Friggin Hair Algae
 

That lovely long green hair algae is starting to pop up in my 30gal seahorse tank. Does anyone know of a way to get rid of it?
-I could put my sea hare into the tank but it is doing so well in my reef tank that I don't want to transfer it.
-I don't want to add any crabs at all...I am too worried that they will bother the seahorses.
-I really don't want to take out the rock and a)transfer it to my reef tank for the sea hare to gobble up the algae or b)scrub the rock free of the damn stuff. Everyone is doing so well in there that I don't want to disrupt the tank too much (even the very small pipefish are doing well...)
Why won't snails eat this stuff!!!
Thanks for any suggestions.

Problem
 

Im having a VERY similar problem except my tank is newer. I can suggest an increased number of snails (DIFFERNENT TYPES... You will eventualy find some that have a taste for Hair Algea). Other than that specific things that have helped me include:
PhosBan Reactor
RO/DI water changes
Change your lighting
Increase flow (Much harder in a Seahorse tank :cry: )
I saw you were looking for a Canister filter for extra flow instead of that get a HOB Fuge if possible and grow Cheato this will absorbe Phos and Nitrates like CRAZY
The only other option you have is to take everything out and scrub it but that can be very stressing to a set up tank :(.
Levi

To add to the above list:
- try reducting feeding
- reduce your photo period until it dies down
- additional clean up crew members
- increase water quality, maybe going to RO/DI, if you aren't already on it

I'm battling the stuff myself and so far nothing is working. I'm currently trying a blackout period. For the weekend I'm keeping all the lights off and towels over the tank to prevent any light from feeding the algae.

Thanks for the suggestions, but:
-due to the fact that it is seahorses I can't actually reduce my feeding
-I have reduced the photo period (I have a nice 250mh over the tank) but it isn't working (damn that algae!)
-I am already using RO/DI water

As for cleanup crew, I'm not really sure what to add as I don't want any crabs.

How old is your light bulb? Older bulbs (8-12 months old) can result in hair algae.

Also snails aren't much good at keeping hair algae in check when it is long. You may have to manually pull all the long stuff out and then plop a snail down on top of the stubble

Reply
 

Do you think a Lawnmower blennie would disrupt things too much in the seahorse tank?

Lawn Blenny
 

Lawnmower blennie dont eat hair algea unfortuantly :( They are more prone to picking off little diatoms and not so stringy algea from rocks :P
Levi

Get some hermits or some snails.

Our lawnmower blennie ate all the hair algea in our tank, however I think they move around to fast to be a good choice in a seahorse tank:sad:

If you already have the seahare I'd just transfer him over until the tank is clean.

Sort of a catch-22 though, the one good thing hair algae is good at is giving a home for 'pods to replicate en masse, I bet your seahorses are eating like kings at the moment. :lol:

Thing about seahares, unless you get one that learns that nori is good for them (not all do, I've only ever kept one or two that figured it out), they'll starve when the hair algae is gone. So it's better for them if you can transfer them into a hairy tank once their current abode is clean.

Apparently they spill sand over corals and sand will stress corals.

Fishoholic - you had a lawnmower eat hair algae?? That's VERY atypical. The name is a bit of a misnomer - they're called lawnmower because of the way they look like they're attacking algae - but unfortunately what actually subsist on is that film algae you get on glass and rocks. It's actually very common for lawnmower blennies to starve in captivity because they don't always adapt to prepared foods.

Seahares??

Yes, corals don't appreciate being buried in sand. But if that's happening then the corals are not in a good spot. I've been in the hobby nearly ten years and have kept 4 or 5 seahares in with corals and not once did I ever lose a coral because the seahare stressed them out with sand. :razz:

Here are the problems with seahares:
- they starve once they eat all the hair algae.
- they usually die in powerheads or pump intakes.
- they are large and will likely bump into things. But, the flip side is that this problem is not unique to seahares. Same problem will exist for snails, urchins, abalones, fish, .. you name it: if it moves, it will bump into things. You owe it to yourself to attach frags to heavier pieces of rock otherwise things will move around on you, guaranteed. Glue them frags down!!! After all, isn't it a reefer's motto "I glue live animals to rocks!!" ??

If you notice sand covering a coral, take a turkey baster and shoot the sand off.

I guess there's another reason BB tanks have an edge over sand tanks. (Having said that, 2 out of 3 of my reef tanks still have sand - although I've finally seen the light and am not going to bother with sandbeds anymore after these tanks..)

crabs
 

-will scarlet reef hermits and other crabs starve and die if algae isn't present
or will they start feeding on detritus again and be ok?? -cuz i wouldn't mind starting off with half a dozen scarlet reef hermits around week 2 of cycling...

crabs will eat anything, but as long as they have enough to eat they should leave the living animals alone :biggrin:

ok
 

-ok thx again, will they nip @ anemones by any chance?

Not likely

-u think my tank will be ready for inverts around week 2-3, I'll have about
20-pounds of live rock (uncured)-33-gallon tank

As soon as you aren't registering any ammonia with a test kit you can start adding a clean up crew. I personally would wait at least another month before adding any corals or fish though