1. Home & Garden

Discuss in our forum

FAQ

How Do I Get Rid of Green Hair Algae

By , About.com Guides

Green Hair Algae

Green Hair Algae

Photo by Stan & Debbie Hauter
FAQ

Q. I have this green hairy looking algae all over my tank. It looks terrible! I scrape it off the rocks and substrate, but it just keeps growing back. It's even growing on my tank glass! How do I get rid of it?

A. As most saltwater aquarists know, once green hair algae gets a foot hold in your saltwater tank, it can quickly cover almost everything in your aquarium. Trying to get rid of it and keep it from growing back can be very frustrating.

You can pick the algae out of your tank and it just grows back. You can put tank janitors in your tank, but many of them won't even come close to eating it all, if they eat it at all.

You can cut your light period back and/or not feed your tank critters so much, but it just seems to keep coming back.

The cause of Green Hair Algae blooms is quite different from the causes of Red Slime algae and Brown Algae, so the method for getting rid of it and keeping it away is a bit different. Fortunately, it is an easy algae to get rid of for good.

Here's How to >> Get Rid of Green Hair Algae

Back to the FAQs Quick Reference Index

©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.

A part of The New York Times Company.