hair algae

[red jim]

hi in the 3rd week of setting up my tank what was starting to look good until hair algae started to grow on every surface any advice on how to get rid of it not sure if should use chemicals or not thanks

[Suc_Sid]

G'day Red Jim,

I once had the same problem - for me, it was excess phosphate problem, i also put in a few Siamese Flying Fox fish.

A few suggestions:

Have you put any fast growing plants in? eg Wisteria (LFS name). Put it all through your tank, it's fast growing and can take up some of that excess nutrients that's causing the algae. Your tank is newly set up and may not have properly cycled yet.

How many fish are in there? What size tank? Make sure it's not overstocked, especially given it's fairly new. Overstocking can lead to overfeeding which leads to excess phosphate.

Are you lights only 3 weeks old too? I'm told (by people who know more than me) that lights over 12 months old lose their power, as the gases inside wear down. (I'm told people can't notice with their naked eye, but apparently it's possible to take photos of them with specially filtered lenses which show the difference - just what i was told). Algae tends grow more in tanks where light is old, as they prefer a more "subdued" lighting. Perhaps if your lights are old (over 12 - 18 months), they may need replacing.

Perhaps include some Siamese Flying Fox Fish - this only helps to remove the visual problem, not the source of the problem.

A final suggestion is to test for phosphate - it makes algae blossom. I use a SeaChem product called Phosguard, you put it in your filter and it removes excess phosphate from the water. It's worked very well for me.

I try to never use chemicals if possible. Try one thing at a time - not all at once.

Hope this helps.

S_S