green hair algee

[jl1199]

What is the best way to get rid of that ugly green hair algee that has grown all over my live rock.

[jroescher]

A cleanup crew. Snails and crabs. Maybe a nudibranch or two and a lot of other things. I started out with cleanup crew from Saltwaterfish.com, but there are lots of places that sell them. You can also check with some of the local fish stores or check out some of the sponsers.

[erikharrison]

For a cleanup crew you should do 1 crab per gallon and 1 snail per 1.5 gallon as a rule of thumb.

[JimD]

Start with the basics, ie: skimmer? RO/DI? Water changes? refugium? age of the tank? You really need to find the source of the nutrients fueling the algae growth, more information would help. What are the general perameters of the system?

[Hotrod32487]

I did all of the above (minus RO/DI water) and nothing worked. The ONLY thing that did anything to it was when i pulled as much of it off as i could with my hand, making sure none floated off. Then with what was left i would take snails and literally place them on the algae so they would eat it. I would place the snails on the hair algae for about a week and after that it was all gone and havent had a problem with it since. Good luck to ya

[safeuerwehr]

is this on the new tank? if so a good skimmer would be well advised, and time....mine took about four to five months to die off.

[jtxstate]

I had a bad problem at one point with hair algee, it covered everything and no matter what i did that nasty little green monster controlled my tank. I got a sea hare from aqua dome out in austin and he went crazy for it ate all the algee in a 75 gallon tank in about 2 months maybe less. I loved watching it chomp down on the algee! After it did its job i gave it to a friend who had some in his tank, so the hare didnt starve... cuz i think the only think they eat is Hair algee. Only thing is if he doesnt make it in your tank for what ever reason, i read they can release some potent toxins into your system and screw your tank. But id think as long as your water quality is good and you acclimate it right, you should be ok. Just watch out for it getting stuck on any powerheads...i almost lost mine when it almost got sucked through the grate on a MJ 1200. good luck...

[purplesprite]

what about your lights? how old are they, what type are they that has alot to do with it sometimes.I once had some power compact lights that grew algae like crazy.I switched them out and after a while it no longer grew. I just had to get rid of what was left.HTH

[jl1199]

My tank is only 3 mounths old so I know that i am going to go throw different stages. My water quality is good with the pH being 8-8.3 the nitrate 0, nitrite 0, and the ammonia 0. The salinity is at 1.023. My tank is a 72 gallon corner tank with a xp3 filter and a sea clone protien skimmer. My light is a 150 watt corallife metal halid. I have 15 snails a sea urchin, lawn mower blennie and a green brittle star. Thanks for all of the suggestions I will try them to see if they will work.

[SoLiD]

Get a Sea Hare or Lettuce Nudibranchs and place them directly on the affected areas. I got 4 lettuce nudibranchs for a small hair algae problem and they ate it all in a week. Now here I am 3 months later (knock on wood) and still no hair algae. Check out http://www.reeftopia.com as they had all kinds of clean up crew specials. Keep in mind that different snails do different things for your tank. Nassarius aerate the top layer of sand, eat left over food and dead animals and some algae if any. Ceriths eat detritus (waste) and algae. Strombus, and Nerites eat micro diatom algae (brown algae) on your glass. Astreas and Turbos eat diatom and macro algae on your rock and glass. Just keep doing your research and don't be afraid to ask your Friends here at MAAST for help. ;) -SoLiD

[SoLiD]

Oh yeah. Don't forget to check your phosphate level. If your phosphates are high you will also be battling Cyano (red slime) algae, too. Phosphates are usually introduced to your system by using low quality or city tap water. If your phosphate level is high then you might do a series of 20%-30% water changes with RO\DI (Reverse Osmosis \ DeIonized) water to bring it down. In any case your nutrient level has to be high to sustain the nuisance algae growth, so water changes would be a great way to bring them down anyway. Also cut back on your feeding as this is the other common way that a system is plagued with high nutrients. -SoLiD

[Thunderkat]

I did all of the above (minus RO/DI water) and nothing worked. The ONLY thing that did anything to it was when i pulled as much of it off as i could with my hand, making sure none floated off. Then with what was left i would take snails and literally place them on the algae so they would eat it. I would place the snails on the hair algae for about a week and after that it was all gone and havent had a problem with it since. Good luck to ya

I did that and it works (provided you get the nutrients under control or it will just grows back). I have an RO unit though, but the best thing you can add is stomatella snails.

[Jeff]

don't worry about a phosphate test kit you know you have it already when you have algea growing.

[junkstang]

how often are water changes done??