Hair algae gone!

[stygian7]

I returned home from my vacation to find a pleasant suprise. The hair algae that has been a plague in my tank is allmost completely gone. Just before I left, I started adding trace element and KSO4. I didn't have time to figure out the proper frequency of dosing for my tank, so I had my girlfriend do it every three days. This is very conservative considering that the water changer changes the entire tanks volume in that amount of time. I didn't want to burden her with test kits, so I stopped adding KNO3 altogether.
Now that I'm back, I'll moniter nutrient levels and try to get rid of the remaining algea that grows on the glass (the non-filimentous type). I'm planning to follow the Sears-Conlin recommendations. Right now my Fe level is undetectable, so I'm working on that part. Anyway, the plants already look better and I finally see a bright spot in the future. About time for some encouraging results :D.

[rjaso]

Hey! Keep us up to date on this, will you? I got some plants with hair algae from a friend and it spread across my tank within a couple of weeks. I shut down the CO2 unit, decreased the light and it helped, but in the end, took out most of the plants and gave the driftwood a good scrubbing.
I'd love to know if you think you've got a cure that works.
Thanks

[ReMY]

I've been fighting hair algae for the last 7 months. Now that my plants look good again and that the growth is good too, here are a list of things I did -and conclusions( that may be interesting for others) :
- keep on dozing iron; ok, we want the plants to outcompete the algae : well if you stop feeding the plants, the chance they keep on growing are slim...
- keep the fish feeding down; it's always better to feed a little, 4 times a day than a lot only once... Of course when algae is really becoming a problem, you can feed less and maybe just once... the fish will take it... ;)
- concerning the lighting, if you're using ordinary fluorescents (T8), just make sure they're not too old (not more than a 1 year old).

Now, here comes the interesting part. Since I noticed that the algae always spreaded out from the bottom of the tank, I decided to totally review the water circulation. Usually, when you're using a canister filter, water is taken from the bottom of the tank and brought back in though a spraybar -usually- adjusted at the top. I have setup the opposite ;D
The water comes out through a loooong spraybar positioned at the bottom and that runs from one side to another. Using an Eheim surface cleaner and an ordinary intake most of the water is taken from the mid level, thus getting all the stuff that is pushed by the spraybar. Here are the results :
- the water became cristal clear in 24 hours;
- the surface is of course a lot cleaner than it used to be (even when the surface cleaner is closed)
- the algae growth slowed down in no time

After a month with this setup, I have decided to add a small water pump at the bottom to enhance the circulation. Now I am happy to say that algae is histroy 8)... for now anyway... ;)

Keep the faith! :) :)

ps : sorry for this long post...

[RAWesolowski]

Remy,

You should never apologize for an informative post!

[ReMY]

OK!!!!! ;D
Hope my description is clear though!!!!

[ChloroPhil]

ReMY,

Thanks for that! I've had about the exact same problem as you, only with Cladophora species algae in my tank. I think it's time to put the spraybar back in the tank. :)

[ReMY]

LOL ;D
When I decided to try this setup, the most difficult part was finding the spraybars I had put away... years ago!

Phil, when you try that, make sure the water circulates up to the front glass of your tank. I think the reason why the surface scum has disapeared is also because of this vertical circulation (of course, and once again, even without the surface cleaner device ::))

[ChloroPhil]

ReMY,

I've got a Wet/Dry running in my tank and the overflow takes care of any surface scum as long as I don't let any floating plants clog the intake.