# Defeating Hair Algae



## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

lights out for a couple day with all sides of tank covered but the side with the inflow and outflow? Thats what i hear alot of people do when they get bad outbreaks. If i recall correctly algae cant live very long without light and this is why they do the 3day black out. Fish will and should be fine without food for 3days if you dont feel like feeding them during this time.


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## Fodder (Sep 15, 2014)

Oto Cat's.


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## vinizuh (Sep 17, 2014)

After excel ran out your Co2 levels dropped and algae took over. I would get a pressurized Co2 system, then look into dosing dry ferts.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

treyLcham said:


> lights out for a couple day with all sides of tank covered but the side with the inflow and outflow? Thats what i hear alot of people do when they get bad outbreaks. If i recall correctly algae cant live very long without light and this is why they do the 3day black out. Fish will and should be fine without food for 3days if you dont feel like feeding them during this time.


I'll try a blackout thanks 

Bump:


vinizuh said:


> After excel ran out your Co2 levels dropped and algae took over. I would get a pressurized Co2 system, then look into dosing dry ferts.


Pressurized co2 isn't an option quite yet, but I do understand the overall benefits it brings. I thought about DIY co2 but decided that if I dosed Excel it would be more consistent in terms of co2 levels because I had full control on the daily dose of it. One day I will go down that road but I wanted to get a little experience under my belt before going nuts with plants.

Bump:


Fodder said:


> Oto Cat's.


I would have preferred not to add any more fish at this time but it may be something I look at in the future. I haven't quite figured out the balance in this big of a tank because every other one I have had has been 55G or less. I realize I have more water which means it is technically easier to keep but the dirt really threw me off. I am still to understand the dosing of a dirted tank and how many fish I want to have in reference to a bio load. Think I have room for a school of oto's?  I didnt want to get too much in there and make it look too busy.

Bump: Thanks for the answers so far.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

Does anyone think h2o2 can be dosed to combat algae? I have read a few articles about this and one I will look for the link that overdoses Excel and h2o2 for a few days and it kills everything (including a few sensitive plants). This would probably melt all of my val though so I am leaning away from that. Anyone overdosed Excel even slightly to combat algae? IE. 2 caps for each US55G?

Bump:


treyLcham said:


> lights out for a couple day with all sides of tank covered but the side with the inflow and outflow? Thats what i hear alot of people do when they get bad outbreaks. If i recall correctly algae cant live very long without light and this is why they do the 3day black out. Fish will and should be fine without food for 3days if you dont feel like feeding them during this time.


Adding further to that, should I do a blackout after a big water change or anything? Scheduled to do 50% Sunday so maybe I will aim for after that? My Excel should be here next week some time and then I can hopefully restore some balance.


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

I would research about doing a black out before doing it but I think it's the best option. Also adding ottos and other algae eater will really help 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## navarro1950 (Jul 25, 2014)

I to have the same problem with my 125 gal so I will watch for all the feed back you get. Thanks for asking the question. Best of luck, for both of us.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82226#/forumsite/20495/topics/82226

Can an approach like this hurt my Discus? Plants can regrow but I really don't want to cause the fish any harm. I know my val will melt if this is done.


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## Thenoob (Jan 15, 2014)

I've battled hair algae before it sucks.

First id start soaring excel again and make sure your plants have everything they need to grow healthily. Next Id get an old tooth brush and use it remove as much as you can by hand, twirling works well. If this doesn't work id try a product like algae destroyer. For me it was very effective. I used it to kill the algae and then vacuumed the dead stuff out. It will however kill inverts. Lastly amano shrimp have proven to be good at eating hair algae to me but I'm not sure how they'd fair with discus.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

Hair algae is one of the easiest to get rid of. No need for H2O2, excel, algaecides, or blackouts. Just remove as much as possible, reduce the light, and dose necessary nutrients for good plant health.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

Thenoob said:


> I've battled hair algae before it sucks.
> 
> First id start soaring excel again and make sure your plants have everything they need to grow healthily. Next Id get an old tooth brush and use it remove as much as you can by hand, twirling works well. If this doesn't work id try a product like algae destroyer. For me it was very effective. I used it to kill the algae and then vacuumed the dead stuff out. It will however kill inverts. Lastly amano shrimp have proven to be good at eating hair algae to me but I'm not sure how they'd fair with discus.


I am planning on doing a big clean up today and then might reduce lighting until I get my excel order this week. Normally I never run out but I just have been so busy with work. I'll give the toothbrush thing a try when cleaning today. Thanks 

Bump:


Solcielo lawrencia said:


> Hair algae is one of the easiest to get rid of. No need for H2O2, excel, algaecides, or blackouts. Just remove as much as possible, reduce the light, and dose necessary nutrients for good plant health.


Interesting. Now by dosing are you referring to anything specific? I haven't dosed this tank at all since its been up (7 months) because it is a dirted tank and I still have mixed emotions on how long those nutrients in the soil may last. I suppose it wouldn't hurt after this long. Dry ferts? Will non-excel flourish help? By reducing light do you mean the amount per day? Right now I have it on 9 hours a day with 2 T5HO 6700k bulbs with a 4 on, 3 off, 5 on cycle.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

It's difficult to know what nutrients are still available in the soil. Adding micronutrients would probably help a lot. Light can be reduced both by intensity and photoperiod. One T5HO may be enough for the tank, which doesn't have high-light-need plants.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

So I broke down and bought a pressurized co2 system. I have had successful growth at around 2 to 3 BPS. I am getting a bit discouraged now and find the hair algae getting worse even after I cleaned it up. It's spreading fast. I bought a few cherry shrimp to help out and so far the discus haven't bothered them. Nothing else has changed. I'm stuck with a ceramic diffuser right now because I run hob filters. What else can I do to combat this? Nitrate is sitting around 5-10 ppm after a 3 days of co2 injection.

Here is the devastation...


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

This is exact setup I bought.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

The only thing I haven't done is start any dosing besides potassium. With nitrates staying around 5 to 10 ppm even after adding co2 I wondered how necessary it was. although I am dosing flourish for micros. I was dosing excel up to the point I added pressurized. Should I be worried? Should I still reduce photo period or wait it out and see how co2 helps over a larger sample size than 3 days? I'm not panicked yet but starting to think I am helping it grow even faster now. I was going to buy more then 3 shrimp but at 7 dollars a shrimp I figured it wasn't worth it if my Discus snacked on them.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

I am almost positive this all started with a plant I bought that had some of this on it. I cleaned it off and it came back in a big way. I even trimmed back heavily affected leaves. I am about to cut the val down short and remove the wood and scrub it down but before I do that I could use some advice.


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## Ordinary Guy (Mar 18, 2015)

I am also beginner in this field but while doing a research on planted tank, got this info "siamese algae eater fish are the best fish for remove algae" the author said he put a bunch of 15 fishes in tank and after a week he have seen a g8 difference"...
May be you should give it a try.... spawn some bunch of siamese algae eater fish...


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

I heard mixed things about the SAG and my LFS doesn't carry any currently. Rare fish for them to get in stock. Cherry shrimp became lunch.

I did a huge clean up today and decided to just cut all the val down to 4 inches. The root systems are strong so I hope it'll fight it's way back. I also did a 40% water change and did a big dose of excel. I know it probably will melt but I've had it used to excel somewhat so maybe it won't take it as hard this time. 

I really want to find the balance. The parameters are very good with decent growth since I added co2. I'm leaning towards a nutrients deficiency. I need to consider what it's either in excess of, or lacking. Does anyone have any suggestions. Phosphates I would lean towards being higher than lower but don't have a test kit yet. Nitrate seems ok but maybe I can't keep up with the co2? Lighting is in my opinion moderate at least according to Hoppy's PAR chart. I have done a ton of research on this but still having trouble finding the source.

Here is an updated pic.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

I forgot to mention that I've considered the light being much higher at the top of the tank. The levels may get into that high light area with improper nutrients for those levels.


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## Underwater (Jun 25, 2012)

I'm surprised so far no one has mentioned that excel liquid co2 is simply a chemical called glutaraldehyde. Plants can use it as a carbon backbone and it is an algaecide. Keep dosing it daily and since the algae seems to be really bothering you go ahead and do a 2-3 day blackout while dosing excel. Higher concentrations are recommended for severe algae, but I am not sure how sensitive discus are to it.


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## haril (Feb 17, 2015)

I had a battle with the very kind of algae you are trying to get rid off and I finally won the battle. I used Hydrogen Peroxide directly on the affected areas after turning off circulation. I did not go with the usual high dose full tank with circulation method. I dosed upto 2 ml per gallon using a 10 cc syringe over the affected areas and then do a 25% water change after 30 minutes of letting the H2O2 do its work. I did this every 3 days and after the water change I dosed API AlgaeFix slightly below the dosage recommendation on the bottle. I used the API Algae fix only the last 3 times I changed water. I have totally gotten rid of the algae now with this method after just 15 days. I also had a pair of American flag fish who used to feast on the weakening hair algae. Platies also do a good job of it.

My light period is 8 hours a day and make sure that CO2 levels dont fluctuate. I did not do any black outs since my tank is heavily planted. I noticed that you are chopping your Val leaves. This will kill the entire leaf and cause it to decay which algae love to grow on. If you need to remove a leaf, remove the entire leaf from the crown. This applies to any plant.


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## Georgeh (Mar 23, 2015)

*Hair algae*

May have no choice but to add a few Siamese algae eaters. They live up to theis name and should solve your problem.

Bump: Arizona Aquatic Gardens are specialists when it comes to algae removal and stock the SAE's that you need. Might wanna try them.


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## ahem (Dec 27, 2014)

Algae eaters will never catch up with the volume of algae your tank seems to be producing. You are doing the right thing getting it out, a lot of people make changes to the water or get some algae eaters and then expect the algae to disappear. I think the #1 cause of algae is algae so get it out even if you have to buy new plants. The key is to figure out what is helping it proliferate. Most of the time it seems to be too much light. If your tank was fine for a while and then it happened, something changed, although it may well have been gradual.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

Update! Starting EI dosing with 10 hours no siesta cycle. 2 t5ho 6500k bulbs. Co2 pumping around 5-7 bps only when lights on and boom! Just trimmed up the tank and finally got a scape going. Now to watch it grow.

I had a lot of new growth to trim and decided it need a better flow. Once those swords take off I'll be happy. 

Before and after Below.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

And I did a big dose of excel just before starting EI and it almost all receded within days. Really looking good now.


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## nucklehead (Mar 23, 2014)

Struggling getting the hairgrass to come back but it's starting. Any tips for hairgrass care?


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