Have you beat hair algae?????

All of my live rock was covered with hair, so I added a bunch of turbo snails and two lawn mower blennies. Within 72 hours it was nothing but a memory. I then took some of the turbo snails back. A few days later my lawn mower blennies died. I think the over ate and died of indegestion. lol But I havent had a single spot of it since. It also helps that I put in a fuge full of chaeto to keep it at bay.

 

Hair Algae...

I haven't beaten it, but haven't taken major steps to get rid of it. At first I was pulling it out with my fingers and scrubbing it with a toothbrush. I may have done more to spread it than to minimize it, considering some people's responses in an ATS thread. I had figured that it would get into the mechanical filtration and I'd wash it off (obviously some did and I did wash it off).

Anyway, I have a big turbo snail but he can't keep it under control if he's helping with the hair algae. The Lawnmower Blenny I had wouldn't touch hair algae and slowly starved to death because I hadn't discovered nori and he wouldn't touch meaty foods.

I'm going to setup an algal turf scrubber for this tank and see if hair algae appears on the ATS and reduces or eliminates the hair algae in the display tank due to a lack of nutrients. Besides, that GSPuffer and Tomato Clown can each put away a metric tonne of food in a couple of minutes. The puffer has the beer belly and smile to prove it.

 

Ok this might sound funny but i dont no what green hair algea is, the only green hair type stuff i have had was the scary brynopsis does this count? If so i kicked its butt big time.......Yay for me!

 

Here are a couple of pictures of my hair algae:

 

i took the hole rock out that it was on and grinded it down with a wire brush and sand paper and i havent had it sense

 

I also did water changes to get rid of my hair algae problem but after a couple of weeks it came back. I then tryed algaefix by API and that helped alot. Have not had any since then

 

I think it my be the insane amount of rock you have in your tank. Doesn't allow for alot of flow through so it gives waste a place to build up. Just my .02

 

That could be true. With that much live rock I would have put it in with the expectation that I'd have enough anaerobic water to house denitrifying bacteria. But I can see how stuff could collect if it's not basted out on a regular basis... which sounds kind of counter-productive depending on how fast the denitrifying bacteria dies from the oxygen (which is poisonous to it) that the basted water would likely carry.

 

Well I do have alot of rock, but it is a very open reef with alot of flow (no dead spots), I also blow them off twice a week with a baster.

 

Well there goes both of our theories.