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Re: Green hair algae out of control!!!



Sean Walsh asked:

> It has probably been beaten to death but what is the
> number one cause/ best solution to this kind of algae.

I had the same problem. Tom Barr recommended considering ammonia the
problem, even if my tests showed very little or no ammonia. Trouble was,
I believe that it was not showing up on the tests because the algae was
getting it before it was being broken down into nitrites and nitrates. I
did not have a biological filter because I thought that the plants would
be the biological mechanism. I just had a mechanical filter to remove
particulates. When I finally woke up to the fact that my hair algae
began when I removed the biological filter, then the answer was plain as
day.

So....try adding more filtration, especially something with big surface
area for nitrifying bacteria to grow on. I use a fluidized sand-bed
filter, which hangs over the side of the tank (this is not an
undergravel filter!), and I also have some Bio-Max balls in my Hot
magnum filter for extra surface area. As soon as I put these in, the
algae started to disappear.

> Rather than have fish that eat it I would rather get
> RID of it entirely!

I also added some Ameca splendens which were AMAZING with hair algae. I
used 8 juvenile fish in a 110 gallon tank, and ALL the algae was gone in
1 day! Now I have removed these fish except for one female who continues
to elude me. I guess that is okay because she seems to not be fin-nipper
like the males are. Also, since I have removed the Ameca splendens,
there has been no return of hair algae (knock on wood!)

> Iron might be leecheing into the water, but isnt that
> why we put flourite in in the first place, esp since
> there are those among us who just use flourite with no
> top layer of quartz?

Check your iron levels, too. I think high levels can be associated with
algae.

Keep at it! You will find a solution!

Ed Dumas