hair algae mega problem

Hi all! I'm trying to find out a way to help my brother with his 180. It is full of hair algae, and I mean full! (Think of the kelp forests off the California coast:-/) I know that snails and hermits will eat this stuff, but my bro has a 3ft. zebra moray who makes quick work of any crustaceans we put in there.

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting this stuff under control that doesn't involve something that will get eaten? I was looking into maybe getting him a few lettuce nudibranches. Does anyone know if they would do well in there? There is also a 5" spotted grouper.

Thanks ahead for any advice. ANY opinions are very appreciated!

 

You need to find out what is fueling the algae. Run a PO4 reactor in the tank.

 

Hi,
I've had great success with Algae Magic from Weiss. Works in about 3 days and then repeat in 2 weeks. Also keep the lights off for a few days. Any sunlight shinning on the tank should be blocked. Do a water change before using Algae Magic. Good luck!!

 

thanks everyone! Don't know if he'll go for the phosphate reactor, but it should be easy enough to dump some of that algae stuff in there behind his back.

 

PO4 reactor is only $34 and after you are done you can use it as a carbon reactor...guess he could just buy a brush and part his hair (algae) down the middle..

 

get a seahair and it will all be gone in a wk.problem solved.their about $35 or less and nothing eats them.

 

Most likely due to the large size of the eel and the amount of food and waste it produces your tank is very high in nitrates and phosphates, for starters I would start doing frequent water changes and adding a school of yellow tangs to eat the algae

 

do they sell underwater lawnmowers?

 

A couple of sea hair will do the trick in no time. But like otty said you need to find the source of the problem.......

 

Hey chap!

Follow otty's advice and buy phosphate reactor. I was also struggling with awful algae blooms. Just 4-5 days after the installation of phosphate reactor (in my case canister filter Eheim 2213) with proper anit-phosphate media, I've noticed a remarkable drop in hair algae number... For a long term control, you could invest in invertebrates that naturally feed on algae: seahair and/or scarlet hermit crabs...

Good luck!