Hair Algae in Aquarium! THE ALGAE GUIDE EPISODE #6 

Randomly got recommended your channel a few days ago. I’ve watched almost all your videos in the past few days. One of my favourite aquascaping channels!

I was able to remove this effectively by introducing a school of 6 Mollies into my tank and overnight they fed on it and cleaned all my hardscape overnight. The is just a temporary solution but keeping them keeps hair algae at bay. Nice Algae Science Bro @ MJAquascaping 👌🏻

him: you need cO2 me: *vigurously breaths into water.*

Another quality video! I never thought of reducing surface agitation to help get rid of hair algae in a low tech! Thanks cause I have a lil bit from time to time that grows on the edges of my buce leaves! I had the agitation to reduce that oily film on the surface without realizing I was reducing co2 haha! Can’t wait for the next video! Always learning from your videos!

Yes Mark! I’m on week 5 of my new tank and have hair algae.

Nice vídeo, in ALL of my tanks to get rid of it I need to turn off the CO2 injection, do 2 water changes a week and it goes away, once its gone I turn slowly the CO2 back on and end of the problem!! As you said, at least with me, it appears on new tanks, Azoo Algae Treatment helps a lot as long as you turn off the CO2, remember it is not shrimp safe.

In my low tech planted tank I have lots of fast growing plants, 8 hours fotoperiod, and I only dose a tiny amount of fertilizer twice a week but I always had hair algae growing everywhere. Now I realised my airstones are producing too much surface agitation. I''ll find a way to reduce it and see how it progresses ;)

I do have Amano shrimp and Red Cherry shrimp. I also have Otocinclus. The only algea I still have on a few plants is green spot algea on my Anubias.

Love your videos. I found you when I was looking for a DIY c02 option, and your video on the subject is one of the best IMO. Just subscribed

Your aquascapes were great 👌

1st thing, if there is no flow agitation of water inside tank, then there is a possibility of algae, 2nd. co2 is less, 3rd, if you trim and replant, then the dirt form from substrate sets on the leaves, 4. adding access amount of iron with out CO2. 5th, bright light with out CO2.

Great series dude

Thanks for this awesome series Mark! Green dust algae next?

Thanks really helpfull video....my problem was the duration of light I was it keeping on and nutrient dosage.

My snails have worked a treat for me. My tank has never been cleaner

Wow..amazing video..I always wait for your video legend ..all information is so amazing and useful ❤️❤️❤️Goldy singh aquagold

thanks for the video cheers

Hey mark ur awesome Man U look umm well kinda stoned lol 😝 I’m here for it

How did you determine that your substrate was absorbing the nutrients???

Great video can u please talk about lights which ones are the best to buy keep up the nice work subed 👍🏻

I always get hair algae in my low techs if I try to fert a little bit more.

What are these green fish with blue fins?! Of fourse those are celestial pearl danios alongside them, but ive never seen thise green/blue fish

Aside from not aesthetically pleasing, are there negative effects of hair algae when not removed?

Ik heb precies dezelfde haar alg. Echt troep.

when dosing liquid carbon (EASY-LIFE EasyCarbo or AZOO Carbon Plus should i turn off filter ?

Brother, thanks again for your content. Everytime I have a doubt to which I can't find an answer anywhere on the web, you have a perfectly explained video. My tank is 3 months old, although brown diatom algae had killed many plants by 2nd month, so have added rotalas, (and a couple more plants), 2 weeks ago and they are still adapting. I'm guessing my green hair algae is due to 8 hrs of light, because of course by hr 6.5 rotalas are starting to close up. Also my CO2, i have the baking soda + citric acid tank with solenoid valve. Pressure is 20 kg/cm2 when is recently mixed. I start CO2. 2 hrs before the photoperiod kicks in and they both go off at the same time. My question is, 1-2 weeks, the CO2 loses pressure down to 15-10 kg/cm2. To deal with this, i release the remaining CO2, and prepare a new mix. Do you have any issues with low pressurized CO2? I see you use them a lot with great results. Thanks again and excuse me for such a long comment.

Hi Mark, very informative videos. you are a rockstar in the planted tank hobby🤟

Got a massive hair algae boom in a Flex15 tank. I have CO2 injection, 9 different plant species wall to wall, 8 shrimp and 3 ottos and I use Excel already... but just installed a new light (10w -> 30w) to promote vallisneria and s.repens growth. Is it the light for sure?

Hey Mark, will amano shrimp survive in hard water? My GH always measures 300PPM. Great video! Thanks!

hair algae/ filament algae comes from infected plants and equipment or water source. it needs to come from somewhere. not because of imbalance in aquarium. if you don't have pieces of algae, you won't have it growing.

Goeie oplossingen 👍

I keep thinking that putting more livestock in the aquarium to breathe will boost the plants as they exhale co2, causing the plants to generate more oxygen for them. Is that unrealistic?

Nice tip about the fork! I can never get all the hair algae out of the hair grass carpet, I will try it. I've got the issue in a planted tank with Ramirezi cichlids which is a specific category, because they like high temperature, shrimps and small snails (for food). But it seems root tabs, lean dosing (along with CO_2 injections and regular maintenance) seem to do the job.

Hi from Madrid) I have the same equipment than you, and... about chihiros wrg Il, what intensity you configure in a standard medium / high tank?. Thanks. Master 😊😊

If you have this . If you don’t have this ….. not good info .

too much co2, not much co2, too much fertz, not much fertz, too much light, not much light.

Great video as always Mark! This series is brilliant, clear easy to follow steps!

Hey Mark ! I appreciate this information about how to deal with this type of algae, I have a question not related to algae (I want ask you about this before you become too famous and without the time to respond too many questions 😅) when you rescape a tank, do you use the same susbtrate or do you just throw it away if so, how do you know when to stop using the same substrate?

I don't think Amano 🦐 helps to get rid of hair algae, the way molly (black) and siamese algae eater consumes...they are the best eaters of hair algae !!!

I've watched many MANY videos on hair algae but I've never had someone tell me that some stem plants will close up when they have had enough light! I had no idea! Thank you so much for teaching me something I didnt know. By the way, I have ugly brown hair algae. I am at my wits end with it. I don't know what to do anymore.

Leerzaam, thanks.

You mentioned about algae not liking liquid Co2. Can you add this as well as co2 being diffused to control algae, or will both together be a risk the fish in the tank?

Great video and very informative? Interogative: Have you ever tried a diy algea scubber? Just take some knitt matting; attatch to a small dowl rod. Place this inside a small foam or styrophone container. Attatch an air stone to bottom and place some GE bulbs to the outside of aquarium. You may then camoflauge the imside foam tray with susswasertang or moss.

In the last two months I spend more time watching you and your videos then I watched my wife,great tutorials and advices mate

👍

I think your lesson you explained about testing for not enough nutrients should be highlighted. Before trying to lower photoperiod.

What about the renown Marimo moss - which is a very known Japanese algae? Please file a video on that species!

False info, carbon adds phosphorus, it does not take it out. Imo hair algae is caused by too much phosphorus and any addition of carbon (liquid or filter media) will make it grow faster! Photo period is dead on tho, that's why I went to 3-3hr periods near feeding time

Best video ever seen on hair algae..

So you're saying that surface agetasion were suppose increase co2 but Corry from aquarium coop says that if you don't have CO2 injection you can introduce CO2 via surface agetasion, I'm confused, help 😭

I'm starting to get these pesky hair algae but I remove them as soon as I see just a slight clump of them forming. I hope they stop growing magically its kinda tiresome to remove them frequently.

Couldn't find anything on spirogyra, how do I deal with that? It appeared out of nowhere :( I don't have other algae anymore

Goeie video, heb mijn licht timer gereduceerd naar 8 uur per dag en de uitstroom aangepast. Bedankt ben benieuwd of dit iets zal veranderen. 👍

Thank you. I found this quite helpful. I'm a new aquarist with a planted tank. I used a base layer of organic potting soil about 4" thick amended with nutrient tabs and capped with about 2" of sand. I have no CO2 yet but it is becoming obvious to me that this is the way to go. But before I do that I need to reduce water surface agitation and reduce my photo period. And I need to add more plants.

tooth brush is a great idea thanks for the help

I have some algae in my aquarium. I bought 2 amanos and they wont touch the stuff.¿could they be fake amanos?

I increased liquid carbon dosages and increased water circulation - got more algae! Have now lowered surface agitation to see if that helps. Lights only on for 8 hours/day (includes 1 hour ramp up and 1hr ramp down). Have also reduced liquid ferts.

hi Mark, in my nano tank my Java Fern has short hairlike slimy-feeling algae growing on the leaves. the new shoots dont feel like this and also dont have the hairlike algae growing on them. i tried brushing it off gently with a toothbrush but it didn't come off. how do i get rid of this? i'm starting a 20g long planted tank this weekend and it will be my first tank using Fluval Stratum and also my biggest ever tank.. it will also be my first planted low-tech tank.. i have high hopes for how i will stock it but to say i am very nervous is an understatement T__T watching your videos has been my only consolation during this planning period. your voice is very relaxing! some aquarists seem like they're shouting the whole video LOL

I have a 6 week old tank, hair algae is being battled by the amano and oto's! However, I see some staghorn and BBA forming on the hardscape. It's still very little ... But hey that's how it always starts right? Any suggestions? 150 litre tank. Now with 10 amano shrimp, 5 oto's and 8 rasbora kubotai. Photo period = 8 hours (from 3 pm till 11 pm) Temp = 24 degrees No ammonia measured, No nitrites measured. Also no phosphates (which might be a problem? But it's a new setup so I should give it some more time?) Iron was 0.2 if I recall correctly KH = 4 PH = 7

I'm very picky & you are an aquriasts aquariast lol... Sincerely very good.

Sir please make video on how to balance light co2 and fertilizer??? for beginners Love from india 🙏🙏❤️🥰

Great Videos. Love your style and cadence. What about a Platy or Mollie? I use them as temporary algae cleanup. They easy to sex I usually get 2 males if worried about babies. I also love your shelf which I hope is available here in U.S. Keep up the good work.

Very nice detailed video about causes of algae and it’s solution. Like you mentioned balancing between co2, light, nutrients is being very difficult Mark. Tried so many probabilities still fighting to eradicate. Tank size 1 meter length, 1.5 feet height, width is 0.5 Having canister running 24x7 with 1500-2000 L per hour output Light with medium brightness 8-10 hrs with co2 Nutrients- Tropica red and green 1 ml per day Seachem flourish Excel - 2 ml per day Tank capacity- 180-200 litres

Great video! Couple of questions: 1) My tank is in the balcony. There is no direct sunlight but my balcony is pretty lighted up with indirect sunlight. Not sure if this, together with lightings on for 8 hours causing the algae. Do I still need to turn on light if I have indirect sunlight throughout the day? 2) I just switched my gravel to aquasoil two weeks ago. It’s a newly planted tank and has quite abit of hair algae. I assume there is a lot of nutrients in the water now, but when should I start introducing liquid fertilizer? Is there any thing I should look out for in particular to a liquid fertilizer? 3) How does liquid fertilizer remove hair algae?

You're 100% correct! yesterday i have notice that suddenly green algae appearance on my plant because of fertilizer which i used just day before yesterday.

Okay when I started fishkeeping I purchased a piece of Driftwood that had what looked to be a Green carpet of hair algae on the Driftwood it grew kind of like like a carpet anywheres from 3/4 of an inch to an inch thick I created a 3D background and then attached fit to the everywhere using Super Glue now the entire tank is covered with this hair algae yet it's stubborn and doesn't die from any kind of algae Killers algae removers and it's self anchoring so it has attached to the entire Aquascape is it an algae or what the hell is it

I have been running my light way too long for a while, and it finally caught up with me today. Tough green hair algae in my red root floaters. 😢

Can u used red rili shrimp instead of amano???? Will it work the same as amano????

Unfortunately I can’t vouch for the amano shrimp being too helpful. The only tank that I’ve got hair algae in, is my only tank with amano shrimp lol

I can't get my hair algae resolved. I have dosed green cyano RX about a dozen times. Any other chemicals u reckon? Please help!

Wood is the root cause of my excess nutrients but I won't remove it because it's beautiful

Another great video Mark! The new nano aquarium I set up for my son is suffering from hair algae. Luckily I was able to transfer some shrimp from my tank and they are getting it under control 👍

Yea since i got amano shrimp i have never seen any hair algae at all.

Great video! Thank you for sharing

Won’t any neocaridena work? Does it have to be amano

How to remove green spot algae in plants pls

I am going to try dosing CO2 booster to get rid of mine! TY

my lights are on for 13 hours, using the fluval aquasky, 7am 30% ramping up to 100% at 12pm til 3pm, then ramping down to 30% at 8pm. i do have a carpet of floating plants though which breaks up the light in the tank. quite lean dosing of ferts which doesnt contain nitrogen or phosphates as i have quite a few fish and using a lean dose of Co2 (its more turquoise than green) minimal algae in my tank, around the stratum on the glass edge there is small build up of brown algae which i clean during water changes bi weekly

What are your thoughts on running the lights very dim at night for viewing. I have a 25w light in a 50L tank and i run it for 7hours at 70% and then 1% for the rest of time. The 1% is quite dim, much dimmer than a reading light. It is a new tank and quite heavily planted, i guess ill see how fast i get algea and how many.

I understand that a high-tech tank saturated with co2 would likely lose some co2 due to surface agitation. But why would surface agitation reduce my low-tech tanks' co2 any more than it would reduce its o2 levels?

I have issues with white hair fuzz when I am trying to grow planted carpet seeds. Have you ever tried planting your own carpet seeds and what would you recommend for dealing with white fuzz algae?

Bruh nobody has co2 stop justifying your crazy purchase

Hey! There's a lot of good info in this video but may a few things I would add/change. For example, a drop checker is not the most accurate way to dial in your co2. You want to use liquid test kits. Make sure you get that 1 pH point drop and there shouldn't be fluctuations. Also, light brightness is not a proper representation of a lights ability to grow plants/cause algae. The number one thing you need to consider is the PAR of a light which is the light's ability to provide photosynthesizing light to the plants. If your PAR is too high from the beginning you run the risk of having algae issues. Lastly, I would never recommend using liquid carbon... especially if you have sensitive tank mates. You should always find the root cause. For a healthy planted tank you need the following. 1. 1 point pH drop 2. Dose micros and macros with No3 being at about 25-30 ppm 3. Slowly but surely ramp up your light as your tank is maturing.

An honest opinion here, can you take a distance a bit from your camera?

Lmao, add more plants xD. I have my tank so filled I feel bad for my tetras. It’s a damn forest lol. Nah but for real you nailed my issue. I don’t do water changes and I don’t gravel vac and my plants were growing just fine never had any algae. But then, I dosed ferts. The problem with that as you can probably guess is that now there’s way to much nutrients in the water. That’s the only one that seems to apply to my set up. Nothing else has changed other than I dosed it and now I’ve got a big ball of algae growing at the top right we’re the filter pushes water. I’m gunna trim down my plants which will probably get rid of 80% or more of it. Thanks for the info bud!