Algae Problem Reef Tank

[Fancygoldfish123]

So my 12 gallon nano has been battling algae issues for over 7 months. Green hair algae is every where and

it's so hard to remove with my female clownfish trying to attack me... anyways I'm just trying to understand if this is normal.

Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ammonia (should be zero didn't check because I use prime)
pH ( I had a hard time finding which color matched) maybe 8.2

Stocked: two clownfish and one frogspawn.

I use Bacter M to help with algae control, it has helped a lot but I forgot to dose every week and it came back.
I feed every other day, also the sandbed is looking dirty with brown and green algae and I'm tired of sucking up sand. Let me know what you think.

 

[Lorekeeper]

What water source do you use? Unless you have super clean tap, your tap water will cause some algae issues.

 

[david1978]

can you spot treat with hydrogen peroxide in saltwater with ops stocking?

 

[Fancygoldfish123]

I use rodI water, I just bought a new mixed resin bed too.

 

[Lorekeeper]

can you spot treat with hydrogen peroxide in saltwater with ops stocking?

Yeah, it's possible.

Using hydrogen peroxide in a reef tank is pretty simple. Just gotta drain it, and manually apply the peroxide to the effected areas with a cotton swab. You can even dip certain corals!

 

[Fancygoldfish123]

That sounds like a lot of work. Is there another solution to controlling algae?

 

[Culprit]

Do you know your phosphate levels? A lot of the time hair algae is linked to excess nitrates or phosphates. Your local fish store can usually test for phosphates.

Get a CUC. 1 Scarlet Legged Hermit crab, and 2 Trochus or Astrea Snails.

grantm91 used Fluconazole too, evidently it was very easy and killed it off quik.

 

[Fancygoldfish123]

Haven't tested for phosphates and nirates are at 0. I'll look into the alternatives you have provided.

 

[Jesterrace]

How long do you run your lights and about how much and often do you feed your tank? Both of these can be big factors with Hair Algae. A Cleanup Crew may or may not help with green hair algae (couldn't hurt to try though). Also you could try running GFO (Granular Ferric Oxide). It takes a while to do it's thing (ie several weeks) but it can do it and won't be as harsh as some of the other methods on the life in your tank. If your tank were a bit bigger I would suggest a lawnmower blenny. Oh and do yourself a favor and ditch the API kit. Red Sea, Salifert and others are much more accurate overall.

 

[Maggie321]

Haven't tested for phosphates and nirates are at 0. I'll look into the alternatives you have provided.

You have to have nitrates for your algae to be that bad. You have phosphates too but they probably won't read high. The algae is using both to grow. How old is your tank? I didn't have it that bad, but I battled mine by seriously reducing feedings, which was hard because I like to watch everything eat. I also rinsed all my frozen mysis, the liquid is loaded with preservatives (aka phosphates). Time and elbow grease will be your friend. I skimmed heavy for a while too. Blew out all the crevasses in my rocks before every water change. Threw in a few extra water changes for good measure.