green hair ...

dawgs · 12-04-2002, 05:13 PM

i have green hair all over my tank....how do i get rid of it...additive? what fish will eat it? what do i do?

mikeMersot · 12-04-2002, 05:32 PM

try to eliminate the problem at its root, high nutrient levels, or else it will just keep coming back. i wouldnt use an additive as it is just a cover up solution, the real problem is still there. give some info on your setup and water paramaters so we can advise on how to go about it

dawgs · 12-04-2002, 06:15 PM

i just tested the water...nitrite 0
nitrate btwn 0 & 5.0
ph 8.6
amm 0
temp 80
salinity 1.022

Casey · 12-04-2002, 07:43 PM

what type water do you use? Do you have phosphates? How often do you feed? What do you feed? What is your fish load?

dawgs · 12-04-2002, 07:54 PM

i use tap water...dont know about the phosphates...3 damsels and 2 sserpernt stars...i feed them flakes

Harpo · 12-04-2002, 08:30 PM

Do you have any snails? Not to go around the problem, but a few turbo snails will mow it down & keep it under control. But you should still illiminate the source.

Harpo

dawgs · 12-04-2002, 08:46 PM

no i dont have any snails but i thibk ill purchase a few tomorrow

OodleyBoodely · 12-05-2002, 04:10 AM

Dawgs, I had the algae-problem-from-h@ll in my 55 and it lasted most of a year. It started as a diatom (brown) plague, then, to hair algae, and finally to bryopsis. Most of this time, my water test results were good-or so they appeared according to my test kits. My tank was overcrowded (though I didn't think it was at the time!) overfed, and had no adaquate export method for removing waste from the system.

I tried all the critters recommended for algae control - various types of snails, urchins, lettus slugs, nudibracts, fish, - you name it, I tried it. I can tell you from frustrated experience that buying critters to control an algae outbreak just does not work- sure, they will eat the stuff, but they cannot control or eliminate it if you do not eliminate the cause of the outbreak first.

You probably need to establish a better nutrient export system- better skimmer (this worked for me) reduce the bioload, reduce feeding, use nitrate/phosphate removal resin/sponges, use purer water (I use local tap, too, and it is deadly!) grow calurpa. Keep in mind also, that in a new system (less than 1 to 2 years) the filtration and waste handling capacity is still developing and can easily be overwhelmed by too much, too soon. Algae problems start off small and kinda cute, but believe me, they can become monsters - big hairy, fast spreading monsters- very quickly!

I hope this helps

aquaticsdeptleader · 12-05-2002, 09:47 AM

big brown hairy hermits mowed my lawn

Fishaholic · 12-05-2002, 10:03 AM

Quote:

i use tap water

This is most likely your problem. This can also lead to more problems than algae growth.

Every time you do water changes you are feeding the algae. You will find life much easier if you buy a RO/DI unit or go to Wallmart and use their RO despensing machine.

The larger risk you face is that water treatment plants change the chemicals they use without notice, some people have lost their whole tanks due to this. I have a well and that is not much better because I would be introducing metals into the tank that build up over time.

I use a RO/DI unit and have had very good results.

Also a new tank will go through algae blooms no way around it, it is just part of a tank maturing. If this is a new tank wait untill the cyano bloom hits, you will wish it was just hair algae.

Good luck.

mikeMersot · 12-05-2002, 04:11 PM

what kind of skimmer do you have? as others said, the tap water is probably a major contributor here, it is a lot easier to control algae with RO, flakes can also be high in phosphates, I used to have a killer hair algae problem in my old 29, I changed to RO, got a better skimmer, and cleaned off as much of the algae as I could with a toothbrush, then added some turbos, and havnt seen a thread of hair algae since, (the system is in a 75 now though) tHe whole process took about a month to cure

maphew · 12-05-2002, 06:52 PM

when i have a person come to me for help about hair algea i always tell them to:
A: STOP FEEDING SO MUCH-way too many nutirents
B: turn their lights down a little-maybe shave an hour or 2 off.
C: Definately use purer water
D: More snails, crabs, and other critters that like that stuff never hurts.
E: And check for phosphates. -tap does have phosphates in it. And so does some frozen fish food