Hair Algae on sand

likwid · #1 06-07-2007, 06:03 PM

Hey guys,

I've been getting a bunch of green hair algae on my live sand lately. I stir up the top layer of the sand every couple days, but it always comes back the next day. I am using phosphate remover, and only feed every second day. It is a 10g tank with 72w lighting and a HOB skimmer. Currently there is only 2 hermits, 3 turbos, 3 astrea snails, various corals, and 1 clownfish.

Moogled · #2 06-07-2007, 08:03 PM

Pull the hair algae out by hand. I find that if you keep that up, it won't grow back as much.

likwid · #3 06-07-2007, 09:09 PM

Its not long enough to pull by hand, they are just little strands a couple cm high.. they turn my sand from a white to a greenish color... Any other ideas

likwid · #4 06-08-2007, 02:23 PM

anyone?

Reefer Rob · #5 06-08-2007, 03:36 PM

If it's only on the sand it sounds like you have nutrients leaching out of your sand bed. How old is the sand bed? Is it shallow enough to syphon it? Sand beds hold a lot of crud that builds up over time, slowly decomposing and polluting your tank, at least that's what I found. IMO, JMO etc.

likwid · #6 06-08-2007, 05:49 PM

The sand bed has been live for about 5 months now. Its about an inch or so deep. I got it from an old established tank that was sitting dried up in a bucket for a long time, so no idea how long it was used for.