Reefs.com - Saltwater Aquarium - Reef Aquarium
  • Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

Anyone know how to get rid of red hair algae?

K

kool-cat

Junior Member
Manhattan Reefs
Location
Bayside, New York
Rating - 100%
71   0   0
I have a kent ro/di unit 4 months old. I do not over feed my fish.
I just switched from oceanic salt to tropic marin.
My clean up crew consist of
4 mexican turbo snails(golf ball)
20 cerith snails
16 nassarius snails
1 emerald crab
3 blue and 6 red leg hermit crabs

I am trying to grow cheato macro algae but its growing slowly..

Pics of current situation of my tank:

Full tank shot
100_6191.jpg


The Red Hair Algae
100_6242.jpg


100_6211.jpg



The bulb I am using is a 4 month old 150watt Phoenix MH bulb.
 
Dace

Dace

Advanced Reefer
Location
Manhattan
Rating - 99.7%
393   1   0
kool-cat said:
I have a kent ro/di unit 4 months old. I do not over feed my fish.
I just switched from oceanic salt to tropic marin.
My clean up crew consist of
4 mexican turbo snails(golf ball)
20 cerith snails
16 nassarius snails
1 emerald crab
3 blue and 6 red leg hermit crabs

I am trying to grow cheato macro algae but its growing slowly..

Pics of current situation of my tank:

Full tank shot
100_6191.jpg


The Red Hair Algae
100_6242.jpg


100_6211.jpg



The bulb I am using is a 4 month old 150watt Phoenix MH bulb.
Click to expand...
i used something called chemi plus it worked fine for me and says it's reef safe. i would not try anything on my 180gal display but i just used on my 29 gal and it worked wonders
 
C

Chiefmcfuz

Guest
Rating - 100%
347   0   0
I used Algone and it somewhat worked for me, it was reef safe and I only had a few polyps at the time. Try a lawnmower blenny an emerald crab or a sally lightfoot crab. They eat algae sometimes. But there is no guarantee with anything. You may have to remove it by hand as well. I had a patch of green hair I had to actually dig out with a specimin container and dispose of that way. Hermits may help as well.
 
saucz

saucz

Experienced Reefer
Location
Astoria
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
my red legged crabs did wonders for my hair algae...
you need to crack that whip on your crabs! :knockedou
 
herman

herman

Moderator
Location
Weehawken, NJ
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
I personally dont like to dose any chemicals such as algone. It cant be good for the inhabitants and it does not cure the problem. If you have an algae outbreak it shows that you have high nutrients. Hair algae is not that hard to get rid of, it just takes time. You have the right idea with the mexican turbos. Just add a couple more of them and when they are done you can always return them.

As for adding a tang, i would not recommend it cause it would mean more feeding leading to more nutrients.

Before giving advice, I highly recommend reading up on the problem.

If you can get a closeup pic of the algae we will be able to identify it better and give you a specific solution.
 
herman

herman

Moderator
Location
Weehawken, NJ
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
This one is for Tonyscoots:

When I mentioned the tang it was not because of the size of the tank. Not everything is about size. The reason the tang was mentioned is because the tang has insignificant impact on red hair algae control. This is why I say do your research before you give advice. Some of us have been in this hobby for over twenty years. That is not to say that we know everything but experience does count for something.
 
Last edited:
herman

herman

Moderator
Location
Weehawken, NJ
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
And here is the solution!

Control

The first line of defense is prevention. Carefully inspect the substrate of new corals and even live rock for signs of the red hair algae. Consider placing new specimens in a quarantine tank for the first one to two weeks. Not only will this quarantine period reveal the unwanted algae but it will also allow time for the coral to be monitored, feed, and given a period to adapt to captive conditions. Unfortunately for the reef aquarist the most common herbivores offered for sale do not rapidly consume this algae. A number of algae eating fish and invertebrates were rotated through a large tank with an outbreak of Asparagopsis taxiformis. These included the rabbitfishes Foxface (Lo vulpinus), and Gold-saddle (Siganus guttatus), Yellow Tangs (Acanthurus flavescens), Desjardini Tang (Zebrasoma desjardinii), the Lawnmower Blenny (Salaris fasiatus), and a number of invertebrates such as the Sally Lightfoot Crab (Percnon gibbesi), Emerald Crab (Mithraculus sculptus), Blue leg reef hermit (Clibanarius tricolor), Red leg reef hermit (Calcinus tibicen), a Sea hare (Elysia sp.), and a variety of snails from the Atlantic. None of these animals were observed to consume enough of the algae to overcome its prolific growth.

Fortunately there are two ways to control a case of excessive red hair algae. The first is the least effective and that is manual control. In essence, the hobbyist becomes the "grazer" and physically removes the tuffs of algae from the aquarium. The best a hobbyist can hope for is a stalemate where the problem algae do not get much worse, but it remains an unsightly presence in the aquarium. Perhaps a more realistic solution is in finding a grazing organism that has a taste for Asparagopsis. Such is the case with the Pacific Turbo Snail, Turbo fluctuosus. It finds red algae very palatable and preferable to other green and brown micro-algae. This species should not be confused with another turbo snail sold in the hobby, Astrea tectum from the Caribbean. Ten Pacific Turbo Snails can typically be supported in a fifty-five gallon aquarium where micro and filamentous algae are present.

Patience is a key component in controlling an outbreak of any algae. It is more important to maintain a more diverse assemblage of herbivores than to keep too many of one kind. Certainly there are bound to be other grazers out there that feed on Asparagopsis taxiformis and other red algae. But many are not regularly available in the trade. Thus far the Pacific Turbo Snail appears to be the best solution for marine aquarists.

Hope this helps,
Herman
 
Pseudo

Pseudo

OG Member
Location
New York
Rating - 100%
185   0   0
Mexican turbo snails (big ones) eat that type of algae. Get 3-4 and wait 2-3 days and it will be gone. By the way that algae can self sustain itself without phosphate. It likes light and will suck nutrients for the rocks. It will diminish in low light (darkness for 3-4 days would almost kill it off) but your corals will suffer. By the way, that is not red HAIR algae but turf algae (too tired to remember the correct name) ask Jackson (Rich) about it since he had it and now he doesnt (snails). Crabs no good on it.

Later,

Kasei
 
jackson6745

jackson6745

SPS KILLER
Location
NJ
Rating - 99%
201   2   0
That red turf algae took off in my old 65gal when i began using a bad bucket of Oceanic salt with a Phosphate reading of .5. The Mexican turbos do eat this stuff but not 100% since they can't get in small crevices. Quite a few guys with low nutrient tanks have this type of alage and I don't know of anyone who has totally gotten rid of it.
 
herman

herman

Moderator
Location
Weehawken, NJ
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
I had a small 55 about 7 years ago. Added the turbos along with my grazing capabilities. It took almost six months to get it to a point of the small nooks and crannys. The it was time to bust out the metal bristels and hack away with a dremel. Eventually I got it all. The overall process took about 8 months. It never returned full force but to a point where the snails would keep it under control and not very visible.
 
cali_reef

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Location
On the waste coast, again.
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
My suggestion:



1. Don't listen to only one person's opinion, look for multiple people?s actual experience on how they dealt with the problem.

2. lots of 10-20% water changes using a known good salt and stay away from Oceanic.

3. Manual removal as much as practical for you.

4. Turbos, Mexican kind from FT.

5. I notice my fox face and rabbit fish picking at it when I had the problem in my display tank, you can try them if your tank can take on the new bio load.

6. Upgrade to a bigger tank and buy everything new again :scratchch , --------------->just kidding :D.


 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top