help with hair algae and it taking over/hurting corals

[Moose]

Okay, I am at a loss here,
I have a wicked hair algae problem and can't seem to get rid of it no matter what I do. My system is a 90 gallon tank, below it us a 55gallon sump, and piped in to the main tank is a 30 gallon frag tank. I have a reef dynamics 130 skimmer, a bio pellet reactor, carbon reactor, and nitrate/phosphate media reactor, I use the same salt always, red sea coral pro, have a halide over the 30 (well above) and two led lights over the 90, with a t5 over the sump.

Problem, I have been doing 30 gallon water changes every 4-5 days, sucking up detritus etc from rocks or stands, sucking up hair algae but it keeps coming back
I have snails, chestnut, turbos, hermits, sand sifting stars, sand snails, margaritas etc
Gone through two sea hares but the done survive in the tank? Even when well drip acclimated

Fish-
3 perculas clowns, 2 maroons (no clown bigger than 2 inches), cleaner wrasse, mystery wrasse, watchman goby,

So heres my problem.
MY corals are dying, they are being suffocated by the algae, I have an 8 headed dendro, and a couple acros that are taking the worse of it, I was able to peroxide dip the zoas but after a few days the algae again starts to come back... Any ideas? Is there something I can did the other corals in that would help them? I really love my tank and am at my wits end..

Yes I have checked my RO water and its coming up fine....

 

[RadReefer]

How old are your bulbs and do you feed frozen without rinsing? Is your media old and leaching phosphates back into the tank?

 

[Moose]

I change the media every 3-5 weeks, I feed frozen and do not tend to rinse but add the garlic supplement twice weekly... bulbs in the halide 9 months, and t-5 are the same...

 

[mchartier]

How old is the tank? Also what kind of rocks did you use, some dry rock has been shown to have PO4 bound up and it eventually leeches out. Maybe what is happening. What and how much and how many times are you feeding per day? As for rinsing the food, Randy did an article that showed that rinsing does not really do much to remove nutrients from frozen food over not rinsing (I have not rinsed since). Also I would stop the garlic supplement unless its due to having a finicky eater.

Heres that article - http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry

 

[Moose]

when I add the garlic, every coral and fish perks up for some, which is why I use it, My tank was upgraded over a year ago to this system, before that is was a 40 bowfront with a 20 sump. The rick is some Fiji and some mixes over the years, the tank and rocks have been set up for well over 3-4 years now, and I never put dry rock into the tank either live, or I made it live before adding it to the tank. I feed once a day, and just a pinch of flake, every couple of days I feed frozen, I used to feed frozen nearly everyday but I am trying to cut it down atm to reduce nutrients, when I feed frozen I feed atleast a quarter size worth or frozen as there are a lot of corals I spot feed and fish and shrimps. though the last few weeks I am feeding roughly every other day, flake, and once a week frozen to cut it down.....
I was thinking of seeing if I can try another sea hare or two, or four I mean I need a solution and need to help the corals, but im afraid to get another, have him die, feel bad that I killed him, AND have him add nutrients for the algae to eat

 

[mchartier]

Something is not right. With having "a bio pellet reactor, carbon reactor, and nitrate/phosphate media reactor" that, you should not have a huge issue with algae. A small amount is fine but when you say its choking out the corals theres something wrong. Not sure what you have for corals that you are feeding that much frozen to but for a few weeks I would stop the frozen (I have 6 fish in a 57 gallon and feed about a half cube of mysis daily along with pellets in the morning), or maybe smaller meals more times a day to make sure the food does not go uneaten.

I would also take out what ever rocks I can during a water change and scrub them with a tooth brush and dunk and swish them in fresh saltwater before placing back into the tank. As for the garlic I would pass on it for a while to see if that helps, not sure if it is or is not part of the issue but going back to keeping it simple and remove items to see what the cause is will help.

Do you dose 2 part?

The issue with adding the sea hare is yes it will eat the hair algae but it will also put out waste doing so, its a viscous circle.

 

[Moose]

Your telling me!! I def can't seem to fine the problem, I can do some rock rinsing an scrubbing but nearly all my rocks have got corals.... Dendros, blastos, Duncan's, acans,candy canes etc all grab food when spot fed, so I have a lt of heads to feed....
Dose 2 part??
The only thing I dose, starting today, is the Red Sea algae control ... I use the salt an the test kits so I figured I would try this out...

 

[frank180reef]

it might be the spot feeding of all those corals that is giving u algae

 

[Moose]

Maybe, but I have always spot fed them, and they have always grown so well and responded to it that I don't want to stop long term, I have not spot feed in over three weeks though to cut back nutrients, I honestly am at a loss, so far I have ad up on things like peroxide dosing, but I'm trying the Red Sea dosing right now. Started yesterday, says dose everyday while checking levels, I'm also hand plucking it but that is obviously not working well.... I'm just afraid for the Dendrops, and acros etc, there ally getting taken over, but I can't seem to pluck it off those guys well, I made a did for my zoa frags and its worked alright, but my non zoos are hurting

 

[frank180reef]

my money is on the spot feeding, it takes time to build up and also time to reduce the nutrients

I got 3 dendros colonies from a friend,they had tons of HA, I plucked some and did the perozide and now they look great......................

when I did a lot of spot feeding on my frags I got the HA also (FWIW)

witht he carbon dosing maybe ur skimmer cant or isnt keeping up?

 

[ffsteve]

This is just my 2 cents,

i have a 125 filled with corals and fish. tangs, wrasses, gobies, clowns, candycanes, birdsnest, 3 caps, duncans, mushrooms, zoas, softies, clams, and leathers. i use a small army of turbo snails, there like bulldosers but they work. i run a skimmer, refugium and rodi. i never spot feed, i feed only rinsed frozen food, every other day. I also use Strontium & Molybdenum and Essential Elements, plus seaweed wrap for the tangs. 5 gallon water changes once a week. I would slow down on the feeding and let your system catch up on the cleaning. lights and over feeding are the cause of ha.

here is a good article on two part. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/4/chemistry

 

[mannysmusic]

Have you tested for phosphates? I had the same issue but was testing for everythig but phosphates... Once i did, i realized my PO4 was at .48ppm Once i started running GFO, it started going to down and now it around .08. Most of my hair algae problem is gone. It take a 6 weeks before i was able to get my PO4 at an eccaptable level.. I also switchd to smaller water changes every week.. i have a 72 gallon i do about 5 gallon water change every week.

 

[Moose]

Yes the nitrates an phosphates are up some, but I do run the phosban, plus the nitrate phosphate remover in one reactor, I'm changing in out today again, maybe I need to change more often, when you used peroxide on the Dendro, did you drip it on to the exoskeleton and just not the meaty flower parts?

 

[frank180reef]

I soaked the dendro in 85% tank water and ABOUT 15 % hydrogen perozide

 

[ljr]

I just wanted to confirm... you are using RODI for your water changes, right? What is the TDS of that water?

 

[ljr]

Yes I have checked my RO water and its coming up fine....

Oops, sorry, missed the last line....

 

[Spaceman]

Change your t5 bulb min its your problem.

 

[saltwaterB]

are you sure it is hair algae and not Bryopsis???

Also, you mention that your Phosphate is up...what is the actual level? Anything over .1 ppm can definitely feed a hair algae outbreak. If it is hair algae I would bet that it is Phosphate related...8 out of 10 times there is HA it is due to PO4.

 

[luu78]

My tangs mowed down all the algae (red fuzzy algaes, hair algaes, etc..). I even feed them rocks with algae from other tanks I have. They are great algae eaters. Maybe buy one, acclimate it and if it doesn't work out, I'm sure some member will buy it. Also, clean detritus of your rocks with turkey blaster if haven't done so, it really helps. Any mechanical filtration? Clean those more frequently as well I guess. Did the outbreak occurs soon after bio pellets usage? Good luck!

 

[jason401]

Here's bryopsis, I've had it once before and I'm fighting it again now.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bry...hl=en&client=safari#biv=i|2;d|omvhSORaDDqqQM: