How do I get rid of hair algae

[lilj104]

I have 12g nano tank, and have an outburst of hair algae. I've tried emerald crabs = fail; lettuce nudibranch = fail; and even a lawnmower blenny = still fail. So i'm at my wits end with this. Today I spent an hour flucking hairs from scattered rock. Does anyone have an alternative.

 

[dmatt88]

What lighting n how old r the lights. What is ur wc regimine. Do u use rodi water? Please test the tank parameters n share ie phosphate.

........I have nothing intelligent left to say.

 

[catran]

I have 12g nano tank, and have an outburst of hair algae. I've tried emerald crabs = fail; lettuce nudibranch = fail; and even a lawnmower blenny = still fail. So i'm at my wits end with this. Today I spent an hour flucking hairs from scattered rock. Does anyone have an alternative.

Wow, emerald crabs didn't help? This must be an ongoing issue. Like Matt asked, how old are your lights, how often and how much water do you change, do you use RO/DI filtered water and how often do you feed your fish? Over feeding can definitley cause HA too.


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[lilj104]

What lighting n how old r the lights. What is ur wc regimine. Do u use rodi water? Please test the tank parameters n share ie phosphate.

........I have nothing intelligent left to say.

LEDs - 5months old
phosphate = 0
WC = 2x a month 2 gallons each = 12g nanocube
RODI - yup buy it from stores or get it from local friends
ph - 8.4
temp - 77.4 - 78.8
ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Nitrites - 0
KH - 8
Salinity - 1.026 ( a lil high) evaporation kills me
Ca - 480

 

[sasquatch]

in a small tank like that its hard to get good flow, even if you do manage it you have no way to export all the detritus blowing around, suggest you buy a turkey baster and blast your rocks daily, get some filter floss and set it up to catch the debris in the overflow, wash it out well daily

 

[whippetguy]

Byropsis can look similar to HA which not much of anything eats.

 

[lilj104]

in a small tank like that its hard to get good flow, even if you do manage it you have no way to export all the detritus blowing around, suggest you buy a turkey baster and blast your rocks daily, get some filter floss and set it up to catch the debris in the overflow, wash it out well daily

I have a koralia nano 240gph in there as well. I switched out the stock pump and place a maxi-jet900 with a hydor flor as a return to spin around

 

[lilj104]

anything to add dmatt88?

 

[dmatt88]

Well buddy I'm a little stumped. However ha is a byproduct of nutrients. Id take a few days off feeding, do a water change n keep the lights off.

........I have nothing intelligent left to say.

 

[catran]

I agree with Matt. Also, do ya know, HA absorbs a lot of the nitrates in your tank, that's how your tests show none. I would feed every other, or third day.


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[lilj104]

I agree with Matt. Also, do ya know, HA absorbs a lot of the nitrates in your tank, that's how your tests show none. I would feed every other, or third day.


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I actually feed them every 3-4 days. I try not to get them in the habit of always eating. But i took out the all my pumps and cleaned them. So hope to see a difference

 

[StirCrayzy]

I have 12g nano tank, and have an outburst of hair algae. I've tried emerald crabs = fail; lettuce nudibranch = fail; and even a lawnmower blenny = still fail. So i'm at my wits end with this. Today I spent an hour flucking hairs from scattered rock. Does anyone have an alternative.

What is your current CUC? , and when you say the previous attempts were a failure, How did they fail?

 

[Doogle]

How long has your tank been set up? It may slow down in time and using the above methods should help, water changes and less nutrients in water o along way.

 

[lilj104]

What is your current CUC? , and when you say the previous attempts were a failure, How did they fail?

When the HA first showed up i got 2 big emeralds who actually was doing a good job, but then when they were done w/ the HA they started going after my zoo's, so after killing off a few colonies i got them out. Then the HA came back and i got a few little emeralds..

3 - emerald crabs
had one lettuce nudibranch
4 - blue legs
4 - red legs
1 - scarlet leg
1 blood shrimp
1 peppermint
8 - 10 snails ( What i have noticed is that my turbo shaved off all the hairs on my hydor flo return nozzle. But that's all the hair he has gone after the rest he leaves alone

It failed in HA increase vs decrease

 

[lilj104]

How long has your tank been set up? It may slow down in time and using the above methods should help, water changes and less nutrients in water o along way.

originally tank was set up in Mar/Apr 2010 - it crashed in Aug 2011. So it was set back up since Sept 2011 until now.

 

[BigAl07]

Here's my thoughts:

A) Water Change - Way to little way to infrequent! I like to see 10% per week when everything is good. First sign of problems I increase amount and frequency. The beauty of a 12g tank (I'm sitting here at my office looking at mine as I type this) is that you can do a LARGE (and safe) water change for just a couple of dollars. I have gotten into the method of doing 5g water changes every week or so just because 5g is a good amount that I can still handle.

B) If you're plucking/pulling it IN the tank you need to have some filter/siphon running to remove what you're not catching. I'd guess for every piece you see & catch there are 5 floating around the tank taking root somewhere else. If possible do this OUTSIDE of the tank and rinse with Salt Water before placing back in the tank. EXPORT is key!

C) Algae outbreaks are best handled by attacking from several different angles all at the same time. Hefty Water changes, manual removal, reduction in feeding amount and frequency, change in what you're feeding, evaluate fish BIOLOAD....

It takes time to get this under control but it CAN be done. Don't give up and don't try to always "Buy" a solution. More often than not "Elbow Grease" will go a long way to fixing this type of problem.