| Green Hair Algae (abbreviated as GHA for this article) | | | | been replaced or perhaps your bulbs are so old that |
| - Derbesia - is a form of algae that looks like its | | | | the spectrum of light has shifted, fueling algae |
| name. It is usually dark green, grows quite long if left | | | | growth. |
| unattended and spreads across your tank rapidly. | | | | Okay, so your water is great. To get rid of the |
| Once this problem has begun, it can get out of hand | | | | algae, you are going to have to prune it back |
| in a matter of weeks. And soon you start to look at | | | | manually. Fortunately, you can get some help from |
| your saltwater tank in disgust, thinking "Why me? | | | | ocean dwellers like blue legged hermit crabs, but like |
| What did I do to deserve this plague?" | | | | anything, when you have too much of something, |
| A number of things may have contributed to it | | | | you have to get radical to bring it within manageable |
| gaining a foothold in your system. Your nitrates might | | | | levels. Nothing good ever happens quickly. This is |
| be too high, your phosphates may be too high (.03 or | | | | going to take some specific attention on your part |
| less is the goal), your aquarium lighting has recently | | | | for a few weeks, but you can overcome it. |