I have run over the years 3 size tanks. A 12, a 75, and my current 28. After many frustrating years I think I finally have things figured out. I have run the 28 now for 3 years and have never had a problem. (Knock on wood)
My routine involves a 30-40% water change(RODI) every 8-12 days. I add nothing else, I have never used a test kit of any sorts on this tank. Only livestock loss was one fish.
My other secret. I have always run a phosban reactor in the tank from day one. My idea is to prevent phosphates etc from overwhelming the water column and live rock rather than reacting to it after it becomes a problem.
Ridding a tank of hair algae once it takes hold is a frustrating task. Water changes by them self dont take all of the phosphate and other nutrient out of the tank as much of it still dwells in the sand and live rock. Until that is removed the hair algae will persist.
In the past i have dealt with the problem using a 3 fold approach.
1) Try to deal with the excess nutrient issue. Phosban reactors with GFO or any other phosphate sponge will do. Have also used a liquid tank additive Phosphat-E by brightwell aquatics with good success.
2) Frequent water changes with RODI water while pulling as much of the hair algae off in between
3) Removing the liverock 1 piece at a time and scrubbing teh hair lagae off with a stiff brush it while submersed in fresh salt water with a rinse in clean saltwater after the scrubbing. While it is not always possible to scrub all the rock I do as much as I can
If you have sand in the tank, I might also suggest going bare bottom as this is also a nutrient trap.
In any case, this wont cure itself overnight and without some effort. Once you do though I still recommend running a phosphate sponge as a prevention measure.
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