Getting rid of Hair Algae

So my friend is having a hair algae problem and I thought I'd post it on here to see if you guys could help.



k, this outbreak has occurred because I haven't been home much. Basically, everything in my 10g is covered in this stuff
The problem is, all my coral in that tank (shrooms basically) are anchored to the rock, otherwise I would just chuck the old and bring in some new LR. Now I've tried adding more snails, it worked for like a week, then the algae came back harder than ever, no lights on, covered in a towel for 3 days, that didn't solve anything, and major w/c, but that just makes it look more orderly...
I know that one of my problems is that my skimmer sucks, don't get the fission, so I'll have to put out some dough to go get the rio, which is working great in my gf's 10g...
but my question is, what else can be done to curb this plague? any advice is apprieciated... sigh

Run phosphate removal media, like PhosBan, PhosGuard or RowaPhos.

Only use RODI water for water changes -- no tap water!

Stop feeding flakes or pellets, only feed frozen food.

This could take a month to clear up. Don't get discouraged, and don't throw out all your live rock -- the live rock is not the problem, it's nutrients in the water that's the problem.

he's been in the hobby for 3 yrs and that's how old one of his tanks is not sure if it's this one

so I'm sure he only uses RODI water

If its a true hair algae and not bryopsis then mexican turbos would clear it up.
Otherwise do what Biff recommends.

In addition to what Biff said.Run a bag of Chemi-pure Elite and dose with Marine SAT.
It takes a while,But hair can be beat.

I got rid of most of my jungle by pulling it off the rock. Out of the water of course. Then keeping my lights off for three days. Seems to worked because There's not a whole lot left and the snails seemed to be eating it.

or cheat and throw in one of those nasty looking sea-hares!!!

-Doc

You need to get to the root of the problem. Don't try any band aid fixes like snails, sea-hares, no lights, etc. You have hair algea because of high nutrient levels (nitrate, phosphate, silicates, etc).
To truely rid yourself of hair algea, you need to do like bifferwine suggested. Use RO/DI water for all top off and water changes and run GFO (granular ferric oxide) to remove phospahte and silicate. Remember, nothing comes fast and easy in this hobby.

is your tank in a spot where its catching a lot of direct light from outside? like right by a window or anything? If so, it could be an ongoing problem for you

I agree that long term nutrient reduction is the key, but I don't think there is anything wrong with a little boost for the ego by adding something to help in the tank. It give us a sense of some control and feels like we are accomplishing something. Its a mental thing

-Doc