Green Hair Algae Control

[tennisjad3]

So I've been fighting GHA for a couple of months. I do a water change every 2-3 weeks and use only RO/DI water to top off. I also don't believe I overfeed as I have 3 small fish and a shrimp, I give them a little food every 2-3 days.  

What can I do to stop this menace? I take out the rocks and scrub them with a brush and pull it out manually. Any products/things I can dose? I got my water tested and they said it was 100% fine, is there a lesser known metric that isn't tested for in the general test?

Also, its a 29 Gal. I have a hang on the back protein skimmer/filter combo and a water pump. I hit it with blue LEDs from like 9am-10pm and white light comes on for maybe 4-5 hours a day

[FrankenBakon]

So I've been fighting GHA for a couple of months. I do a water change every 2-3 weeks and use only RO/DI water to top off. I also don't believe I overfeed as I have 3 small fish and a shrimp, I give them a little food every 2-3 days.  
What can I do to stop this menace? I take out the rocks and scrub them with a brush and pull it out manually. Any products/things I can dose? I got my water tested and they said it was 100% fine, is there a lesser known metric that isn't tested for in the general test?

Going through almost the exact same issue! I have no idea what to do. It started after I added a carbon/gfo reactor but I've since removed it and it's not gone away in months


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[tennisjad3]

2 minutes ago, FrankenBakon said:

 

 

Going through almost the exact same issue! I have no idea what to do. It started after I added a carbon/gfo reactor but I've since removed it and it's not gone away in months


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I hate it so much lol

[FrankenBakon]

I hate it so much lol

I despise it lol my friends think it looks more natural lol


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[Isaac]

have you checked the TDS on your ro/di water? GHA is most common w/ elevated phosphates, which comes in a number of ways, most notably top off water.  Check your filters.

for longterm control, look into getting a GFO reactor (ground up rust), short term, try "phosphate rx"... skim wet.  with both these options you'll need to mow manually first.

[mFrame]

Check out what Tim did to handle my outbreak. Documented here:

 

[Neon Reefer]

get a Sea Hare slug and then when he is done consuming your algae pass him on to another member who needs the help  They cost $30 or less 

[Timfish]

What Mike said.    If anything when I deal with a hair algae problem I see nitrates and phosphates increase from the reduced demand.  Get Rohwer's "Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" for an overview of the processes in reef systems and the role of DOCs (Dissolved Organic Carbon).   What corals do you have in your system to compete with algae for the ammonia and phosphate being released by your fish?  Also keep in mind it takes 8-12 months for a system to mature and hair algae is part of that maturing process, how old is your system?  

[Bpb]

Water changes unfortunately are a poor weapon against algae blooms.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not on board with this new "water changes are pointless" nonsense that everyone has hopped on board with since BRS released that video recently (funny how people take all of their informational videos with a grain of salt except that specific one, you don't see everyone grabbing an expensive roller mat, or switching back to the "gold standard" mh/t5ho, or running zeovit, ect.  All things they've talked about recently as well, I digress).

Few people can get by without water changes and usually it comes with very large tanks to pull that off.  Being said, they wont do much for you and your hair algae.

I agree with Timfish that hair algae is a natural phase in the first year of a tank.  If it's lingering far beyond that you have something going on with poor biological diversity, but nutrients and light alone don't cause algae blooms.  I am living proof of that (either that or my herbivores are so good they keep it from growing entirely). 

For such a small tank you're more limited on things to eat that algae.  A tuxedo urchin, sea hare, or some type of algae blenny (will likely become aggressive in such a small tank) are your best options.  I am pro-urchin.  They're the most valuable algae eating critters I've come across.  But most get too big for a 29 gallon (except the tux urchins).  I'll echo also, if you do something drastic to eliminate all that algae quickly, be prepared to deal with the nutrients your tank is unable to process in its absence. 

[Wade]

The folks that bought my tank (with my house) are now in the midst of their first big algae bloom and are getting frustrated and discouraged.  This is their first SW aquarium and they feel like they're failing me because the tank has gone downhill since they took it over.  I've told them that algae blooms happen to most everyone and it takes a while to turn the corner on them. She's been manually removing the algae but mt tank was built into a corner of the house and is only accessible from behind and that's not very easy either which adds to the frustration level.  She's asked if it would be OK to just pull the rock (with coral attached) from the tank into a bucket to work on it.  While that is definitely not OK to do, I think the process below that I've laid out in an email I'm writing her would work fine but I wanted to get your thoughts on it first.  

"Pulling the rock w/coral out to clean is typically not a good idea for a couple of reasons, but that's not to say that it cannot be done.  If it were a bare rock then it would be fine. The reasons it would be bad with the coral are that the parameters of fresh made salt water will most likely not be the same as the tank water so going from one to the other then back again may shock it.  Also, the water temperature in the tank is controlled and the water temp in a bucket may drop several degrees pretty quickly again risking a shock.  You'd also have to maintain some water movement for the coral.  I do think there's be a way to do it however and I'll be happy to help if you like.  I'm going to run this idea by some guys to make sure I'm not overlooking or oversimplifying something, but I think it would work fine.  

1. Use a clean medium sized clear plastic storage container to siphon water out of your tank into like you're doing a good size water change (say 15 gallons or so).
2. install a power head and heater in the container
3. move desired rock from aquarium to container for cleaning
4. preposition a power head in the aquarium so that it's below the current water level and leave on to provide water movement
5. clean rock in container and move back to aquarium
6. refill aquarium completing water change
7. move power head in aquarium back to original position"

 

What do you think? 

 

[FarmerTy]

She could just pull some water from the tank in a bucket, put the rock in the bucket to work on it, and then replace the rock in the display and make new saltwater to fill the display again.

[Wade]

No worries about the temp change or water flow around the coral?  What if she has the rock out for 30 minutes?  Would that cause an issue or not really?  

[Wade]

I suppose if she takes the rock out she could treat the affected areas with H2O2 as long as she doesn't get it on the coral, correct?

[FarmerTy]

30 mins shouldn't be an issue, I do that even with SPS and no problems.

Depends on the corals on the rocks with hydrogen peroxide. If any acropora or montis, I wouldn't. If zoas and leathers, go for it.

[Wade]

Thank you sir! 

[Timfish]

The approach you outlined is workable but the only time I would go through all those steps is if I'm planning on major reaquascaping also.  If all I'm doing is manual removal then just a couple buckets, one for scrubbing and one for rinsing then putting corals back in the tank in pretty much the same place they were.   Like Ty said most coral will tolerate being out of water for a while but if you have any birdsnest I've found those the most sensitive and I won't expose them any longer than necessary.  I use the same technique as you suggested with H2O2 in a syringe and a large bore needle to get rid of xenia around branching corals and I imagine it will work for algae but you do need to be very careful.  I would also be very mindful of the cryptic sponges on the back sides of the rocks, they are very important for dealing with the DOC algae release that promote heterotrophic bacteria.  And your friends need to be patient!  In dealing with MIke's problem it was several months after pulling out some of the rock and scrubbing it before all the hair algae disappeared.  I would also caution against being real aggressive and trying to get it all at once.  For one it won't happen but it also disrupts the corals feeding and they are competing with the algae for organic and inorganic nutrients.

[Wade]

Thanks Tim.  They are trying very hard to be patient.  I had the advantage of going through several years of growing pains to figure things out while they're learning on the fly while dealing with an ugly algae bloom which tends to put one in panic mode.  She's a very smart lady (chemist) who is learning the ropes very quickly and hasn't slipped into panic mode which is pretty impressive from my viewpoint.  She's just trying to figure out how to deal with it and feels that all her efforts are in vain because she doesn't see any changes for the better yet.  I've sent her the link for your case study and your response above which she's probably on reading now.  I've also encouraged her to join this forum as you all are the most knowledgeable folks I've come across in this hobby.  Can't express how much you all have helped me over the years.  Everyone is quick with an opinion in this hobby, but when you can back it up with the knowledge and experience you all possess it takes it to whole other level.  

[Timfish]

A chemist?!  I've got questions for her!    But if she's getting into reef systems to get away from her day job as a chemist she needs look at something else.  

[Wade]

Someone this weekend told me about using a one time treatment of fluconazole to rid the tank of hair algae.  I found a YouTube video that documents a tank before, during and after the treatment.  Is this safe to use?  I know it doesn't address the core reason of why it bloomed to begin with, but if it help eradicate it so they can get a leg up on turning the corner on it then it might be worth the expense.  Thoughts?

 

[Timfish]

I've seen lots of miracle cures over the ydecades and they disappear almost as fast as they appear.  What's the medium and long term effect on coral and the the coral holobiont?   It may not be able to be taken up by a coral and have a negative effect on the internal symbionts but a significant portion of the holobiont is on the surface of coral.  These include various cyanobacteria and I don't see how it could kill off nuisance algae without effecting them.

[Wade]

That was my thought as well!  I keep trying to find someone who's had a negative experience using it, but haven't located on yet.  How does it kill off the exposed algae without killing off the zooxanthellae algae inside the coral?  Either way it doesn't address the cause of the bloom, but maybe it will help get a handle on a big bloom before it starts killing off coral anyway.  If she decides to go this route I'll try and document the progress and long term effects.  

[Timfish]

Short term there may not be any obvious negative effects.  A couple years ago a friend of mine who was tired of wiping algae off the glass on his system a couple times a month tried a product that was supposed to get rid of nuisance algae and make the water "crystal clear".   It did just that, stopped the algae growth on the glass and water clarity was exceptional.  Corals didn't seem to be affected any, bright colors, great polyp expansion.  It took him months to notice but it completely stopped coral growth.  I'm pretty sure it was not fluconazole and I do not know anything about fluconazole but I wouldn't use it without some kind of assurance it would not effect the coral holobiont.