# How to prevent hair algae from day one ?



## Ethan (Sep 2, 2012)

Hi 
The last 2 planted tanks that i set up grew lots of the long stranded hair algae and because of this all the plants died. 

Now that i am setting up a new tank and spending quite a bit of money i would like to know if there are certain things that i could do to prevent it from growing? 


Thanks

Ethan


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## R_Barber001 (Oct 5, 2011)

Set your aquarium lights to 12 hours with a siesta period (lights off) in the middle of the day. So 6hr on, then off for an hour, then 6hours back on. Make sure your co2 levels are where they need to be.(most likely you need more co2) Eliminate excess nutrients/ fertilizers( feed fish less often less food) floating plants help absorb nutrients faster: if you have slow growing plants. Reduce water flow so plants are moving just enough for good nutrient absorption. Too much water current is where the hair/ thread algae builds up,from my experiences. Get Amano shrimp! Check your lights aren't to strong in the blue spectrum. Hope that helps. I read something else somewhere but cannot remember atm.


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## jncme (May 29, 2012)

I currently have some hair algae, but i got it to a point where it has stopped growing. I started to dose properly, all NPK and micros (one exception is I use 1/3 of the phosphorus "P" as directed, From my personal research I think hair algae is from to much phosphorus, I know a lot of people will disagree, but this has been working for me), and my light are on for 5 hours a day (while I am home 4-9, since i have very high lighting). I also got rid of my DIY CO2 that ran 24/7, and now use my old 10g CO2 tank and bought a cheap regulator, runs only while my lights are on, and a few min. before i turn on my lights.

Hope this helps, Good luck


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## Ethan (Sep 2, 2012)

I have the easy life ferts NPK and the Micro also co2 in an inline passive reactor so what i will do is turn off the light mid day and cut back in the P. The last time i had a tank i did not do a water change when it was maturing could then the phosphates of got too high?


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I have high flow and add PO4 at 5ppm 3x a week:










Tank has never had hair algae in almost 8 years. 


This tank has the same dosing and light, sediment etc...........fish load.
It got hair algae once.










Why? CO2 was lowering than I'd assumed..........when the CO2 was corrected, it went away and stopped growing, plant health went back up and that was the end of it.

As you can clearly see, if nutrients were the issue, I should/would have to had the algae in both tanks, and my arms are in/out of each tank which is 4 ft away from the other, so infection /inoculation occurs weekly at the minimum.

Because this nutrient issue is easily ruled out, I know to focus on CO2.
(this hobby) ....It's not about limiting algae, it's about growing the plants, so focus there and algae will be a mere sign you are not tending the plant needs well.

CO2 is were you should focus your efforts if you want to grow and master gardening.

Or you can go non CO2 methods and have more patience. Things grow, but 10-20X slower.

Some good in between alternatives are using Easy Carbo in the UK......Excel in the USA etc...........daily.

Water changes water changes.......I often do 2-3x a week till the tank is well established. 50 to 80%. Then weekly or thereabouts.
You cannot over do them and they only help the tank.

You might find some local RESOURCES and cheaper diy ferts, cO2 etc at UKAPS.org. They will straighten you out on the local tap water and the nutrients.


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## Ethan (Sep 2, 2012)

Cool thankyou for the help. maybe i have to invest in a pressurised co2 system.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Ethan said:


> Cool thankyou for the help. maybe i have to invest in a pressurised co2 system.


If gardening and using a fair no# of species is a goal, likely a wise decision.
If you want a low energy slower growth approach, the UK folks are pretty ahead of the curve, just let them know what your goal is/is not and is that worth the trade off.

No CO2/poor CO2 and high light/ferts= great way to grow algae.
You will see this over and over again on various forums.


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## chew (May 18, 2012)

plantbrain said:


> If gardening and using a fair no# of species is a goal, likely a wise decision.
> If you want a low energy slower growth approach, the UK folks are pretty ahead of the curve, just let them know what your goal is/is not and is that worth the trade off.
> 
> No CO2/poor CO2 and high light/ferts= great way to grow algae.
> You will see this over and over again on various forums.


Would high co2 & no ferts be a cause of the hair algae too?


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## herns (May 6, 2008)

Sometimes I think I know all about aquatic gardening but no.
I always learn fresh insight when Tom chime in.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

chew said:


> Would high co2 & no ferts be a cause of the hair algae too?


yes without ferts and high light. ur driving ur plants to grow faster than they can without proper nutrients to support growth. THUS you get unhealthy plants and algae comes to play


algae is photosynthetic organism, plants are photosynthetic organisms

algae is natures way of balancing an unbalanced system. algae grows prolifically so can rapidly handle excess nutrients OR sustain the ecosystem in the event of poor plant growth


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## lil_tuna (Sep 19, 2012)

I have a similar question. Im setting up a 10 gallon planted and im eager to get it cycled and ready. I wanted to put some water from my little 4 gallon to help jump start it. However, my 4 gallon has had some problems with green hair algae. I know its most likely from the lighting on it but would i be in any danger of exposing my 10 gallon to this evil algae by transfering water into it?


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## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

If I have another tank to setup, I would skip all the initial mistakes I made with my current tank. Leave your lights on 8 hours day. I think the mid day light interruption is useless. It can upset the plants more. You need to dose, preferably with EI dosing. May even want to add Iron also. More pressurized CO2. Use a CO2 drop checker to measure the CO2 level. Keep the color yellowish before mid day. Do frequent, large water change and do it at the end of the light cycle and when the CO2 is off. Frequent water change will remove a lot of organic contents. Excessive organic content as well as a sudden spike in your ammonia level will cause BBA. I think this is even more crucial when you haven't vacuumed your substrate for over a year, in my case.  I don't use any chemical filtration. I am upping to 3 40% water change per week. Makes sure you have some good light bulbs. Remember that healthy plants don't usually attract algae.


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## lindadadson (Sep 27, 2012)

From day one if you want to suppress the algae growth then three tips you need to focus. 

Increase the levels of CO2, levels should ideally be 30ppm, because low CO2 level can increase its growth. 
Improve water circulation around the plants as good water flow is important. It keeps your want non steady and suppress the growth rate.
In low light tanks reducing water changes for a time may help resolve the problem or overdosing excel to keep the c02 stable.


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