One way I have found to help keep hair algae under some control is to take
the rock out and scrub it off as much as possible and then turn the rock
over in the tank so the hair algae that didn't come off is under the rock
and not on top so the light doesn't hit it. Keep turning the rock as much
as possible. It doesn't like not having light. Also works for macro algae
your trying to get rid off on rocks

Susan .
"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:a1RXi.6623$Zz.2716@trnddc07...
Big Habeeb wrote:
OK, so I've already reduced the photoperiod of my tank to around 8
hours a day (night lamps on the rest of the time)...and as those
who've read my stuff before know, this is a relatively new tank (I
think its about 2 months running now). The only animal type stuff in
the tank are about 8 turbo snails, 6 hermit crabs, and one lil' ol
clownfish (plus a small coral piece). The issue that I'm having is
that the algae growth seems to be absolutely out of control, coating
the overflow box, and walls of the tank with thick, green, hairy
algae. I've added phosphate remover in a sack to the sump, at the
recommendation of my LFS...but am somewhat at a loss as to what else
can be done. Is it, perhaps, time to add some kind of grazer, i.e. a
yellow tang? This stuff is growing UNBELIEVABLY quickly...I scrubbed
the tank sides last night, and came down this morning to new growth
springing up all over. The live rock seems to be kept pretty clean,
but it seems like the stuff is growing MUCH faster than anything the
snails can keep up with...

Sounds like hair algae. Your LFS is giving you good advice. This stuff
lives off light, phosphates, and nitrates. With the type of setup you've
described having, your nitrates will become negligible in six months to a
year. Until then, water changes will keep them down. Phosphates frequently
come in in your tap water and normal decay products add to this in the
tank. A good phosphate remover can help, but many people buy a
reverse-osmosis filter to treat the tap water used for water changes.

There are a number of animals that eat hair algae. Blue-leg hermit crabs,
Foxface Rabbitfish, some sea urchins, and one sea slug all have good
reputations. I have a hair algae problem and have had no luck with hermit
crabs or rabbitfish. Kurt G of this group had such great results from his
sea slug that the poor thing is in danger of starving, so I intend to get
one of those soon. In the meantime, I just scrub the glass and rock and
filter out the debris.

George Patterson
If you torture the data long enough, eventually it will confess
to anything.