oh ma bad the pic looked salt water... but i see what u mean now cause i cant stand the look of algea in salt water tanks .. lol
major hair alage issue
- Thread starter aquaman5000
- Start date
most likely a phosphate issue but to get it in check buy yourself a sea hare asap. then address your phosphates.
mr.reef24
mr.reef24
My friend actually has this problem, we got freaked cuz it looks like a ton of little worms crawling on the glass until we found out what it was, I've tried everything to get it out of his tank, algae killers, water changes, scrubbers, algea eaters, this **** is relentless.
You'll want to stop this algae at its source instead of just buying a bunch of cleanup animals to treat the symptoms. The underlying problem is likely spores of the hair algae were introduced from your live rock, and had enough Phosphates, Nitrates and Silicates to grow and flourish. Increasing water circulation and surface agitation can help increase oxygen levels and improve water movement. (Hair and slime algae usually hate a lot of water movement.) A quick monthly sand vaccuuming will help; use a plastic siphon kit to sift and remove some of the detritus from your sandbed. In the process, this should remove about 20% of the water. You should always heat and circulate your new replacement water before adding it to the tank. Use a test kit such as API Saltwater Master to check levels of Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and pH. If any of the levels in the new water are off, (ex.: ammonia or nitrite or nitrate are anything above 0, or if the pH is out of the 8.2-8.4 range), then discard the new water and obtain water from a better source. Keep the tank's pH at 8.3 at all times, and keep the water temperature between 76 and 79 degrees Fareinheit. 10% weekly water changes are ideal. You could also use ROWA-Phos in a Phosban reactor (made by Two Little Fishes brand), or drop in some Chemi-pure into your sump. The product known as "Algone" works wonders, and I swear by it. It absorbs excess organic nutrients from your water to stop algae growth at its source. You may also want to consider removing any rocks that are completely covered in the hair algae and discarding them; they will continue to spead spores if you leave the major colonies alive in the tank. If after about a month this still doesn't work, you can purchase a lawnmower blenny/ algae blenny and/or a small sea hare. Avoid using algaecides. Cutting the amount of light the tank recieves every day will not really stop the algae growth as long as there are excess organics. If you don't have aprotein skimmer, I also reccomend getting a new and used one off Craigslist. This will also greatly help reduce the nutrient load.
Okay- my first super-long reply would be for someone with hair algae issues in a saltwater tank. In a freshwater situation, it's even easier to take care of. Do 10-20% weekly water changes WITHOUT FAIL, and this includes giving the gravel bed a quick detritus siphoning. If you vaccuum out about a third of the gravel each week, you can do a new section each week so that by the end of the month, all of the gravel has been vaccuumed. In a 55 gallon tank, this should take about half an hour to do everything. (and that's on a slow day- the more you do this, the faster you'll be.) You should use a reliable test kit (NOT test strips!) to check your water each week to see where you're at in terms of nutrients. The things in your water that fuel saltwater hair algae are almost the exact factors that fuel freshwater hair algae blooms. To completely erradicate the problem, it's best to treat the illness, not the symptoms. (metaphorically-speaking.) In this case, treating the problem involves keeping your Ammonia and Nitrite at absolutely 0 ppm at all times, and your Nitrates no higher than 15 ppm. pH should be around 6.5-7.5 for your fish, but that's not as important here, since it doesn't really affect algae growth. Putting in another powerhead or two to increase water circulation often helps. Also be sure to change your filter pads every other week, or upgrade to a larger-sized filter. A Fluval 305 will probably be best for your tank. Most of the pads and carbon bags and Phosphate removal bags can be changed out every other week, since you have what I would call some pretty dirty fish. Avoid using algaecides; I feel confident that if you put in a little more maintenence work and test your water more frequently, you'll nip this hair algae in the bud. Best of luck to you! 
are you mixing your own saltwater? could be your tap water... you might be adding to much of one chemical before you even know it
thanks squilla nice info. My tank is a 20 gallon long nano imo corals in it too im going to barrown my friends tds metter and his di filter and do a huge ec that should do the trick and im going to get ridd of this beach sand i have to high in silica
