Can't get rid of hair algae

[breakaway]

Hi,

I'm having some annoying issues with hair algae. It's growing in my 200L tank with 78W of lighting, plenty of plants and no fertilizer.

My previous solution was to turn off the light for 2 days, then turn it back on for for 2hrs a day, and then put it back to my normal 11½ hour cycle.

This works well, but there's surely gotta be a better way of getting rid of the algae than doing this? Because the hair algae has returned after about a 2 weeks.

Any help appreciated!

[Bilbo]

I'm getting it as well.

I would have some SAE's to eat it all up but the local shop managed to kill the whole shipment before I could buy any.

Apparently caused by CO2 levels being to low.

[Adrienne]

I've got it too and the SAE don't go near it unfortunately. The CO2 is definitely a possibility in my tank given the high temps its hit of recent weeks.

[breakaway]

Is there a fix that doesn't involve adding other fish? I've got 4 x Carinotetradon Travancoricus (Dwarf Puffers) in there and they're pretty aggressive.

[phoenix44]

barley straw?

[breakaway]

Will using phospate removing media help?

[phoenix44]

probably not. I've got a tiny amount in my puffer tank caused by the high lighting.. I use a very very diluted amount of hydrogen peroxide to keep it in check and it works really well.

[Jennifer]

Theoretically, but a total lack of phosphate will also cause algae problems. If you want to get rid of phosphate, give the plants some potassium, that will help them utilise the phosphate.

[breakaway]

So I obtain pure potassium and dose it? Where would I get it from?

[DennisP]

You could try flourish excel.

Worked great for my staghorn...

But it does say "doesn't work for all algae, so it is not advertised to do so"

[Adrienne]

You could try flourish excel.

Worked great for my staghorn...

But it does say "doesn't work for all algae, so it is not advertised to do so"

I've also got hair algae in my big tank and its been increasing over the last 3 weeks. Started dosing excel again two days ago as my bba is also regrowing. Only using a single dose rate as have discus in the tank so will know in another 2-3 days if it is going to work. Will keep you posted to stop everyone going out spending large $ on flourish excel to find that it does not work.

[Jennifer]

So I obtain pure potassium and dose it? Where would I get it from?

Just get a good trace fertiliser that has potassium. You don't want to overdose - just enough to help the plants outcompete the algae.

I had a hair outbreak on one of my tanks two weeks ago, all other factors were exactly the same as other tanks but for some reason this one was totally green all over and I could hardly see through the glass as it had waves of green algae stuck on it. Now the tank is now perfectly clear without a spot of algae on the glass or surfaces, all residual algae on the plants has gone white. This is what I did:

1. minimise/eliminate feeding of fish for a couple of days, ensure no excess phosphate is added

2. reduce photoperiod by 25% (gradually increase back to 10 hours after algae problem is resolved)

4. increase surface agitation but keep up CO2

5. scrub all surfaces, vacuum substrate and do a 40% water change, repeat in 3 days

6. add Flourish excel every day for 7 days at a dose of 1ml per 14L (this the the algacidal dose rate)

7. add Flourish comprehensive at a dose rate of 1ml per 40L - indefinately until plants are seen to be growing well

HTH

[art_b]

Try adding floating plants such as indian fern. They suck up nutrients quickly and block a bit of light coming through. My hair algae are on top of the stem plants which indicates too intense light at the top. I reduce my photoperiod to 8 hours (4 hours on, 4 hours off, 4 hours on). Excel also helped. After 2 week, the hair algae doesn't look too bad.

When the my indian fern started to grow, I noticed that it is not affected by algae. I will probably increase the photoperiod back to 10 or 12 hours (eliminating the siesta period) when the indian fern starts to block a fair amount of light below.

[Adrienne]

Well, the excel has done nothing for my hair algae, the only thing keeping it in check is to limit the T5HO lighting I have.

[breakaway]

I will probably increase the photoperiod back to 10 or 12 hours (eliminating the siesta period) when the indian fern starts to block a fair amount of light below.

The problem with this hair algae is it grows everywhere. Up near the water level AND down by the lowest plants that are just 1 inch off the substrate. It's getting really bad now - I'm pulling it out every day by hand but it just re-grows and I'm worried it'll starve the plants of light and stunt their growth and take a stronger hold in the tank.

I've added DIY CO² and have been dosing 1mL / 40L Flourish Comprehensive as per instructions on the bottle to try to help plants outcompete the algae. This only seems to have made it worse. I'm very close to shutting off light and covering the tank with a blanket to block off all light for 3 days to kill all the algae and then keep dosing Flourish Comprehensive so plants keep doing well.

I'm going to be adding an additional 78W of T5HO and pressurised CO2 sometime, but that's still a fair away away. I'm trying to get rid of this algae in the mean time.

6. add Flourish excel every day for 7 days at a dose of 1ml per 14L (this the the algacidal dose rate)

I really wanted to try this, but didn't because I was concerned about the carinotetraodon travancoricus' ability to stand up to this concentration of excel. Perhaps puffers weren't the best choice for this tank, but they're here now, and I really like them so I want to keep them. What do you think JenniferH?

[Jennifer]

I have no idea about how puffers take Excel, sorry. I do believe it is safer than people give it credit for, if handled correctly and introduced so that the fish can get used to it. Perhaps you can try increasing it and watch very closely for any signs of problems (do a water change immediately if you see problems). If you're worried, don't do it. Hair algae is not killed as easily by Excel overdoses anyway. It will help the plants to get a good foothold though so is worth continuing.

It might pay to decrease your photoperiod a little more. Clearly the light demand of the plants is limited by something and the algae is taking advantage of that. What sort of plants do you have going in there? If they are slow growing you are going to have problems. You need to get some fast growing stem plants in there to soak up the nutrients. Algae is mostly caused by fluctuating CO2 levels - it takes the plants a while (several days) to create the enzymes which utilise the increase in CO2 and in the mean time the algae can take over if there is enough light. Excess nutrients won't cause algae by themselves but if the plants are not using the nutrients and the light is good enough the algae will take over. So, to make a long story short, you need to ensure a stable CO2 level, keep it running and make sure it doesn't slow down. Dose with trace nutrients - plants with deficiencies cannot utilise CO2. Keep the light down a little (but not off) until the plants can utilise the increased CO2. Make gradual changes and make sure there is no ammonia (ammonia is the one nutrient that will cause algae).

Be patient. The plants don't change overnight and it will take some time to get things in balance.

[breakaway]

Okay. I've been dosing flourish constantly (every 3rd day, 4mL/200L). And have had my CO2 mixture going well too. What ratios of ingredients (am what brands) do you use for your diy co2? And how do you diffuse it? And Hiw long does it last?

I've also just found a small amount of cyanobacteria on the tip of my rotala rotundifolia. What does this indicate with regard to what's missing / is in an abundance in the water column?

[phoenix44]

I just use edmonds yeast, and sugar.

i put some sugar, some yeast and water. :lol: use a diffuser to diffuse it.

general ratios are 2cups sugar : 1 tspn yeast

[breakaway]

Also, do you guys reckon that a 4/5 day blackout will help with this? It did last time, but it grew back. This is because I stopped using ferts and CO2 because I believed they were eBay was causing the hair algae.

[Jennifer]

A blackout may kill some algae but it will also set the plants back so when you turn the lights back on the problem will be likely to reoccur. You want to keep the plants growing well so just reduce the photperiod a bit. Start up the DIY CO2, but just insert the airline in the tank with no diffuser so the process is slow and thus doesn't cause an even bigger fluctuation that will cause more algae problmes. Keep up the low dose ferts, feed very lightly, and avoid doing water changes unless you want to do a very small amount every day. After 2 weeks the plants will start to grow faster so you can slowly increase the photperiod and add a diffuser.

BTW, increase the flow of your filter if you can, or at least direct some flow at the cyanobacteria (remove what cyano you can find to keep it at bay). Hopefully by feeding less and keeping a tidy tank you will eradicate it with no problems.

[art_b]

My hair algae is mostly gone. The floating indian fern has multiplied and growing like weeds and is blocking the light below, so I increased my photoperiod to 10 hrs/day. It has been a week now.

I stopped doing trace fertilizers. Just dosing nitrate, potassium, and magnesium daily, and did 50% WC weekly. I think it is the excess iron and the intensity of T5 lights that is contributing to hair algae.

Removing infected leaves, and injecting excel with a syringe also helped.

FYI, I have pressurized CO2.

For cyanobacteria, I have used erythromycin, but it kept coming back until I started injecting CO2 (yeast method initially).

[DubbieBoy]

So I obtain pure potassium and dose it?

That's something I think we'd all like to watch :lol: If you do it, please video it so we can see?

Seriously, Excel won't touch it, it's only good for black beard algae by happenstance; it's not and never has been a broad spectrum algicide. Probably doing far more harm than good.

For green hair algae you need to physically remove as much as you can and push your CO2 to the max so your plants just plain outcompete it. It's a pain but it will go away if you keep at it. I think it's a phase tanks go through...

[DubbieBoy]

Hair algae is awful stuff; I went through a phase not so long ago and I'm very careful about nutrients and other water params...

http://robrien.orconhosting.net.nz/Tank%20Pics/Uploaders/Algae.jpg

I did go away eventually though

[SamH]

I did go away eventually though

I have the same problem as you had. It started off with a bloom, green water and everything. Now the green water's gone but the algae isn't. Did you do anything special? I feel that if I got rid of it, it wouldn't come back.

[Jennifer]

Seriously, Excel won't touch it, it's only good for black beard algae by happenstance; it's not and never has been a broad spectrum algicide. Probably doing far more harm than good.

For green hair algae you need to physically remove as much as you can and push your CO2 to the max so your plants just plain outcompete it. It's a pain but it will go away if you keep at it. I think it's a phase tanks go through...

I agree, Excel won't touch hair algae but it will help kick start plant growth which is what you need to get rid of excess nutrients in the water column. Also, Excel can help prevent some other types of algae until the tank gets in balance. Being a strong aldehyde there are risks with its use, but these can be managed with careful dosing. Everything has its place.