# Hair Algae Problem



## Oghorille (Jul 1, 2015)

Hey all, 

So about 3 months ago I set up a 30 gal planted tank as low tech, and everything was going smoothly until the algae started setting in. I have hair algae on everything, and my sand is turning that gross brown color that nobody wants. I feel like this hair algae is going to quickly strangle all of my plants, and I am not about to try any ridiculous methods to remove it. I'll list my specs so you guys can maybe identify what I am doing wrong (Disclaimer: I know that without co2, that is probably my "main cause of algae" but I am sticking to a low tech mentality and so I would appreciate other suggestions besides "add co2") List of specs below:

- Light: 36" Finnex Ray II, 10hr photoperiod (Which I just reduced to 6 to combat algae growth for 2 weeks as suggested by Tom Barr)
- Fluval 204 Canister filter + Aquaclear 20 HOB 
- Hydor Koralia 250gph pump

I dose ~10ml Flourish/wk, 8ml API Co2 Booster/day, occasionally dose 1-2ml Iron

30% WC/weekly, but going to change this to 50% every other week instead.

Stock:
30x Neon tetra
10x Pygmy Cory
6x Emerald Cory
3x Oto
10x RCS

Here are some steps I will be taking to combat the hair algae growth:
- Visiting my LFS tomorrow to see if I can purchase some Amano Shrimp which I read on here are decent at combating hair algae
- I purchased 30 ramshorn snails on ebay that should be arriving within a day or two which I will dump in to the tank
- Reducing photoperiod from 11hrs down to 6hrs


Are there any additional suggestions you have for me to make sure that this is a success and I wont have to worry about the algae coming back? I want to bring my photoperiod back to 10-12 hours relatively quickly because I want to be able to enjoy the tank without worrying constantly about algae growth.

One more thing, I am most interesting in combating this in a natural way, not for any reason other than my complete disinterest in purchasing and applying chemicals to the tank, ripping every plant out one by one and scrubbing, etc. I am looking for something like snails or shrimp to do the trick, but obviously I have to jump start it all in the right direction again. Thanks guys!

PS Pics to come tomorrow morning


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## Virc003 (Dec 3, 2011)

Without having years of experience, a 10-12 hour photo period will cause some kind of problem. Also, you are reducing your water changes when you should be increasing them to probably twice a week instead of every other week. Your tank is very much over stocked. The plus side to this is that extra fish generate more co2.


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## Oghorille (Jul 1, 2015)

I would argue against the tank being overstocked; the bioload is virtually nothing, although on paper I can understand concern. I can increase my water changes to 50% once a week but unfortunately I can't do multiple times weekly.

Would you say a photoperiod closer to 8hrs would be more reasonable given my parameters? I of course am talking about moving forward assuming I fix the algae issue.


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## Soxfandowd (Aug 1, 2014)

Is that light dimmable? If not maybe you could raise it to decrease the par in addition to the increased photo period. I know when I tried to run my lights that long I had algae too. Do you have a timer? You could always split your photo period into two sessions to increase your viewing hours.


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## Oghorille (Jul 1, 2015)

Soxfandowd said:


> Is that light dimmable? If not maybe you could raise it to decrease the par in addition to the increased photo period. I know when I tried to run my lights that long I had algae too. Do you have a timer? You could always split your photo period into two sessions to increase your viewing hours.


Great idea; I do have it on a timer, so now I am considering one of two options, which is either to just set the timer to like an 8hr photoperiod and not worry about it (I am not inclined to raise the light because of the way I have it set up). My other option, which you pointed out and which I am beginning to like the idea of, is the separate photo periods. Would you or someone else like to comment on the science behind this? Would it be reasonable to do a 9am-12pm period and then a 4pm-9pm as well? Or something along those lines. 

Here's the main dilemma - I want to keep the plant growth noticeable while not allowing the algae to grow in its place. If the separate photo periods wont jeopardize plant health I am more than happy to try that. Thanks for all the suggestions!

Bump: I am also realizing that I never answered your question about the light; No it is not dimmable, and is definitely a high tech light on this low tech setup which I know is probably causing most of the problems, and so lowering the photoperiod should have an immediate effect.


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

Try splitting the Flourish dosing into smaller portions throughout the week. Something like -2ml every other day? Also, regarding the photoperiod: 1) do two 5hr periods separated by about four to five hours. 2) The "Science": Disclaimer: there is still much contention behind the "science" but.. basically turning the lights down(off) during the day(4-5 hrs.) allows for the natural production of CO2 by plants(they produce CO2 through O2 uptake during lights out). In "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" Walstad CLAIMS that after about 5-6hrs of lights on that CO2 levels are diminished from plant uptake. Allowing this siesta(rest) period brings those levels to pre-dawn saturation after 5hrs of lights out.


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## kuro (May 21, 2010)

Not sure if splitting the light will work. IMO just keep the light on for 6 hrs a day. Do a huge water change over 50% and vacuum as much algae as you can. Then apply your 8 ml CO2 Booster directly on the algae you can't remove, leave pump/filter off for at least 10 mins. Continue spot treating the algae with the CO2 booster till algae die. I think CO2 booster have the same active ingredient as Seachem excel, glutaraldehyde.


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## badbart (Jul 28, 2009)

1. I had algae problem with a Planted plus on a low tech 55 gallon with stage horn algae and I reduced my lighting period to 4 hours and double doses Excel and all the algae was gone in a week. 
2. A ray 2 is high light its going to give you algae with no co2. I bought fiberglass window screen to reduce your light and its working great.


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## Oghorille (Jul 1, 2015)

So I should consider co2, or perhaps keep the photoperiod to about 6hours/day. 

I can buy into the science behind a siesta, I will consider trying that once I rid myself of all of this algae. 

Does anyone think the ~30 ramshorn snails I ordered will have any effect on algae in the tank? Right now I would consider myself in recovery mode and I am not yet ready to start considering how to fix my light issue.


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## JustJen (Jun 20, 2011)

You will have issues using the Ray 2 on a non-CO2 tank. It's a strong light intended for high tech setups. I have the planted plus, which is a less intense finnex led light, on a 33 long, and I battle algae like crazy in there, even with a 6 hour photo period and amanos doing their best to keep it under control. Regardless of what you do to get rid of the algae, you'll either have to reduce the intensity of the light significantly (either by raising it higher off the tank or using something between the light and the tank to filter the light), add CO2, or replace the light with something less intense to keep the problem from continuing.+

Also, ramshorns have never been of any help to me. Nerites are great for certain types of algae, but even they don't seem to touch the stringy/hairy stuff.


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## jonsnow (May 1, 2015)

I am also currently having a very similar problem. It started with a ton of staghorn algae, that has since disappeared and has been replaced by a crazy amount of hair algae that has been impossible for me to remove. I do not think that the snails will eat the hair algae, because I have a large amount of snails in my tank and they do not seem to touch the stuff. Here is my setup:

55 gallon, SunSun 303 canister, Marineland HOB, Playsand substrate, and a Finnex Planted+. I dose Excel at about 1.5x - 2x dose everyday and I do not supplement with CO2 or fertilizers. I do add baking soda and calcium carbonate at every water change to raise KH and GH.

The tank is stocked with a pair of GBRs, under 18 Dream Blue Shrimp, and under 10 Chili Rasboras. I do not know how many there are because they hide from the Rams.

I have a bit of hornwort, some monte carlo, and some marsilea minuta. Most of it has been over taken by algae and the sand has turned brown/black.

I really have no idea what is causing the algae outbreak, and I believe that my water is fairly clean. I got a phosphate remover pad on a recommendation from someone at a fish store, but I highly doubt it will do anything because my phosphates only measure 1ppm when I tested them before installing the pad.


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## kuro (May 21, 2010)

Can also add floating plants, like frogbits or RRF, or add more plants. My 8g low tech that i started 2 months ago does not get any fertilizer. Last month I added some more plants and added osmocote+ directly under the plant with 1.1x excel daily. I have 18w LED clamp light 3 inches above it, that would put me in med/high light range. I did get green dust algae. When I left the tank for my coworker to look after while i was on vacation I came back to tank with some string algae, most likely from overfeeding. I did a 50% water change and spot treat the algae with hydrogen peroxide. It working really well.


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## Oghorille (Jul 1, 2015)

Im thinking floating plants might be the way to go; I want something that is not very visible from a frontal view, wont destroy my tank (as in act like a weed and just outcompete everything), and one that doesnt completely block the light from traveling down. Does anyone have a suggestion that fits the bill for me? I was thinking frogbit, not really sure of the requirements, etc. I have never kept floating plants before.


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## kuro (May 21, 2010)

Frogbit root grow to long probably for your liking. Red root floater is a little hard to get going but once it does i think it the best looking floater and spread at a controllable pace. Do not get duckweed it will over take your aquarium.


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## Oghorille (Jul 1, 2015)

Would a few big water lillies be feasible? Can someone weigh in on this?


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## dpod (Sep 16, 2014)

you could try getting a dwarf lotus and allowing the leaves to surface. They grow incredibly fast, from what I've heard, and you would have to trim fairly often to encourage it to keep its shape. If you want a small floating plant, I recommend salvinia minima. It grows fairly fast, but it's roots are short (0.5"-1") and they're easy to scoop out once your tank gets overgrown.


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