So I am doing a thorough cleaning of my prop tank in the next week, and I have a slight hair algae problem. Must have come in on a frag.
Is there any way to nuke this stuff without harming my critters?
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I feel your pain Jeff. I have been removing a rock a week and scraping it with a bottle brush. It mows it down a bit, but doesn't really do much else. I don't even have any fish, so i never feed the tank. I have no idea where this crap is getting its nutrients from.
I might try an emerald crab. Would it harm GSP (Pachyclavularia sp.)?
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JeffDubya, I've been fighting the scourge of hair algae for about 6 weeks. I ended up taking a multi attack approach because nothing seemed to work. Fortunately, my tank is almost back to normal, although I'm determined not to let my guard down. Here's what I ended up doing:
Cut back slightly (one hour reduction) in my light cycle.
Water changes weekly (so far it seems like enough to fill the Mediterranean)
Increased snails, added a few emerald crabs, and a sea hare.
The sea hare was doing good job but died after about two weeks (cause unknown).
After I lost the sea hare I added a long spine urchin which is doing well and is actually eating some of the hair algae.
After weeks of frustration, I resorted to taking rock out and scrubbing with a brush and rinsing with clean salt and ro/di water and returning to the tank.
This was a lot of work but the only thing that made a significant improvement.
Good luck ... please post any methods you find that work for you.
I would suggest just scrubbing your rock in the SW you remove when doing water changes and then swishing it in another container of used water. I would not rinse it with RO as I think that will kill beneficial bacteria on or near the surface of the rock. It probably wouldn't kill the bacteria deep in the rock though.
jeff, if i remember right, this is a new setup for you..
HA seems to be a common thing in the maturation of tank.
make sure you keep your levels right, and control nutrients. do manual removal and it will usually stop growing back after a period..
if you pursue predation methods make sure you are willing to supplement its diet after the HA is gone..
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Hello everyone, it seems that multiple people are having issues with Hair Algae and I might have an idea that can assist with it if everyone is willing to play along like nice oys and girls and also be extremely careful with the of this animal as to not stress it. I have had hair algae problems in the past among friend and family aquariums as well as my own. Whether it be due to overfeeding or adding new rock into your aquarium or whatever the reason Hair Algae has plagued us all. One person could purchase a Sea Hare and place it in their aquarium for a few until their algae problem is solved. Then have the next person in line requiring the help either pick up or ship this critter and provide some monetary or other assistance for the lend as necessary so that the new person can acclimate it to their aquarium and let them do the job all over again. This ensures that the sea hare will never starve as they do in most aquariums when the Hair Algae problems decipates. We just all have to be cautious about taking our time to acclimate this critter slowly to ensure as minimal stress as possible. Call it Rent a Sea Hair if you may!
cool, good idea. Ive seen sea hares at the LFS and most are way too big for my tank.
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My LFS told me I could bring mine back for credit. Unfortunately he died for unknown reasons before I had the HA under control. I've often read that they rarely live more than a year so my thought was that it was just old.
Silly question but what brand of salt are you guys using? Sea Hares are cool but I never see mine much. I may catch it munching on some nori I tuck in a rock but not often.
Silly question but what brand of salt are you guys using? Sea Hares are cool but I never see mine much. I may catch it munching on some nori I tuck in a rock but not often.
reef crystals for me..
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I was using IO but the last time Red Sea was on sale so I decided to try it. I've seen no difference in my parameters or the appearance of my tank since I changed a few months ago.
I also have an algea probem that just won't go away. I've done all the scrubbing and rinsing that I can, and cut down on the feeding... it is still a problem. Instead of trying the sea hare (which is for 'experts only' - which I am not), I am going to try some of the dwarf yellow tip hermit crabs. Saltwater Aquarium Crabs for Marine Reef Aquariums: Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crab
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