(Hair algae problem) How long to keep on aquarium lights?

[tucker]

I have a twenty gallon tall tank with a marineland reef capable 24-36" LED light as well as one 15 watt 18" T8 that has a blue tone to it like an acentic light. I have recently developed a hair algae problem and have done everything to try to get rid of it but cant. All my levels are at or near zero. I have previously had these two light on 10 hours a day. What is the minimum amount of time I can have these on without hurting my corals and such. Just today I bought a separate timer. I reset the main LED light to be on for 7 hours and the T8 for 9 hours. One hour before the LED comes on and stays on for one hour after the LED shuts off. Is this enough light time for my corals? Any suggestions to controlling/getting rid of this Hair algae?

 

[whippetguy]

I keep my lights on about 8 hrs a day and my corals do well. You might want to cut your lighting time. What kind of clean up crew do you have?

 

[tucker]

emerald crabs, hermits, snails, urchin, shrimp, and a lawnmower blenny are my clean up crew, recently purchased a mangrove pod too. Do mangrove pods need to be partially out of the water? mine does not have any leaves and completely submerged

 

[reefer gladness]

You might check this video out, he covers hair algae and a few other nuisance algaes. It's usually a water chemistry problem vice lighting issue although your T8 does need to be replaced periodically.

Q&A - Nuisance Algae - YouTube

 

[redneckgearhead]

I fought the dreaded HA and won. During that time I had my lights on 4 hours a day. Did it slow down my coral growth? I am sure it did, but it didn't "hurt" them. Leave your lights off for 3 days then do a water change. Do twice a week water changes (leaving the lights off for 3 days prior to just one of them) and add some phosban. This is going to be a LONG LONG LONG battle.

 

[tucker]

How often do you have to change the t8's. What happens if you dont?

 

[redneckgearhead]

You get HA...

 

[reefer gladness]

How often do you have to change the t8's. What happens if you dont?

Every 9-10 months to be safe. No longer than a year. The spectrum gradually shifts over time, you get more red light which makes nuisance algae grow faster.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Take a look at this link to help you to remove the hair algae from your DT:
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...inate-green-hair-bubble-turf-slime-algae.html

Santa Monica Filtration

 

[reefornot2reef]

I agree with reefer gladness it water chemistry issues turning your lights off creates more stress. Wet skim for few days and stop feeding also (the solution to pollution is dilution)

 

[Wayne23uk]

I would say its a phosphate or nitrate problem possibly both make sure you use good test kits for testing and try get them as low as possible phosphate below 0.03ppm and nitrates below 10ppm but would go for 0 if possible use phosphate media and large water changes for nitrates

 

[StirCrayzy]

I would say its a phosphate or nitrate problem possibly both make sure you use good test kits for testing and try get them as low as possible phosphate below 0.03ppm and nitrates below 10ppm but would go for 0 if possible use phosphate media and large water changes for nitrates

Common problem when dealing with HA is that tests will show Zero because the HA consumes as quickly as phos and trates are available.
This Makes test kits almost worthless while its in bloom.

 

[reefornot2reef]

All the noise about turning your light out is just tht noise your not solving the problem. Make your water changes and lower what ever is high then stay on top of it by making water changes reguarly. Good test kits, good skimmer and water changes will keep your tank healthy

 

[degibson84]

I do 11 gallon water changes weekly on a 75 i have run BRS bulk GFO and just tried using seachem seagel and upgraded my skimmer to an AquaC remora Pro. nothing seems to work. i even pull it out manually every few days. I am at a point of confusion as i just can't get rid of it

 

[reefer gladness]

Remember, nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank. It took awhile for the problem to develop and it will take awhile to fix it, but if you do everything that's being recommended to deal with nuisance algae you will get ahead of it and break the cycle.

One of the hardest things to do is to learn from other peoples mistakes but that's a good part of what forums like this are all about. When we start off in this hobby we all want something that looks like the nice display tank at the LFS or the pics posted online. All too often though we rush into things and start adding fish and corals too quickly, then we overstock with fish and probably overfeed, all before we really know what the filtration system and live rock is capable of sustaining. I did it, most of us have.

Make sure you have a large and diverse clean-up crew, change your light bulbs regularly, use RO/DI water, keep up with the waterchanges, have strong water flow, have a good skimmer and most of all go slowly. Adding a couple more fish to your system before you've gotten the nuisance algae beaten is only going to lengthen the amount of time and effort needed to beat it.

 

[reefornot2reef]

It will take time just keep doing what your doing

 

[tommyboynj]

Killing your lights for a few days will not treat the cause but it will help with the algae. You MUST do some large water changes immediately afterwards to remove the nitrates generated from the algae die off. Many people employ killing the light for a few days a few times a year as part of of their tank routine. If you think about it, blasting your tank with 8-12 hrs of light a day 365 days a year isn't a natural replication of what happens on he reef. I think there is some merit to it and do it myself. But, I also make sure I do regular water changes, don't over feed and use a good rodi unit.