Should I just restart or just give up.

[ya_boii]

I had a GHA problem for a while. I credit 3 things with fixing it.

I don't know how old your tank is, but I added some of Algae Barn's Oceanmagik phytoplankton. They will compete with the algae for nitrogen, and they feed corals and other zooplankton.

Another thing that I did was to add a powerhead, since I definitely didn't have enough flow in the tank.

The last recommendation is weird, but I think it really turned the tides in my favor. You can spend a bunch of time trying to remove it all by hand, which takes forever and sucks. I added a trio of Molly fish (acclimated slowly) to my tank and my hair algae disappeared practically overnight.

Please keep in mind, these don't substitute for proper tank maintenance, but it can help to trap nitrogen in places that aren't the water column

(Ignore the glofish anemone. I thought it was funny).

 

[cdemoss01]

I battled some gha for about a month and used brightwell razor and never seen my rocks do clean maybe worth a shot gotta use the instructions

Could you send me a link @codycolina707 of the stuff I would want?

 

[codycolina707]

Alright. Does it kill more then just GHA? And is it invert and coral safe?

It's reef safe

 

[cdemoss01]

It's reef safe

Which one is it though

 

[Jmcg89]

I over came a bad case of it in my 180 gallon due to travel for work and things getting away.
I did a number if things but I will list them here.
1. Tank received morning light from a glass sliding door and I got blackout curtains to prevent the sunlight from hitting the tank.

2. Doing larger water changes, I would suggest at least 40 or 50 percent at a time if not more based on your nitrates.
You can google nitrate removal water chnage calculator and see that with smaller water changes you really aren't putting a dent in those nitrates.
I set up a refugium with algae scrubber style plates and just allowed what ever grows to grow and harvested that. It's insane how fast it would grow. I used traditional macro but hair algae would out compete it in the sump so using home made algae scrubber style panels has worked out great.

A good variety of snails, some that are in the substrate as well as the rock work.
I also have multiple tangs and a blenny but I really don't think theyre the answer for that long hair algae.

Manual removal with a brush and siphon tube or just the siphon tube to let the algae be short enough for the clean up crew to keep up with it.

When it gets in the sand It makes a big mat and I would just suck that whole mat right outta there, you can replace the sand as it's depleted.

If you don't plan on adding a sump my summary after beating hair algae myself would be.

1. Block the sunlight

2. Do large water changes frequently, can't stress this enough that small water changes really won't do it no matter how frequent.
This is where I would invest my money in your situation. Get a good ro system and a nice mixing set up and a pump so large water chnages aren't such a pain because you'll be doing a lot of them lol.

3. Use manual removal to keep it short where the clean up crew can work on it.

I feel your pain I lost many large coral colonies while away for work that were smothered by it but it is definitely somthing you can over come.

Go order a bunch of salt!

 

[code4]

@vetteguy53081 has given you excellent advice for the long term. As has @DaddyDaughterNano about tropic marine, you need a good skimmer with it though. Others have given you good advice also. Choose one and go slowly. Do odd jobs for neighbors for extra money if you can.

 

[SliceGolfer]

All these answers to buy something and pour it into the tank or add another piece of equipment. Given the few corals and fish you have, I would suggest a solution that got you here in the first place. Invest the time and effort to clean the system and avoid neglecting the tank as you move forward. Gather plastic bins large enough to hold your livestock, rock, and fresh seawater. Take the $$$ you would spend on fluconazole and buy salt as needed for this cleaning. Mix up water ahead of time, heated and mixed to the correct salinity and place your coral and fish in a large container. Aerate the water with a strong power head and heater. Put your dirty rock in another bin and fill it with water from your tank. Disassemble the tank and clean it completely with citric acid, or vinegar if you don’t have citric acid. Clean your pumps, filters, everything with a plug on the end of it. Put your now clean tank back on the stand, place your now clean equipment on the tank, and fill it halfway with fresh clean seawater. Place the heater and power head low enough to keep the fresh seawater at the preferred temperature. Next, your going to take a nylon bristle scrub brush and scrub your rock clean. Do this in the bin with the rock. Rinse the cleaned rock in a bucket of clean fresh seawater at the correct salinity. Next, place it in your tank. When all your rock has been scrubbed clean and is back in the tank, fill the tank the rest of the way with more fresh clean seawater. Turn on all equipment and check the system for any problems. If you find any, correct them. When the tank is at the correct temperature and salinity, put your livestock back in the tank. Go bare bottom for now, skip the sand. Keep the tank clean, and don’t let it get out of hand again. Take the advice from others and block the UV light, don’t over feed, and put in the effort. By cleaning your rock in seawater mixed to the correct salinity, the biological bacteria contained in the rock should be sufficient to prevent any spikes in ammonia that might occur. This will likely take you 5-6 hours to do, less if you have help. If this is too much effort, then buy a bottle of algae fix and follow the dosing instructions exactly. Don’t overdose thinking more is better. Keep on top of vacuuming waste and dying algae, keep an eye on nutrients. Expect nitrate to rise and alkalinity to drop. I don’t see enough bioload to warrant a skimmer. Manual effort will solve this issue faster and at less cost. Follow up with a strong clean up crew.

 

[JPG Corals]

Did you mention what light you are using?
Is your light on a timer/schedule?
If you don't have any corals, can you lower the light intensity, or shorten the photo period?

If your scape is not to difficult to remove, take it out and scrub it with a toothbrush. If not manual removal is required.

Make sure your replacing your filter floss more regularly and reduce your feeding. I feel with your filtration you will have to be on a strict and consistent water change schedule. And daily blow off the rocks with a baster and get that detritus suspended, especially where the algae is. Also make sure your scraping the algae your glass off too.

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

I havnt read full thread so forgive me if I'm doubling up on advice already given.
That looks like bryopsis?
In which case flux will kill it but be prepared for a further huge nutrient spike.
Flow is limited & there will be a lot of schumtz under that rockwork.

It is bad I'm not going to lie.
As others have suggested, I'd suggest a ton of manual removal & remove sandbed

 

[goosemans]

are you using reverse osmosis water for water changes and top off with 0 ppm total dissolved solvents? Doesn’t look like you have any corals, turn off your lights and get a bunch of snails.

 

[Dan_P]

Hi,
I have battles GHA for years in my tank. GHA has never left my tank it won't stop can't control my nitrates and I can't keep any LPS alive. My tank is 65 gallons it has a marble wrasse a royal grama and a singular clownfish the other three have jumped out. Water changes won't work or anything. What should I do I just want the GHA out of my tank that's all I want at this point.

My first thought is that after years of struggling to fix a problem and failing, it is time for a change. One question you need to ask yourself is why you went into this hobby?

Despite the hype that anyone can keep a reef aquarium, the reality is few are able to. I suspect at least half of the new entrants in this hobby are out in 1-2 years. It is tough to be successful. No amount of automation or bottled miracles changes the equation for success.

Consider tearing down the aquarium and coming back in a year.

 

[Grubber65]

I’m relatively new to the hobby and my tank is 6 months old. I did have a little GHA in my tank but nothing on the same extent as yours. I thought that I would get rid of the little that I had so I used this and found it brilliant. It cleared up the GHA in less than 2 weeks.

Blue Life Flux RX Bryopsis Hair Algae​

 

[cdemoss01]

My first thought is that after years of struggling to fix a problem and failing, it is time for a change. One question you need to ask yourself is why you went into this hobby?

Despite the hype that anyone can keep a reef aquarium, the reality is few are able to. I suspect at least half of the new entrants in this hobby are out in 1-2 years. It is tough to be successful. No amount of automation or bottled miracles changes the equation for success.

Consider tearing down the aquarium and coming back in a year.

Can't do that love the hobby to much

 

[cdemoss01]

are you using reverse osmosis water for water changes and top off with 0 ppm total dissolved solvents? Doesn’t look like you have any corals, turn off your lights and get a bunch of snails.

Yes and I have a TON of snails

 

[cdemoss01]

I’m relatively new to the hobby and my tank is 6 months old. I did have a little GHA in my tank but nothing on the same extent as yours. I thought that I would get rid of the little that I had so I used this and found it brilliant. It cleared up the GHA in less than 2 weeks.

Blue Life Flux RX Bryopsis Hair Algae​

I've ordered some we will have to find out if it will wprk

 

[cdemoss01]

The plan is this:
Adding a good skimmer
Trying Blue flux
Adding a sea hare
Doing water changes
Rip cleaning rocks if all else fails

 

[cdemoss01]

Update; after coming home today I found a HUGE GHA bloom worsted it's ever looked. However it's all white and dissolving so I went in and removed as much as possible

 

[WvAquatics]

Water changes water changes will solve a lot of issues

 

[cdemoss01]

Alright! Flux Rx has been dosed no active carbon remains in the tank. I need someone to send me a link to a skimmer that would fit. Icecap preferred hob.

 

[SliceGolfer]

I need someone to send me a link to a skimmer that would fit

Or you could do the research, just an option!