By Lorraine | 10 March 2020 | 0 Comments
Hair Algae - Causes and How to Get Rid of Them
There are so many different types of algae that it is very difficult and sometimes even impossible to distinguish them. Most owners of aquariums come across different types of algae in the tank.
The Causes of Hair Algae in the Tank
This type of algae belongs to the genus Oedogium. Appearing in saltwater for a short time hair algae can cover the entire tank. If you don't take steps to stop them from growing, they will take over the entire tank. And this is something an aquarium keeper doesn't want to see. Also, if you notice the early appearance of algae, try to get rid of it as soon as possible. Over time, it will spread more which will become more and more difficult to get rid of the algae.Hair algae survive with the help of phosphates and nitrates. Therefore, when the levels of phosphate and nitrate are high, hair algae are very likely to appear in your tank.
Normally, hair algae are formed during the tank's cycle period, when it is still looking for biological balance. After some time hair algae will disappear, especially with the help of algae-eating tanks inhabitants. Another cause of hair algae can be light, especially when the light in your tank is too bright then hair algae will spread even faster. Co2 can also cause hair algae, a perfect level of CO2 in the tank should be 20-30 ml per liters.
How to prevent and get rid of hair algae?
It’s a real pain to get rid of hair algae and you need to understand that it will take you some time. Also, you may not be able to get rid of hair algae completely at the beginning.One of the most obvious ways to remove hair algae is to tear it off. You really have to tear the hair algae off the rocks. Turn the filter off so the ripped parts will not move around and fall into hiding places where they can grow again. You can do it with rubber gloves or even without. Juts carefully rip all the hair algae from your tank. This way you will solve half of the problem. After that, you have to work hard to maintain that achievement.
Since hair algae are present in the aquarium water when phosphates and nitrates are present, this means that if you want to get rid of hair algae, you need to lower the levels of phosphate and nitrate. The level of phosphate should be .05 ml per liter and the level of nitrate should be 10ml per liter.
As mentioned above, the light may be one of the reasons hair algae appear in water tanks. To prevent this, you need to reduce the brightness of the fish tank lights. Decreasing light intensity does not cause green hair algae to spread quickly in your tank.
Another effective way to help get rid of hair algae is by consuming the algae through algae eaters.
Buy some fish or other aquarium inhabitants that can feed on algae hair and they will do the job for you. For example, you can buy Ameca splendens, flagfish Jordanella floridae, mollies or other algae, eaters. Also, ghost shrimps are algae eaters so they can also be helpful.
The next way that can help prevent and get rid of hairy algae is to change the water. If you notice that your tank has an excess of nutrients, then you need to change the water from time to time in the aquarium to solve that issue.
Plants in the aquarium can be another useful way to prevent hair algae from appearing. First of all, you need to choose healthy plants to grow in your tank. The way that plants can help you with algae is that the more plants there are in the tank the less space there will be for algae. Also, plants create shade in the tank which will make it harder for algae to spread around.
Also, you can try algae control products. Algaecides can be very helpful, although some people think that these products do not solve the problem, only solve the problem of algae growth and reproduction in a short time.
Liquid carbo can also help fight hair algae. Because hair algae hate liquid carbo, adding these to the water tank every day can be very effective. But if you want better results, you can choose to apply the liquid carbo directly to the specific area where you notice the most hair algae growing.
So in the end, hope this article will help you get rid of those annoying algae. You have to be patient when handling because this won’t take a short time, and the process will not be easy. But using the methods mentioned above you will start to see good changes. Some methods may work for some people, but may not work for others. It all depends on many factors, one of which is water. Because water is different around the world, one method may have different results for certain types of water. Although you don't get good results after taking some measures, you don't need to lose hope. Removal of algae can be very difficult, but it is absolutely possible.
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