Fighting Hair Algae

Battling unwanted micro algae is like a right of passage to being a reefer. Most go through this dreadful cycle of having diatoms in the beginning followed by green hair algae. If your tank is new it's very common and should pass after a month or so. Micro-algae feed mainly off of nitrates and phosphates and new tanks often have plenty of it.

Root problems of hair algae.

• - New establishing tank causing huge spikes in added nutrients from decaying matter.
  - Overfeeding.
  - Inadequate filtration.
  - Impure freshwater
  - High bioload

It's understandable that time and resource is limited so doing everything to stop it might not be practical. Here is a list of idea of things that can be done to help eliminate algae.

- Make sure the source of top-off water or salt mixing water is clean. The only way to test the purity of the water is using a TDS meter. A TDS meter will test for Total Dissolved Solids in the water. Ideally the freshwater used to top off or mix with salt should be under 10ppm. If a TDS meter is unavailable then it's a very good idea to check the freshwater for phosphates and nitrates. If it's detectable, then figure out a way to get water that is more pure. This should be done whether or not there is an algae problem in the aquarium especially in tanks with lots of SPS corals.

- Reduce feeding to a bare minimum. This is probably the easiest and cheapest way to fight back hair algae. It's fun to feed corals and especially fishes but often beginners overdo this and cause algae blooms. This does not mean to starve your tank inhabitants. Instead, consider feeding methods. Target feeding corals requires more work but causes a lot less food to deteriorate in the tank. It's important to note that most corals don't require feeding. Only non-photosynthetic corals such as Sun Corals or Hydrocorals require feeding. Second, instead of throwing huge chunks of food in the water at one time for fishes, introduce the food slowly so very little settles into the tank. These are short term solutions since target feeding and slow feeding takes a lot more time that might not always be available. However, getting a grasp of how much food is required to maintain good health is addressing a long term solution to fighting hair algae.

- Increase macro-algae in the tank. This is a very good long term way to reduce unwanted algae. Macro-algae can take up nutrients much more aggressively than micro-algae and will take up the nutrients before micro-algae can. This is our main source of nitrate and phosphate reduction in our tanks at LA Reefs. Huge amounts of Chaeto and lots of rubble rock will do a good job at removing nutrients.

- Water Changes. An obvious way to reduce nutrients is to do frequent water changes. However, make sure this is not done in vain. Make sure the introduced water is free of nutrients. Bi-weekly changes of %15 change for every change will beneficial.

- Reduce photoperiod. This is a very drastic and risky way to fight hair algae and should be tried in desperation. It's also a very short term solution. Reducing photoperiods to half can slow the spread of hair algae, however the algae will continue to grow fast again when the normal photoperiod returns. This method should only be used if the algae are starting to take over the corals and there is not enough time for manual removal. Reducing the photoperiod will upset the pH balance if there is no enough aeration in the tank. Second, if done too long corals will have to readjust to the difference in photoperiods. If the tank is new and doesn't have any animals then reducing photoperiods for a long time will be perfectly fine. Live rock itself doesn't need much light to stay alive.

- Manual removal of algae. This is another method that does not address the root issue of pest algae but should be done anyways to protect corals from being over taken by algae.

These are just general guidelines to help you think about possible issues that can nuisance algae. Because each tank is unique certain methods will work while others may not. It all depends on the root problem causing the algae. Experiment and see what works and what doesn't. Part of the fun in reefing is the challenge!