably have to invest in a Hannah checker or something.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Tank is around seven or eight months old now, I have majestic angelfish, purple tang, Kole tang, baby clown trigger, snowflake eel, clownfish, 3 wrasses and then a bunch of astea snails, emerald crabs, some other snails, cucumber, brittle star. I feed a cube of mysis in the morning and pellets at night, also feed nori and a piece of shrimp 2 or 3 times a week.

When did you first notice the problem? Lol, omg,
I think best method to clean this is in sections, start work from the furthest point of your main filtration.
If you filter is to right of aquriam, start from left, manual hands in first (gloves if necessary) pull out as much manually with fingers (use left hand with cloth outside aquarium to place algae and right hand to pull algae/wet hand) as your aquarium quite large I would divide into 6 sections to remove gradually

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Section it off, easy way to remove but needs to be weekly or fortnightly, before water/ filter change, it looks messy at the moment but gradually you will remove and just have small amounts remaining

 

[oliverout]

When did you first notice the problem? Lol, omg,
I think best method to clean this is in sections, start work from the furthest point of your main filtration.
If you filter is to right of aquriam, start from left, manual hands in first (gloves if necessary) pull out as much manually with fingers (use left hand with cloth outside aquarium to place algae and right hand to pull algae/wet hand) as your aquarium quite large I would divide into 6 sections to remove gradually

I first noticed it a few months ago and I let it spiral out of control. Thanks for the advice. I actually just cleaned a bunch while I was off of r2r the only issue tho is that I can't get every single bit off and won't it keep on growing? Thanks for the help.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

No, I found it growing on my snails shells and hermits shells as the move around but honestly I just went from left to right, fingers to pull and a toothbrush to scrub rocks, it still appears in some areas so I brought a tuxedo urchin, it seemed a tough task to begin with but after maybe a month I was on top of growth

 

[Rick's Reviews]

No, I found it growing on my snails shells and hermits shells as the move around but honestly I just went from left to right, fingers to pull and a toothbrush to scrub rocks, it still appears in some areas so I brought a tuxedo urchin, it seemed a tough task to begin with but after maybe a month I was on top of growth

My tuxedo urchin is now my gardener lol, I just remove from hard to reach areas now

 

[oliverout]

No, I found it growing on my snails shells and hermits shells as the move around but honestly I just went from left to right, fingers to pull and a toothbrush to scrub rocks, it still appears in some areas so I brought a tuxedo urchin, it seemed a tough task to begin with but after maybe a month I was on top of growth

Ok thank you I already have a tuxedo urchin also some other black one on my live rock, also some tangs, so once I get it down they should be able to control it

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Ok thank you I already have a tuxedo urchin also some other black one on my live rock, also some tangs, so once I get it down they should be able to control it

Well not really, from when I had the hair algae problem, I found out that once hair algae reaches a certain length, no crabs, fish or urchin will eat it.

So manual removal to get rid of biggest growth will be better

 

[oliverout]

Well not really, from when I had the hair algae problem, I found out that once hair algae reaches a certain length, no crabs, fish or urchin will eat it.

So manual removal to get rid of biggest growth will be better

Ya I just removed a bunch of the algae and it already looks bette, gonna get rid of the rest tomorrow probably

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Yes always before a water change/ filter clean as when you pull... some bits tend to float around and they can clog up filters easy, just do it weekly if you can or as often as possible, you will be on top of it in no time

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've heard mixed things about hydrogen peroxide will it be safe for all of my corals and fish? Also I have most of those cuc already. I'm using rodi water, I'll try some gfo to get the phosphate down. Also yeah my tanks near a window it gets a little bit of sunlight in the morning but that's it. Thanks.

While Peroxide is safe, its best to do this step outside of tank in a container of tank water otherwise you'll release the filaments into the tank and clog filters and intakes. For GFO which is strong, get a pouch of ChemiPure blue or Elite which will slowlybring po4 down.
On sunlight- I suspected this as UV is very strong and will penetrate shades-blinds-curtains and cause these issues.
Get a piece of black construction paper from Walmart stationary section and place at side of tank that faces window and you will see a drastic reduction.

 

[Bob Weigant]

When I had it I pulled what I could and let my Turbo snails do the rest. Just make sure your corals are glued down

 

[oliverout]

While Peroxide is safe, its best to do this step outside of tank in a container of tank water otherwise you'll release the filaments into the tank and clog filters and intakes. For GFO which is strong, get a pouch of ChemiPure blue or Elite which will slowlybring po4 down.
On sunlight- I suspected this as UV is very strong and will penetrate shades-blinds-curtains and cause these issues.
Get a piece of black construction paper from Walmart stationary section and place at side of tank that faces window and you will see a drastic reduction.

Thanks for the info I appreciate it a lot.