Hair algae...newest theory.

[Gz28]

Hey just an update to a previous post, A friend of mine had a good thought about my hair algae problem in my reef tank. I have chalupra in my tank that i just cant get rid of, and it appears to be turning white, I think it has been going sexual and releasing bad stuff into the water and this is why my hair algae problem is so bad. I can spend hours getting this stuff out and you leave one little piece in a hole in a rock and 3 weeks later it has grown back...Do i have to start my tank over to get rid of this stuff? I think I am about done with this hobby if that is the case. I wish i would have just stayed with cheato instead.

[bluwtr]

Try a tuxedo urchin. They can be bulldozers, but they will also scrape every square inch of your rock. Granted you will lose any coralline algae, but it will grow back. I had that wire algae problem and between very agressive reduction of nutrients and the urchins it is now gone.

Good luck.

[Scott Allen]

What are the tanks parameters? N03, n04, po4 and sg? (nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, specific gravity)

What equipment do you have and what's the maintenance schedule?

Do you have pictures?

Where is the caulerpa? The sump, fuge, or the DT?

[Gz28]

sg is 1.025, nitrate,nitrite,ammonia,phosphate are all 0 I think the hair algae is absorbing the nutrients out of the water and that is why it registers 0 on the test. i have 2 carbon and gfo reactors, i run both carbon and gfo, i have a reef octopus protein skimmer. the chalupera is in both the refuge and DT. I have gotten most of it out of the refuge the DT is what i am having trouble getting it out of. I got a yellow tang from gerwin to help, and i pulled all that i could get my hands on out of the tank on the last water change. I hope the tang will eat whatever chalupera is left, i have seen him picking at the rocks and eating some of the hair algae so i think he is doing his job so far

[Gerwin]

Hey just an update to a previous post, A friend of mine had a good thought about my hair algae problem in my reef tank. I have chalupra in my tank that i just cant get rid of, and it appears to be turning white, I think it has been going sexual and releasing bad stuff into the water and this is why my hair algae problem is so bad. I can spend hours getting this stuff out and you leave one little piece in a hole in a rock and 3 weeks later it has grown back...Do i have to start my tank over to get rid of this stuff? I think I am about done with this hobby if that is the case. I wish i would have just stayed with cheato instead.

if you ever get it down to just one little piece left....take that rock out of tank!

[Gz28]

Yeah, if i could see that i left a piece way down in the pores somewhere i would, problem is the rocks are so porus you cant always see that you left a little piece. That tang is helping alot, and my hair algae is actually almost gone now thanks to my sea hare, so i will cross my fingers and hope it stays that way.

[Gz28]

ALL of my Hair algae is GONE!!!! WOOT!