I had been battling a severe hair algae outbreak the last 2 years. I tried some different ideas but never really tackled the issue with much motivation. Finally, I think I am getting everything under control. First of of all, whats in my tank?
75G all-Glass tank and stand with HOT overflow box
20G sump/fuge with 3" DSB with Tang Heaven Red and Green, and chaeto
also have snails and hermits in sump
Mag 9 in sump
Remora HOT skimmer
175 MH 10,000k (just switched to from pc)
100lbs FIJI LR and 25lbs base rock
1/2" decorative sand bed
livestock:
lawnmower blenny
false perc
hippo tang
royal gramma
foxface rabbitfish
coral banded shrimp
hermits; nassarias, cerith, astreas, nerites, and strombus snails
coral:
2 devil's hand frags
1 red/blue ricordia
green palau sinularia
toadstool leather
5 or 6 assorted mushrooms
red/orange montipora frag
pink acropora millepora frag
5 brown polyps
3 bright green polyps
There is still some hair algae, but compared to 5 months ago...Let's just say I am finally proud enough of my tank to post it here. I wish I would have taken pictures when it was at its worst. BTW, I did not have any corals in the tank with the HA outbreak. I am still not done battling this crap. I have just purchased 2 tunze nano stream powerheads (600gph) to increase flow.
I figured the main reason I had the terrible hair algae was primarly laziness and overfeeding. I didn't do enough maintenance on my tank. Now I do a 14 gal water change every 2 weeks. I used to have a 3" DSB in the main tank. I took all out except for about a 1/2" and I regularly clean the sand bed. I also turkey baste my live rock, which I used to not do. Every 4-5 days I clean my skimmer and keep it functioning properly. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting much crap out of my skimmer. Someone on the board told me to take out the access screw and clean the jet and all the sudden, I'm getting loads of junk from my skimmer. Its pretty rewarding to see what happens when you finally do what it takes to keep a clean tank.
Anyway...I'll keep updating my progress as the tank matures.
75G all-Glass tank and stand with HOT overflow box
20G sump/fuge with 3" DSB with Tang Heaven Red and Green, and chaeto
also have snails and hermits in sump
Mag 9 in sump
Remora HOT skimmer
175 MH 10,000k (just switched to from pc)
100lbs FIJI LR and 25lbs base rock
1/2" decorative sand bed
livestock:
lawnmower blenny
false perc
hippo tang
royal gramma
foxface rabbitfish
coral banded shrimp
hermits; nassarias, cerith, astreas, nerites, and strombus snails
coral:
2 devil's hand frags
1 red/blue ricordia
green palau sinularia
toadstool leather
5 or 6 assorted mushrooms
red/orange montipora frag
pink acropora millepora frag
5 brown polyps
3 bright green polyps
There is still some hair algae, but compared to 5 months ago...Let's just say I am finally proud enough of my tank to post it here. I wish I would have taken pictures when it was at its worst. BTW, I did not have any corals in the tank with the HA outbreak. I am still not done battling this crap. I have just purchased 2 tunze nano stream powerheads (600gph) to increase flow.
I figured the main reason I had the terrible hair algae was primarly laziness and overfeeding. I didn't do enough maintenance on my tank. Now I do a 14 gal water change every 2 weeks. I used to have a 3" DSB in the main tank. I took all out except for about a 1/2" and I regularly clean the sand bed. I also turkey baste my live rock, which I used to not do. Every 4-5 days I clean my skimmer and keep it functioning properly. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting much crap out of my skimmer. Someone on the board told me to take out the access screw and clean the jet and all the sudden, I'm getting loads of junk from my skimmer. Its pretty rewarding to see what happens when you finally do what it takes to keep a clean tank.
Anyway...I'll keep updating my progress as the tank matures.
