Kris Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 I am starting to get a little hair algae. Any sugestions or tips. I am running a RODI unit and just changed the filters a week ago. I am running 2-250w halides and 2 VHO'S. I am planing on doing a water change in the next couple of days. I only feed about 1 or 2 times a week. My VHO'S run from 10am-midnight and halides run from noon til 10pm. And it is in a room that gets light from outside so maybe i need to invest in a shade for my patio door. I had a yellow tang but recently lost him to my MP40W and that is about the time that it started to be more noticeable. I do still have a lot of snales and a couple handfulls of small blue hermits. But for fish all I have left is 2 clowns and 1 Royal Grama no workers. Oh and my halides are a little over a year old and VHO's are around 8 months to a year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 are you using rodi water? how long are you running you lights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 Water changes,reduce light cycle,reduce amount of feeding. Leave lights off for a couple days and stay ontop of water changes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 How old are the bulbs and what type of lighting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 more infos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talkalot82 Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 So what I do is half way through my light cycle I turn off my lights for an hour. then I turn them back on. I'd also make sure that my lights dont need to be replaced. feed less if over feeding. also I would make sure that there isn't any light coming from a window if the tank is by a window. also I will only use rodi water. Also U can buy phosphate pads at you local fish store. put some in your filter that helps. also you can get a tank. and maybe a crab or too, and in no time at all your hair algae will be a slight memory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 Cut back the VHO time to 10 hours. It is time to replace your bulbs. A shade for the patio door may not be a bad idea either. Also, raise your magnesium levels to 1500 or higher. That should take care of the hair algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattv Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 quick fix emerald crabs will mow it down and the more the better! I put 5 in my 75 gallon cube and most of it was gone the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 Sea hares also work well but you but it's hit or miss about survivability. They eat a lot so once the hair algae problem is gone they can eventually starve to death unless you pass them along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 As Bob said, time to change the bulbs. Also raising your ph a little for a week will help. You can easily do that dripping a couple of gallons kalk If you are on a monthly water change, switch to weekly, at least for a while. If the tank is kinda new (4-6 months), just wait, they will go away in 2 or 3 months. Sometimes we have just to wait. This is very common in new tanks with long photoperiod. This is why in Europe they tend to cycle the tank for about 6 weeks in complete dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 Bump please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Do you need more info? Most of what was said above is spot on. Reduce light, reduce nutrients (less food and more water changes), get an herbivore (turbo snail, sea hare, emerald crabs). Run phosphate absorbing media. dose with sugar/vodka/vinegar (research a lot before doing this) and turn your skimmer up. The combo of these things should take care of it in a few weeks. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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