GHA starting to grow!!

I have had my tank up about 18 months. Things seem to be going great other than the GHA that is growing on my powerheads and back glass. Any idea how to keep ot from spreading and to get rid of it?

 

have you checked your water parameters?

 

2 main contributors: nutrients and lighting.

How old are your bulbs (and what type of lighting)?

Nitrates/Phosphate levels? Are you incidentally increasing them with what/how you're feeding?

 

+1 on evolved
Also adding some extra cuc or lawnmower blenny
But always look for the source. Maybe adding carbon and gfo will help if phosphates or nitrogen is the issue

 

^ Does your lawnmower blenny actually eat GHA? I mean have you seen him actually eating it? I only ask because I've had one for months now and not once have I seen him anywhere near the trouble spots of GHA I have. He mostly picks at film algae on the glass.

 

I am not a fan of adding anything to “eat” an nuisance algae – of course its all well and good provided you also go after the source.

Checking parameters as mentioned is a good place to start, yet they can fool you is the algae is consuming the nutrients at the same pace they are being produced – so please don’t get fooled by positive test results.

Old lighting, phosphates, DOC’s and nitrates – these are the items to look at. Keep up with water changes, test your make up water (ro/di right?) monitor your feeding – only feed enough food that is consumed in a few minutes.

Manually remove the algae and then test again in a couple of days – you might see a spike in one of the above. Keep us posted !

Edit; sorry, mentioned DOC's and did not elaborate - you do use a skimmer right? check that it is functioning properly, consider using one if you do not.

 

OK so I have this list of a abbreviations and GHA is not on it please explain.

 

Green Hair Algae

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-07/nftt/index.php