# Green hair algae pros/cons.



## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Ok guys was looking at my tank that's set up on my deck tonight it has green hair algae on 3 sides since I clean the front glass only not the sides or the back at all because I want the tank as natural as possible. Its stocked with 1 goldfish 1 male betta crown tail. They get along great btw the goldfish swims right up to the betta and he doesn't seem to care. Also has lots of bugs lots of snails there main diet is flying insects that fall into the tank. 

Back on topic, I think the algae looks pretty neat since its all over the 3 panels of glass kinda like a natural background lol. What are the cons to this besides rapid growth and spreading all over the place? What's the good things about it? I don't mind the spread in fact I kinda like it. So anyone got some info for me?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Pro: Any growing green stuff is taking nitrates out of the water, leaving it is easier than fighting it, fish can pick food out of it, small animals living on it feed really young fry.
Con: Smothers plants, displaces algae fish will actually eat, catches small particles such as poop and uneaten food and keeps them out of the filter, can block filter intakes.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Thanks for the info, I'm going to leave it alone and see what happens. I cleaned it off the front of the glass and that was a pain in the ... It's really on there lol. I have a piece of wood that has a microfiber pad on it that I use to clean the tanks I really had to push hard to get that stuff off. I'll just keep an eye on it. And since it's an outside tank that gets lots of sun I don't think there's any way to get it cleared out.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The few fish that eat it, true SAEs, goodieds, flagfish would all likely bother the betta. Rubberlip plecos will scrape it off flat surfaces, but I don't know if they eat it or are just cleaning up looking for something edible.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Hmm, I thought about putting my pleco in there but decided not to because of the tank size. I'm just going to let it go. There's so much crap in that tank anyways. I have a big sponge filter/ water fall type deal that I made.. It has a big intake that fills a bottle with filter media so I'm not to worried about it clogging up because it goes threw two stages of filter media. I just Dont want it on the front of my glass so I'll continue to scrape it off. I think next time im going to use a razor blade because its really sticks to the glass. Do you think that would scratch the glass?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

For years and years I used a magnetic algae scraper with razor-like blades embedded in it. I think it probably does scratch glass, but so do other methods. The scrubbie-pad magnetic scrapers work too, but you have to stop and clean them every other minute as the hair clogs them up.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

So in other words im screwed lol. I guess there is no good way to do it. I'll just stick to the microfiber pad on a piece of wood. :/ I guess it's not the end of the world so I'll be alright. Iv got some other stuff growing in my cichlid tank as well I'm going to post a video of it in a min.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The green stuff is better than the bba (black beard) which is also hairy and ugly, but harmless to fish.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

iv never encountered that with my tanks and hopefully i never do. i posted the video of the stuff growing in my cichlid tank. hopefully i can get that figured out. go check it out and let me know what you think. the video is kind of long but it shows 2 diffrent types of stuff growing in the tank.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

bba looks like fur, all about 1/2-1" long and starts with tufts. Green hair algae look like bright green, fuzzy hair and can fill the whole tank in a cloud that looks like pillow stuffing. Both are preferable, IMO, the "blue-green algae", cyanobacter, that covers everything in sheets.


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

cory invest in this i personally use it on my fish tanks and they are awesome http://www.twolittlefishies.com/tlf_prod_access.html?lang_id=1 its called the nano mag
it has a magnet 10x stronger then a magfloat its small but works awesome its safe for glass and acrlyic but avoid small plastic tanks and small glass bowls because its too strong for the thin glass lol. since you are only using it on one glass it should do pretty good. And a good thing is it can be used on a curved glass


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

That does look cool, so does the magnetic hose brush.


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

i have both they work wonders i can literally move the magnet on the outside i'd say 3 inches away from the glass and it will still work lol


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Hmm, I always thought the magnet "glass cleaners" were a scam. Anyone car to exsplane how a simple magnate cleans the tank?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Not magnate. A simple magnate is a dumb tycoon. One should scam him out of his money before he is tempted to run for president.

two magnets. One is attached to something inside the tank, often a blade or a scrubby pad, the other is your handle. you move the magnet on the outside to move the scrubber on the inside. No more magic than turning the magnetic filter impellers with an alternating current. I like the ones that float, so you don't have to go fishing if it comes off the glass, but I have one that has a long thread attached that you keep outside the tank to reel it in if it gets away. Stronger magnets do a better job and work on thicker glass. However, some do such a good job you can scrape off your sealant if you aren't careful. btw, none I've tried work well on green spot algae.

IMO magnetic jewelry to cure illness and magnetic water purifiers are all scams. Just say no unless you are having a problem with iron, nickel or cobalt in your water or bloodstream.

The only "chi" based stuff I find sensible is feng shui. I don't think it cures illness, but moving my computer from facing a wall to facing a window has actually improved my mood. Chi is a silly as ether, but air flow and light are real and paying attention to them in design is sensible.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

They look like they would work but I'm to cheap to buy one 

Here's what it looks like.










Like I said it's a outside tank that gets a lot of sun so I'm not going to fight it. I just got it off the front of the glass the sides and back have grown a lot. Kinda looks like a cool background now. Enjoy checking out my overgrown algae.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Also note how my goldfish changed from silver to gold. Crazy huh.


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