Green hair and red slime algae

I can't seem too get this issue under control. The red slime grows all over the sand and the walls and occasionally on the live rock. I am constantly scrubbing the walls and stirring up the sand to try and minimize its growth.

I have been using an algae chemical remover but it has proven to be nearly 100% ineffective.

I just did a partial water change. My nitrate/nitrites/ammonia levels are all in balance.

Any thoughts on the cause of this growth? Any inexpensive treatments options that have proven effecive?

Thank!

 

what lights/wattage,how long are they on,how old are your bulbs?

 

Very good question.

My lights are on quiet a bit and that is probably the cause. What's a good time length to have them on for?

Any suggestions on removing hair algae?

 

bump

 

try upping your flow, i got cyano really bad in my tank and i got an additional powerhead and it is all gone now, so lack of flow might be an issue

also are you using ro/di or tap, how old is the tank, and how old are your lights

 

any "dead spots" where flow isnt stirring the area?

 

Lack of flow may be a problem, but it pops up everywhere in the tank, even where there is flow.

I use tap water and always have. This is a fairly recent problem so I don't think that is the problem.

My lights and tank are around 9 months old.

 

take your tap in and get it tested at your lfs, I had a problem with initially setting my tank up with tapwater (ugh) and I had massive massive GHA outbreaks. What I did to treat it, was let it run its course and did water changes and topoffs with distilled/ro water. I figured once the gha would use up the excess nutrients in the system that it would starve itself out, which seemed to work fairly decent. after the die off i took and scrubbed the live rock with a toothbrush lightly and with proper water changes and using ro water Ive never had the problem since. my tapwater adds a fairly decent amount of phosphates to my planted freshwater tanks, so im sure this was one of the problems. Also, try lowering your photo period to under ten hours. If you have any corals or anything photo though be wary of quick changes in photo, gradually reduce it. As far as chemically treating your tank I wouldn't recommend it, its just not natural and even though it might fix the algae, there are still underlying problems in your system that need to be balanced out. Another thing that may be addressed is if your system is reading 0's on your nit's and ammonia it may be because your gha is using it, or another factor could be that there may not be any in the water column, but detritus can gather pretty easily on the surface of your LR which where the nuisance algae may be getting its nutrients. Mind you, I'm new at reefkeeping, my niche is planted freshwater systems, so I may be told wrong here haha.

 

Test kit

What kind of test kit do you have....Try nitrate and phosphate conditioner because absolutely either one can cause that red slime

 

You didn't say what type of lights you have i.e. PC, T5 etc. If PC, they are old and need to be replaced. Add a Phosphate reactor with Phoslock or other suitable media. Once cyano gets out of control (and by the way, you are making things worse by stirring) the only way to get control is with "Red Slime Remover" or "Chemiclean". Flow, by the way, has little to do with bacteria growth or lack there of. Sounds as if overfeeding and light are the issues. A light cycle of no more than 12 hours total is normal, however, for now I would cut back to 8-10.