Call_Me_Jae Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 So i'm having a lot of issues with GHA at the moment, i"ve downsized my tank about 3 months ago because of a leak and had to also rehome my tang. since then my Flame Hawk has been killing all my fish and new additions including snails, but leaves my clowns and file fish alone. i'm not sure how i can get him out as i've tried multiple traps and he just sits at the entrance of them and eats the food as it drifts out. i feel defeated as im losing a battle with a 2 inch fish XD. my other option is to find something more aggressive that eats algae but i don't feel comfortable putting a tang in a 40 breeder. would a lawnmower blenny be able to hold his own? I also just got finished with a 3 day blackout and the algae seems worse and my waters tinted green even after a 20% water change. Tank info 40 breeder W/ AIO pair of clowns, aiptasia filefish, hawk fish, CUC: 3 turbo snails, a few nessarius snails, 2 conchs, 1 urchin ( whos put in SOOOO much work), 1 cleaner shrimp, and a few hermits luckily my tank is only leathers and mushrooms since my downsize with no losses yet TL:DR: I have a jerk of a Hawk fish that kills everything. how do i catch him, or how do i manage the algae around him? I know theres alot here but i appreciate all help i can get! ~ Jae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call_Me_Jae Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Also ive been manually removing when i there are large clumps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefsakes Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 If no corals.are attached take the rock out and pressure wash it off. Then soak in fresh saltwater for an hour or so and back into your dt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 What are your nitrate and phosphate levels? Higher levels are a perfect breeding ground for GHA. Also, your light spectrum can contribute to its growth if there's too much red or green light. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 I agree with Suncrestreef. Check your phosphate level and try to get it down to .15-.3 if it is higher than that. You'll need to manually remove that GHA as it is too much for most herbivores to control. Once you manually remove most of it, then try to catch your hawkfish in a fish trap and remove him. Add some baby urchins from Biota or Vossen Aquatics, and try adding a small foxface. It will get too big in a few years, but it can help you control your algae while it is small. Good luck! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call_Me_Jae Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Whta would be the best way to remove it, id be worried about taking the main rockwork out as my anemones are attached to them. would it be fine to scrub in the tank? im worried it may crash the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandVib3s Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 3 hours ago, Call_Me_Jae said: Whta would be the best way to remove it, id be worried about taking the main rockwork out as my anemones are attached to them. would it be fine to scrub in the tank? im worried it may crash the tank i would take a large enough bin fill it with tank water..put the rock in it and scrub and rinse it with tank water,rinse it thoroughly and then place rock back in DT..replace the removed water with fresh mixed water..check your phos and nitrate levels like mentioned above. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call_Me_Jae Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 thank you all so much! i will try this tomorrow after work i need to get more water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SE PDX Reefer Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 If all else fails there is still one other option. I fought persistent hair algae for over a year and the only thing that finally took it out was an absolute ARMY of hermit crabs. 250 to be specific. They blasted through all of the algae in our 265 gallon system That I couldn’t remove myself in a matter of days. Good luck, I know it suck’s to deal with but you’ll get it figured out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Over my history of keeping tanks, I've have GHA outbreaks a few times. I second the basic regiment. (Physically remove, by the handful. Check nutrient levels, do big water change if needed. Add big cleanup crew of snails and hermits. Urchins ...) When I got really frustrated, I also added Lettuce Nidibranchs. (example link below). These things will strip out the algae, starve, and die. (my experience) So you still have to deal with the original source. https://reeftopia.com/collections/marine-snails/products/lettuce-nudibranch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totroc3 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 I’ve had the issue in my quarantine tank and I pull each rock out and hold it under running freshwater while scrubbing it with a toothbrush until I remove everything I can get to. I’ve done the same thing with rocks that had anemones on them just taking care not to get the freshwater on them. They can easily tolerate being out of water for the 5 minutes it takes. In a tank that size you could easily remove 95% of the GHA in less than an hour. I would also plan on doing some big water changes every few days until you get your nitrates and phosphates to desirable levels. Personally, I would do 50% each time. At the same time I would reassess your lighting intensity and schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colbymac92 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 I’ll dip a tooth brush in hydrogen peroxide and give it a scrub outside the tank. Then rinse with tank water. After that, get some herbivores (don’t feed during outbreak), continue to manually remove as much as you can. And do a little 3-5 day blackout as the final bit to get over the last bit of the hump. You’ll still need to identify the cause or it will come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Sturges Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 This won’t be popular but I would suggest chemical/antibiotic options. It is better than losing the tank and dropping out of the hobby. Just do it concert with water changes to remove refuse in the water as things die. Things like this follow an exponential, past a certain point it is hard to use passive and natural methods to get control of the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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