Hair Algae

I have what looks like hair algae in my tank.
What would be the best way to get rid of it?
Removal? Chemicals?
The algae is green and looks like strands of hair.

 

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=1326

Follow that approach it should sort it out. Most likely lack of dosing along with too much flow and too much light. When I say too much light I mean too much in relation to your CO2 levels.

If you have long strands of hair algae, these can easily be removed manually. Keep hassling them; eventually they go away once you correct the underlying root cause.

 

Thanks Laure, I searched and couldn't find anything ush:
Hmmm time for me to find another way of introducing co2 then. Been using Flourish Excel for the time being while I save up for a co2 bottle and regulator

 

Well let's do a checklist.

Tell me about your lights and your fertilizer dosing as a starting point. Also, how often do you clean the filter? I would suggest once a month but only clean one media at a time. For example, this month only clean the fine floss. Next month clean the sponges. And so on. Of course, all you need to do to clean the media is a gentle rinse in used tank water. When I syphon the water obviouly goes into a bucket. I then rinse the media in this water. Fine floss also needs to be replaced frequently to be effective. Only replace 50% at a time. This way you avoid too much disturbance of the biological filtration system and minimize the risk of ammonia spikes, which often lead to algae problems, more so if you have high light.

If you read the posts in the link above you will know how we feel about Excel. Prof Dirk sells liquid carbon which does not contain gluteraldehyde and is also way cheaper than excel. I have been using that for the last few months and it seems to be just as effective as excel in providing a carbon source.

Try to reduce the light as a starting point. Do a blackout and then run lower light levels for 2 weeks. Ensure you stay on top of the dosing. Do you have any plants that will surely melt away without high light?

 

At the moment I have crappy lights (scuse the french)
The one is a 15w Marine & freshwater light (It's blue) and the other is a T8 15w Life-Glo (I think... wrote the names down, but they're at home)
I've only cleaned the filter once (the tank is still fairly new) and that was just a rinsing of the sponge.

I've asked Prof. Dirk about his liquid CO2 but I believe he no longer sells it.

Have been dosing with ferts from the LFS but Prof. Dirk says they're no use, so I'll be buying his ferts soon (hoping to go there this week or next)

Will also be buying proper lights at the end of this month for the tank.

Plants I have at the moment are: Amazon Sword, Bacopa (not sure of the type though... it's green and turns slightly red the closer it gets to the light) Rotala rotundifolia (I think) and Anubias barteri Nana.

 

Hi

Yes get the Prof's ferts for your soft water in Cape Town. And based on the plants you have I suggest 3-4 day blackout. They will all survive that. But follow the blackout protocol exactly as described in my post, otherwise it won't work. And I must stress again: if you blackout, then ensure you add NO CO2 and also add an airstone!

Blackouts are pretty effective against most types of algae, but you have to correct the root cause. Also a series of blackouts really knock them hard. 3 day blackout, 3 day light, 3 day blackout, 3 day light, etc.

Do this for 2 to 3 weeks and if you have high light ensure you drop the light down below 2WPG for the "light" phase of the treatment.

 

Thanks Laure, I'll start on this tonight.
Will keep you updated as to how things are going

 

make sure that you have enough water flow in the tank

 

In the link above we do discuss water flow. Good flow is very important in a planted tank. Sometimes the plant beds become so dense that flow is inhibited. Also when they are allowed to grow and cover the surface you will have similar problems. So keep on trimming to keep the plants looking good and the flow optimal.

Too much flow can cause issues, but I generally like to overfilter. But a strong stream of water can cause issues for fish and also result in some algae types taking hold more than they would if there was not such a strong stream. The long green filamentous type comes to mind.

A good idea is the marine wavemaker. It moves vast amounts of water but rather gently and is great to distribute nutrients throughout your tank.

 

Thanks Laure,
I have 2 filters at home, one is a boyu submersible. It sticks to the side of the tank and has an arm that comes out and creates a bit of a water fall with this, the other is what I think you call the canister filter (the the 3 level of filtration, sponge, stones, and something else... still getting to learn the names etc)
should I maybe have both these filters running at the same time?