Green hairy algea for 3 months now
 

I've got a 30 gallon reef tank that's been going for 3 years now. I've never had any problems with the tank up until about 3 months ago. Now I'm drowning in green hairy algae.

Temp is fine and I've cut the lights down to 8 hours. I'm doing 10% water changes with RO/DI water every week with water I've been buying from the same store for 3 years.

PH 8.2
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Salinity 1.022
I've been using phosgaurd.

I've got 3 fish. At last count the cleaning crew is around 8 hermit crabs, 2 pep shrimp, and snails. It's mostly a soft coral, and leathers tank.

I try and suck out as much algae as possible when changing the water. I've been taking the rocks out and gently brushing the green algae off with a extra soft tooth brush. Some of my rocks are covered with so much green algae that I've had to resort to tossing them out.

It's getting to the point were I'm getting sick of the tank. What am I missing here?

I am by far not an expert but I've been having similar issues. Have you tested the water you've been buying? I had an issue with a LFS here where I was skeptic of the RODI water I was buying from them and tested each batch I bought from them over the course of a month and the tds tested 245 on average. After I started using walmart's brand of water my algae problems in my 24g nano cube went away.

Also, how old are your lights? Just a thought...

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11434002#post11434002 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by okkiedokki [/i]
[B]I am by far not an expert but I've been having similar issues. Have you tested the water you've been buying? I had an issue with a LFS here where I was skeptic of the RODI water I was buying from them and tested each batch I bought from them over the course of a month and the tds tested 245 on average. After I started using walmart's brand of water my algae problems in my 24g nano cube went away.

Also, how old are your lights? Just a thought... [/B][/QUOTE]

I've not tested the LFS water, I guess I could. I've talked to others from the LFS and they've not had any problems. The lights were replaced late October.

Do you have a DSB, maybe its full and putting stuff back into your tank now.
Just a thought

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11434588#post11434588 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Daniel62 [/i]
[B]Do you have a DSB, maybe its full and putting stuff back into your tank now.
Just a thought [/B][/QUOTE]

Are you suggesting that maybe my live sand bed isn't so alive anymore? How does one check for that? I almost afraid to ask how to fix this? I'm guessing I've got to replace all the sand, or could I toss new sand on top of the old DSB.

I'm also worried about your sand bed.

Not that it's 'full' persay, but that it's leeching things back into your tank.

I don't have a deep sand bed but I've read where people have partially removed their deep sand bed and waited a bit to change the rest out. But I'd like to see what someone else says on how to remove it.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11436381#post11436381 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by okkiedokki [/i]
[B]I don't have a deep sand bed but I've read where people have partially removed their deep sand bed and waited a bit to change the rest out. But I'd like to see what someone else says on how to remove it. [/B][/QUOTE]

I'm gonna be out of town for the next week or so. When I get back I'll see what the tank looks like and I'll talk to my LFS about replacing some or all of my DSB.

You're probably going to have to move all of your stock out of your tank to do a sand swap.

It's times like this I wish more people did bare bottom. :(

How old are the lights?

Oooooooh good question eric.

When bulbs get old, they sometimes fall into a different spectrum that promotes algea growth.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11439056#post11439056 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eric65 [/i]
[B]How old are the lights? [/B][/QUOTE]

He said earlier that the lights were replaced late october.

you dont have to replace your sand, how about you start doing a gravel vac with your water changes to get the junk out instead? I do this about once every 4 water changes as a preventative. Some people think disturbing the anoxic area at the bottom of the sandbed is bad but i feel like having clean sand is key to keeping nitrates and phosphates from building up.
I would def check the water source with a tds meter and continue the frequent water changes until the problem is better.

Back from my vacation and my green algae is back as well. It's not quite as bad as it usually is. I'm off to the LFS to see what they have to say about replacing the live sand.

A couple of generic suggestions. With any sandbed, it is important to keep it from getting compacted, but the best method is also the easiest: sand sifters. Adding some live sand periodically will help to replenish and diversify the small macroscopic sifters, like bristle worms and small brittle stars, etc. Sand sifting fish such as engineer gobies, watchmen and others can move a lot of sand, but with a DSB they may disturb anaerobic bottom layers more than is beneficial. There are plenty of others out there as well: tiger tail cucumbers, sand sifting stars (though there is some controversy over these), nassarius snails, and more. Try adding some of these to keep the sandbed a bit more open and reduce pockets where detritus and nitrates can build up.

The second suggestion is to make sure you don't have excess phosphate. Testing your tank can help, but often the phosphate is utilized by algae as soon as it becomes available, so the test will likely not reflect the amount of phosphate actually cycling in the tank. TEst the water you are getting from the store for phosphates (and silicates, if possible). They may even test it for you at the shop when you pick it up. Or you could get yourself an RODI unit. There are good ones for under $200. (I got mine at airwaterice.com) Then you can be sure that the filters are in good condition and be confident about make up water quality. The last thing to do is consider adding protein skimmer. In the Reef Aquarium Vol. 3 (Delbeek and Sprung), they cite a spectrographic test that shows that skimmate contains a sizeable proportion of phosphate. This is possibly because many lipids contain one or more phosphate groups at one end. Since the lipid is nonpolar and the phosphate group is polar/charged, these compounds are quite stable at the air/water interface on the surface of a bubble.

AS a last note, I've found that taking out afflicted rocks and scrubbing them clean with a stainless steel wire brush (rinse in a bucket of saltwater before returning to the tank) can really help to get algae under control. Sometimes you are doing everything to limit it's growth but it takes a round or two of physical removal to get it to the point where scavengers can keep it in check.

Also, though I've never tried it, some people report success with turning off the tank lights for 2-3 days to weaken or kill the algae. You could try searching for that method if you get desperate.

my blue tuxedo urchin took care of my hairy algea problem, and quite fast too! :)

My recomendation to help with the hairy stuff is a Sailfin/Algae Blenny. I had one and it took care of all that I had in my tank. More info :

The Sailfin/Algae Blenny is also referred to as Jewelled Rockskipper or the Lawnmower, Jeweled Blenny, or Rock Blenny. Its body is a mottled tan with blue dots and it shows tons of personality.
A well-established 30 gallon or larger aquarium with multiple swimming levels and plenty of rock is a suitable environment. It is not usually aggressive unless the tank mates appear to have a similar shape as it does. It is best to house singly unless kept in a larger tank and the two are a mated pair. It tends to perch and hop from rock to rock looking for microalgae to graze on. It is known to nip at small-polyped stony coral and clam mantles.

The Sailfin/Algae Blenny does best in well-established aquariums with large amounts of natural algae to feed on. The diet can be supplemented with vegetable matter, Spirulina, and herbivore preparations.

Approximate Purchase Size: Small: 1" to 2"; Medium: 2-1/2" to 3"; Large: 3" to 5"

Thanks for all the replies. My LFS was more than happy to test the water while I was there. It's all good. They asked me to bring in some of the algea so they can look it up. The LFS mentioned some type of green algea that the cleaning crew does not like so I'll take them a sample of the algea I have tomorrow. They said I should hold off on replacing the DSB for now. I'll keep vacuuming the sand. I have 2 nassarius snails stirring things up. My blue tuxedo urchin been working overtime on the algea. He's got a long strand of green algea attached to him.

I think your CUC is a little undersized.....

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11514530#post11514530 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tigereye37 [/i]
[B]I think your CUC is a little undersized..... [/B][/QUOTE]

That was not a complete list of my CUC. I have 6 snails, 6 hermit crabs, and 2 pep shrimp. Adding to my CUC today are 3 turbo snails, 2 emerald crabs, and a handful of hermit crabs/snails.

I took a sample of the green algae to my LFS and they confirmed it's a run of the mill green hairy algae.

They also mentioned they have SAP (?) on order. It sounded like it's some sort of bacteria that I add to the water that will make the green algae come off the rocks easier......

I've just had the same problem with my 29gal.

Changes I made--

1. Got myself an algea blenny.
2. Replaced the lights in my powercompact hood.
3. Water changes which included BUYING NEW SALT MIX. lol.
4. Added 10 hermit crabs, I don't use snails I'm sick of flipping them over.
5. Got a Peppermint shrimp.
6. Rearranged powerheads for what seems to be the best flow.
7. Changed my filters every 2 weeks for 2 months.
I use a Marineland 350b on my 29gal and the filter is rated for a 75gal. So thats alot of extra water movement.

Now everytime I was doing a water change I tryed to haul out as much of the algea I could. It's seriously at 1/4 of the level it was in my tank now and seems to be on the run. Anything that is left is slowly dying off. It's actually great to see some of my live rock in areas again. I consider myself winning the battle now. There's less and less everyday.

The short and simple solution is get something to eat the algae...I would recommend a few Jumbo Turbo Snails, and llike the other posts...a lawnmower blenny. It got its name for a reason...and they're fun to watch!

I am just getting mine under control too. It's been a few days and only thing I am getting is a buildup of some brown on the glass in the back. I am going to get a coouple more power heads to get the flow going better. So that should help. Next step I am going to take is settin up a fuge....

Is it hair algae or Bryopsis? My lawnmower blenny never eats either. I had a sea hare once that seemed to eat every algae and even cyano, but they don't live long. After 8 months with no algae problems I started getting Bryopsis growth and it was starting to overgrow some of my corals. There's a thread in here on using elevated magnesium to kill Bryopsis. I tried it and it helped, but the biggest cure was getting a Foxface - no more Bryopsis. See if it's hair algae or Bryopsis that you have - I doubt most lfs know the difference. Bryopsis looks similar but they're not identical, and what may take care of or eat hair algae may not eat Bryopsis. A foxface is one of a few fish that'll eat the stuff. My snails wouldn't do anything, and the crabs only picked at it.

Hiya,

I tried a lawnmower blenny, and he never touched the HA or bryopsis -- I had both. The sea hare gobbled it all up though, along with the mag thread.
Think I had about 10 different algaes at one stage.

Here are two algae pics a week apart, only diff was the extra 10 snails. Please note that I have not scraped any algae whatsoever off the glass. It is purely down to the extra snails (added dec 30 2007)
The HA was eaten exclusively by the sea hare. Almost gone. More snails asap.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mariconor/Reef_pics_27_dec_2007/photo#5148653317131701010"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/mariconor/R3Ow6cdFixI/AAAAAAAAASM/ixTqdkcm4bo/s144/IMG_0159.jpg" /></a>

This is 6 days later -- I still need more snails as you can see. A WC would also be good, its been a while...

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mariconor/Reef_pics_27_dec_2007/photo#5152376521201390626"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/mariconor/R4DrJcdFlCI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/sPGT--NgaEg/s144/IMG_0630.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; text-align:left">

Q: What are your mag levels at? What about phosphate and nitrate? These influence algal growth, mag for bryposis, see that thread.

My camera doesn't take good pics, sorry lads. Better in actinic lighting. Plus I am not re-arranging my rockwork or adding much need corals until I am on top of the algae. Tank is still too new. Only 4 months old now. That's why its crap :-(

Feel free to criticise it.

regards
Conor.