Get rid of Hair Algae and other Nuisance Algae

[PoonTang]

Excellent writeup. I vote for a sticky too
Now can you do one for diatoms????

[Myka]

Since I am limited to 15,000 characters per post I have to continue with Dinoflagellates here.

Dinoflagellates:

Dinoflagellates can be difficult to identify because they come in many colors. Generally, the description would be "snotty" or "gooey". They usually have air bubbles in them, which is probably the best stab at an ID you can take.

In the life Kingdoms, dinoflagellates don't fall into any of the four typical Kingdoms (animal, plant, fungi, bacteria), they are of a weird Kingdom called Protist. This group isn't well defined, and I would have a tough time describing. There are many different types of dinos from parasitic to symbiotic. In fact, zooxanthallae are a type of dino. If you live on the coast you have probably heard of "Red Tide" which refers to a time when dinos have infected the areas shellfish and made them toxic to eat.

So, you have Dinos. Most of the time in our reefs the nuisance dinos we get feed off nutrients and light and most of them release toxins as they reproduce to impede or kill corals and invertebrates. If you have dinos you should be sure to use lots of carbon to help absorb these toxins.

Using the methods described above to lower nutrients is a good place to start - paying particular attention to phosphate. GFO will be a powerful opponent to the dinos. Siphoning of the dinos everyday will also help, as well as adding a filter sock (of the smallest micron you can find) to catch the little bits that come off. Since dinos are also fairly dependent on light you can reduce the photoperiod or even leave the lights off on FO or FOWLR tanks.

If you are really having trouble getting rid of the dinos you can try elevating the pH. It seems that some people have had success battling dinos this way, but not all have. The tactic is to raise pH to 8.4-8.6 and hold it there until the dinos recede. Even if they do recede it may or may not be a cure. You can raise pH by using commercially available pH buffers like "pH Up" or by using kalkwasser. Be careful to raise pH slowly, and test frequently to make sure you don't go too high as a pH greater than 8.6 will often cause stress to your tank's inhabitants.

It will be tough to keep pH high with chemicals when it wants to naturally fall lower. You will have to test a few times per day, and probably dose a few times per day or more to keep the pH steadily elevated. I suggest the use of a calibrated digital pH meter since test kits are notoriously inaccurate and difficult to use for this repeated application. This method can take several weeks to work and is usually a real pain in the butt to do which is why I suggest nutrient reduction first. Some people luck out, and have a real easy time getting rid of the dinos with an elevated pH though, so it's worth a try if all else fails!



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Original thread:

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Originally Posted by PoonTang

Now can you do one for diatoms????

It would be pretty much the same. Diatoms should flush themselves out on their own though if it's a new setup. If it's an older setup, then you need to look at your nutrients. Diatoms in an older setup are your first indicator that something is a miss. Fix it before it turns into something bigger. In a nano tank is could be something as simple as a large snail dying without you noticing to scoop it out. Or it could be your first sign of overfeeding. Or it could be a sign that you haven't been checking your source water. Anything above could lead to diatoms too. This guide is pretty good for HA, diatoms, and cyanobacteria.

However, I am no master of the dratted Valonia... *grumble* I'm very bitter about this.

[mseepman]

Myka, always a joy to read what you have to say! Another vote for a sticky!!

[Oceanic]

Excellent read. Thanks!

[WhoPoopWrasse]

I agree with EVERYTHING Myka wrote about HA and how to get rid of it.... except the snipping and shaving. I'm way too lazy for that!

I had HA all over my tank, it was horrible, ugly, annoying, everywhere.
My solution was a bit more drastic though but I had overnight success!
I have a 90 gallon tank so I did a 24g W/C. I kept all the old water. I put 12g into two 6 gallon buckets. Then I had 2 -24g rubbermaids with the rest of the water divided between them. I also had a 6g bucket of new water.

What I did was I gathered a bunch of different brushes, nail brush, toothbrush etc...
Then I took out the coral and placed them in one of the rubbermaids. Then I took out every affected rock (HA is usually only on exposed surfaces so the rocks under the top layer were fine) and brushed it vigorously under water in one of the 6g buckets with old water, then I swished it around, then I swished it in the second 6g bucket and then finally in the 6g bucket of clean water, then placed it in the second rubbermaid. Repeat this until you've done all the affected rocks.
Rebuild the tank and voila!
Your tank will be cloudy for a day or so but if you control the rest of the problems, (nittrate, phosphate etc...) it will be the end of the HA!
It's been at least 6 months since I did this and still no sign of HA!

[Myka]

Thanks for the comments guys! Now, when newbies ask about algae issues we can direct them here instead of writing everything out again and again. Or as has been the case lately, people with algae issues aren't receiving much for replies.

Originally Posted by WhoPoopWrasse

Your tank will be cloudy for a day or so but if you control the rest of the problems, (nittrate, phosphate etc...) it will be the end of the HA!

I'm surprised your approach worked for you as most people are unable to eliminate the cause of the HA so quickly. Often it's simple impossible. I'm glad it worked for you though! Another idea for those who are at the end of their rope!

[WhoPoopWrasse]

I guess I was lucky but maybe all the brushes and scrubbing like crazy lady had alot to do with it.
Also I forgot to mention that most of the rocks were put back upside down. Also some of the rocks got second scrubbing in the second bucket because the water was so green/brown and fuzzy that I couldn't see if there was more to take off so once in the second bucket, if I saw more hairy patches, it would get another once over and by the time they got to the clean water bucket they were perfect.

[Myka]

Woohoo!! My first sticky on this forum!

I added some info near the top of the Guide about detritus...thanks to kwirky for (unintentionally) reminding me! I will likely add more and more to this Guide as I remember little bits and pieces.

[Myka]

Updated.

[Harpo]

Thank you for all the great tips! This has been a constant battle since one of my large fish died!