Hair Algea!!

[PolandSpring]

Well i have been looking at my tank for a liltte and i realized that i have noticed some signs of hair algea. On one of my rocks i saw a tint of green and there is fuzz on all my rocks..not a lot at all, can barely notice..but i also had hair algea in my overflow that i took out as much of is as i could the other day..I just wana know if this is hair algea and if it is..how do i stop it before it starts?!? i also havn't changed my sock in awhile so i just changed it tonight and the other weak i set up my phosban reactor and some of the phosban got into my system..so im thinking it could be that reason why it has started. I see it the most on my frag plugs and i hate it so i wana know how to get rid of it!

thnks

 

[18oreefer]

Plane and simple too much phosphate and nitrate in the water. It will take time, but as your nutrients go down your algea will disappear. If you have high levels of either they will not go down over night, because your rock and substraight hold it like a sponge. I can tell you this with certinty because if you looked at my tank a little over a year ago you would think i was a grass farmer.

 

[PolandSpring]

ha...well now i know where it came from :*( when i set up mu reactor i forgot to turn the flow down so when i turned it on a lot of the phosphate got out from my phosphate resctor... so hopefully my TLF phosphate reactor will work and and gona do a water change tomorrow also and i changed my filter sock...so i think i'll be fine... Also, i was wondering how long it will take before my TLF phosphate reactor should take the phosphate out of my tank?

 

[18oreefer]

The phos media that spilt out isnt going to lach po4 back into your tank. Most phos media will not leach back out once saturated, it just stops taking up po4. the po4 is in your tank and rock. Depending on how high your po4 is will determin how long it is going to take for the algea to start going away. I have read that hair algea gan thrive on very low parts of p04. Good luck in the lawn mowing battle.

 

[Hirobo]

The phos media that spilt out isnt going to lach po4 back into your tank. Most phos media will not leach back out once saturated, it just stops taking up po4. the po4 is in your tank and rock. Depending on how high your po4 is will determin how long it is going to take for the algea to start going away. I have read that hair algea gan thrive on very low parts of p04. Good luck in the lawn mowing battle.

I am having a small hair algae problem too it seems to be the same rock all the time I have taken it out and scrubbed it clean, but it still comes back on that rock. How long should you run GFO until you change it out?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Could also be Bryopsis,to many Nitrates.

 

[Hirobo]

Could also be Bryopsis,to many Nitrates.

Trates are 0

 

[Awibrandy]

More maintenance, good cuc! Check the age of your lights, too old will also encourage the algea to grow. Also the length of time you run them.

 

[NYReef]

If its green its not bryopsis. Try a tang in the tank, the natural cure. All the green algae with be gone fast.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Bryopsis is green but more of a Fern look to it.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

I would have let the algae grow in the overflow. If you give the algae a chance to grow somewhere it doesn't bother you it will more than likely stay there till it has nothing left to eat. Then it will dissapear. To me this is the natural way. Tangs are not 100%. If you want to go the livestock route I would get a SEA HARE
JMO

 

[NYReef]

Bryopsis is green but more of a Fern look to it.

Hmm, I thought it was more of a brown brushy type growth, but thanks for the info.

 

[Keith P]

Not only is bryopsis green, in my tank it grows interwoven with regular hair algae.

How long does it take for rock to leech out it's phosphates after you remove the source? 1 month? 6 months? longer??

 

[18oreefer]

its hard to put a time line on it. it all depends on how high the phos was and how long it was at an elevated level. it took me a good 3 to 4 months before i really started getting my hair under control. even then it took more time for it to compleatly go away.

 

[PolandSpring]

Ever since i setup my TLF phos reactor i have noticed it.....the only place i actually see the hair algea is on my frag plugs on my frag rack..On the rocks i just see a light fuzz if you look closely..but some spots are just green, like a green coraline but it doesn't have any hair on it.....

 

[Keith P]

the only place i actually see the hair algea is on my frag plugs on my frag rack..On the rocks i just see a light fuzz if you look closely.

My plugs seem to grow the most HA too. Are plugs better absorbers of phosphates than LR??