question on how to clear sun coral of HA

[new2saltyfish]

i have a sun coral that has developed some hair alage between the heads of the coral and i don't really know how to go about getting rid of it. ive tried picking it off by hand and even lightly scraping it with a brush but its very hard to do it with the polpus right there without damaging them. Any thoughts on how to rid the coral of it so it doesn't become overwhelmed?

 

[afboundguy]

You could shut off the lights for 3-4 days to get rid of the HA short term but until you fix the underlying problem (phosphates or nitrates) it will just keep coming back.

 

[new2saltyfish]

well my nitrates are very low so im guessing its phosphates...probably because i don't use ro-water.

 

[SharkLover]

You could shut off the lights for 3-4 days to get rid of the HA short term but until you fix the underlying problem (phosphates or nitrates) it will just keep coming back.

Get a refugium, Get a *bigger* refugium, get a GFO reactor, get a RODI unit.

 

[cakemanPA]

well my nitrates are very low so im guessing its phosphates...probably because i don't use ro-water.

Probably a good guess. My first tank many years ago was set up using tap water that had been de-chlorinated and I grew hair algae like nobody's business. I used RO/DI to set up my current tank(s) and I don't grow any hair algae at all. RO/DI unit was money very well spent.

 

[afboundguy]

well my nitrates are very low so im guessing its phosphates...probably because i don't use ro-water.

Def is the water then. Tap water is usually full of phosphates and nitrates. RO/DI is really cheap/free at some LFS. I have four 5 gallon pales that usually last me 2 weeks with top offs and water changes.

 

[jbishop]

Kill the lights and do some water changes with RO then keep up on RO. Where are you located?