is nuisance green hair algae okay in a refugium?

[aboutlupus]

My 40 gallon refugium (with caulerpa) has recently started getting a LOT of green hair algae. I know I need to clear it from the plumbing, but other than that, is that a problem?

Quick background - my entire system has been running for about 6 weeks now, and includes a 90 gallon tank with 150lbs. of cured live rock, the 40 gallon refugium, and a 50 gallon tank with the sump. (I had some green hair algae in the main display tank at the beginning, but I got 3 Mexican Turbo Snails and 3 Emerald Crabs who made short work of it). I have a few Nassarius snails in the fuge now, but only about 6 or 9 of them. And I don't want to put a Mexican Turbo in the fuge, because I fear it may eat some of the good stuff.

So any advice on the GHA?

Thanks - any help is very much appreciated...

 

[SnowManSnow]

IMO I would try to scrape off the hair algae. I just don't like the stuff. Grow the micros in your refugium. It grows a lot slower and is more managable.

Some may disagree, but if it were me.. that hair algae would be gone


b

 

[mr_X]

i wouldn't worry about it, unless it freaks you out, like SMS :wink:
i have some in my overflows. i leave it there...apparently, tiny snails and those little white brittle stars like to live in it.
meanwhile, take some of those nassarius out of the fuge. i think 6-9 of them in a 40 gallon tank are gonna be starving, unless you are directly feeding the refugium with meaty foods.
why do you have them in there? to stir the sand bed? are you utilizing a DSB?

 

[ChrisRD]

Adding a few large turbos to the fuge would be fine and would take care of the problem, but I agree that the GHA is a good critter habitat and food supply. Leaving it alone to bloom will generally result in an explosion of the pod population followed by the algae disappearing over time (assuming good husbandry and nutrient levels being kept under control)...

 

[aboutlupus]

Thanks for all the advice...

And yes, I have the Nassarius snails in there to stir up the sand -- which is about 3 inches of magic mud. I haven't seen them in a little while, but I haven't seen a whole lot, since the caulerpa has been growing like a ... well, like the weed that it is.

I forgot to mention I also have a bicolor dottyback hanging out in the fuge too. (He was too aggressive for my main tank). I'll be taking him out (or trying to) and returning him to my LFS, because I don't want him to go after the pod population. (There is a huge population of amphipods in my main tank, and not many in my fuge, so I need to flip that).

I will take off some of the clumps of GHA for now, and clean it up around the plumbing, but I guess I'll leave some too. I definitely want to make the fuge a fun place for pods to hang.

Thanks again for all of the advice. I'm so psyched for resources like this, and for peoples' willingness to help share their experience...