Hair alage problem

[reef120]

I have been having problems with green hair alage in the same area of my sand bed. How can I get rid of this I keep trying to pull it out but grows back thick it's a pain in the but..please help.

[Puffer]

Make sure there isn't anything trapped under or around the area which could be fueling the algea bloom. If not buy a lawnmower blenny. Clean it up for you in a jiffy. [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

[jmick01]

Check your phosphate levels!!!!!

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Remember Fish are alive when we get them, lets keep it that way!!!

[Saltwater_kid]

Sally Lightfoot Crab. They LOVE hair algae.

[MtnDewMan]

Just curious, what's the compatibility with the Sally Lightfoot with:

Mithrax Crab
Peppermint Shrimp
Snails
Scarlett Reef Hermits
Clams
SPS Corals
LPS/Soft Corals

???

[Ironreef]

sallly can get along then they get big and mean.I wouldn't put one in a small tank.Mine got so big it jumped at fish.

[Aragorn]

You may also want to consider a Tang. It'll "knock down" your algae problem in no time! HTH

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"Remember...Wherever you go...There you are."
Buckaroo Banzai, circa 1978

[mxr]

If you aren't using RO water, start. I noticed the greatest reduction in hair algae after I switched. Also, if you are using crabs, tangs, blennies, etc. to control algae, make sure you trim it down til it is short or for the most part they won't do anything to it...

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[fishpoo]

i'm convinced hair just finds a place to grow and that's it. i would take out the hair and that part of the sand and replace the sand if need be. it may be the easiest solution.

[naser]

i also had it growing in my sand but i also had it growing everywhere.. your only problem is either or nitrates or phosphates.... get a low level nitrate tester and then see what it says.

[Invisibleman]

I tried a yellow tang. doesnt seem to eat anything...

[scott55]

Get a lawnmower blenny, I have one and haven't had a problem since...

Good Luck [img]/ubb/fish.gif[/img]

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill, Sir (1874-1965)

[reef120]

Thanks for all the feed back I went out and bought a lawnmower blenne and he is eating some but there is too much for him to handle. I tested my phosphates and got a reading of .05 I was suprised to get such a low reading also my nitrates are also low. I will try to remove the some of my bed and replace it with new this weekend and see if that helps.

[olgakurt]

I think you are on the right track looking into nutrients. If you have a fair amount of algae in the tank, water quality tests can be deceptive. Algae is very efficient at scavenging nutrients from the water. A low reading does not neccesarily mean that there are not too many nutrients being fed to the system.

[Bughead]

The hair algae in my tank had gotten so long it looked like the rocks had gone hippie. I got a lawnmower blenny and he couldn't begin to make a differance. So I removed the rocks that were removable and scrubbed them with a toothbrush in the unused hospital tank. The others I scrubbed in the tank. Sure, it releases all the algae into the water, and it certainly doesn't get rid of the problem, but now the blenny is better able to keep it under control.

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If it's broke, don't fix it---hide it.

[Capn]

Go to your neighborhood hardware store and buy a yard of "fiberglass window screening". This stuff is great multi-purpose reef material, but one thing it does a good job on is hair algae, even the dreadful bryopsis.

Cut a piece of the screen to the shape where the hair algae is growing, and lay it over the problem area. The hair algae will grow up through the screen and attach itslef to it. The the algae covered screen should shade the sand area well enough for the algae to die there. Then remove screen and throw away.

Viola! No more hair algae.

Capn
http://www.fishroom.com

[reef120]

Well I finally did it last night I removed the area of the was growing accessive amounts of alage and replaced the sand with more. Wow what a differance now my lawnmower Blenne can eat the remaining amounts.