Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

What is the best natural way or fish to get rid of hair algae?

Kole tangs work well in my experience. Fox face prob work good too.

Joe

Our yellow and naso tangs are known as the algae terminators

I also have had good luck with yellow tangs

Sea Hares are popular. I have never used one, but I think I'm fixing to try them.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... did=381138

blue leg hermits, lawnmower blenny, tangs, mexican turbo snails....

Those I have seen work....although it seems more of a hit or miss with some.

Also of course try to reduce phosphates and nitrates... refugiums I think help. You may have to scrub it down to get many of the above listed critters to consider it food.

Good luck... Hair algae sucks, and there should be a team of scientist working day and night to find a way to irradicate it like red bugs and planaria.

I have lots of hair algae, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me... I agree with all the above and I currently use:

sea urchin (local, long spinny, purple ones)
tangs (Kole & Hippo)
rabbit fish (awesome eaters)
snails (all of them)
crabs (all of them)

Also try adjusting your lighting. You can cut back by 10-20% and sometimes see results.

best natural way to get rid of hair algea is water changes, or alternatively, find out what's wrong with your water now. If you're not up for that, I would suggest yellow tangs, because they're relatively cheap, that's if you have a tank large enough.

shag is correct with water changes and water quality...if your water is right it can't grow.....

I do water changes every other week, my levels are within range, ammonia is 0, nitrates are 0, nitrites are 0, specific gravity is 1.023, ph is 8.2.
I don't have a great amount of the algae just a small amount on a toadstool, but it seems to be spreading slowly.

what about PO4 levels?

where do you get your water from? Sounds like you are using tap or poorly filtered water... algea loves it.

Also, what do you feed? Do you keep a refugium?

My PO4 levels are 0 (I used the test kit I stole from Josh to check it ), I have 3 month old RO/DI water system, and my nitrates run 1-3 ppm depending on my mood. I don't do water changes.

If I had to guess... I'd say the PO4 is not the algae problem I have. It might be the lack of water changes. I'm due for another one. Hopefully I can get some salt and test it.

What is your Alk / Ph ? I have read a lot of people advise to raise your Alkalinity, but usually raising Alkalinity means raising PH, so I'm thinking that elevating the ph would help to kill it.. I don't know might be something to check out.. that stuff sucks.

I don't know what my PO4 levels are, I don't have a test kit for that.
I don't have an RO/DI filter (to expensive) I presently filter my tap water.
I have cut by my lights to 8 hrs a day and still no decrease in algae should I remove MH and replace with PC for a while? Thanks