# my rock has hair!!!



## MRmase01 (May 10, 2012)

right, im back with this problem, its got worse overtime, what can i do? i have done a number of water changes and so on, but nothing seems to have happend?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

GFO helps with algae.It is best used in a reactor where it can be tumbled,but I imagine it could work in any filter(canister or hob) if placed in a bag.Less light also could help.Can't really say without knowing how long your lighting cycle is.
Waterchanges may never help with algae if your new water has phosphates,or you are not getting your nitrates low enough.Light,Nitrates and Phosphates are most common cause of algae.
Do you have any snails(turbo snails love algae) ?


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## MRmase01 (May 10, 2012)

my lights are normally on 10-8, about 10 hours aday, i have no snails no, it just seems to be over taking the tank right now


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## tike (Nov 10, 2008)

Limiting nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate should be the primary focus of attention when trying to manage hair algae growth. Manual removal is also important with this type of algae because of the large volume that can grow. If nutrients are properly lowered the algae will starve. The dead and decomposing algae will merely re-introduce more organic nutrients back into the water column and fuel further growth of algae. Good flow throughout the tank will also aid in winning the battle against hair algae. I have effectively used carbon dosing to lower my po3 and no3 and rid my tanks of hair algae. You can research Carbon dosing here Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Bio plastics in a reactor is another form of carbon dosing(like vodka),but doesn't require daily activity.Both take upto a month to kick into full force,but both are effective ways to control your nitrates.They both also require a protien skimmer to aid in the removal of the bacteria they generate.


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## Chang Cindy (Sep 17, 2013)

add some little fish or shrimp to eat it , change the water frequently, don't offer too light for it , don't let the sun shine it directly


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## Moe (Jun 18, 2012)

MRmase01 said:


> right, im back with this problem, its got worse overtime, what can i do? i have done a number of water changes and so on, but nothing seems to have happend?


usually few things cause such issues.

1. Overfeeding
2. lack of water changes
3. Not using RO/DI water
4. Skimmer not doing it's job

Now you will have to hunt the source down causing this and my suggestion you can get a Two Little Fishes reactor 150 or 550 depending on your tank size and run it with RowaPhos GFO. Give it 3-6 weeks or so and see what happens. during this keep the water changes going and hope for the best !!


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## SantaMonica (Sep 18, 2008)

This may help:
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f18/nutrient-export-74762.html

And this:

Phosphate flow out of rocks

Many people get worried when more (not less) algae starts to grow on their rocks. It seems really strange, especially when nitrate and phosphate have gone lower than before. What is happening is that phosphate is coming out of the rocks. Remember, phosphate is invisible, so you can only see the effects of it, and it always "flows" from higher concentrations to lower concentrations (just like heat does). 

Example: If your room is warm, and you put a cold object on the floor, heat from the air in the room will "flow" into the object until the object and the air are the same temperature. Example 2: If you put a hot object on the floor, heat will "flow" out of the object and go into the air in the room, again, until the air and the object are the same temperature. Now suppose you open your windows (in the winter). The warm air in your room will go out the windows, and it will get colder in the room. The object on the floor is now warmer than the air, so heat will flow out of the object and into the air, and then out the window.

Think of phosphate as the heat, and your rocks as the object, and your windows as the scrubber. As the scrubber pulls phosphate out of the water, the phosphate level in the water drops. Now, since the phosphate level in the water is lower than the phosphate level in the rocks, phosphate flows from the rocks into the water, and then from the water into the scrubber. This continues until the phosphate levels in the rocks and water are level again. And remember, you can't see this invisible flow.

This flow causes an interesting thing to happen. As the phosphate comes out of the rocks, it then becomes available to feed algae as soon as the phosphate reaches the surface of the rocks where there is light. So, since the surface of the rocks is rough and has light, it starts growing MORE algae there (not less) as the phosphate comes out of the rocks. This is a pretty amazing thing to see for the first time, because if you did not know what was happening you would probably think that the algae in the scrubber was leaking out and attaching to your rocks. Here are the signs of phosphate coming out of the rocks: 

1. The rocks are older, and have slowly developed algae problems in the past year.

2. The scrubber is new, maybe only a few months old, and has recently started to grow well.

3. Nitrate and phosphate measurements in the water are low, usually the lowest they have been in a long time.

4. Green hair algae (not brown) on the rocks has increased in certain spots, usually on corners and protrusions at the top.

5. The glass has not needed cleaning as much.


Since skimmers, filter socks, etc don't remove any nitrate and phosphate, and waterchanges and macro's in a fuge don't remove much, most people have never seen the effects of large amounts of phosphate coming out of the rocks quickly. But sure enough, it does. How long does it continue? For 2 months to a year, depending on how much phosphate is in the rocks, how strong your scrubber is, and how many other phosphate-removing filters you have (GFO, carbon dosing, etc). But one day you will see patches of white rock that were covered in green hair the day before; this is a sure sign that the algae are losing their phosphate supply from the rocks and can no longer hold on. Now it's just a matter of days before the rocks are clear.


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