Sea Hare? (not getting one have algea questions)

[Cubby23]

I have a lot of short stubby green algae that almost looks like grass on the live rock I got. I have read that sea hares can and need to eat a lot.

 

Would a sea hare be suitable to clean this up?

Could a regular CUC clear this stuff out?

 

I saw this picture online and thought it was stunning.

 

What kind of sea hare is this?

 

http://burtonbiology.com/newtankandanimals/seahare.JPG

 

This is what I'm dealing with

 

 

[sdunkin]

How old is your tank, what are your watar params, and what type of water are you using for waterchanges/topoffs?

[Cubby23]

Tank is 2 days old. Haha, I know I'm looking far into the future here. But figured I should be doing this kind of research now. I use tap water.

[sdunkin]

Don't worry about it yet, and quit using tap water because it will only cause problems.

[filefish949]

Don't worry about it yet, and quit using tap water because it will only cause problems.

 

 

and more problems... then again, it will probably cause even more problems.

 

i have a 100 gallon tank, if I put 1/2 gallon of double filtered tap water in my tank, I see it within 12 hours

[holdorf333]

Sea Hare?, Should I get one?

No.

A hermit or two will be better, and will be all that is needed for the life of the tank.

[fishwish]

Sea Hairs are very hard to keep. I tried going that path to control my hair algae in my 125 gallon. Didn't work, not to mention, it wasn't really solving the root of the problem. A good RO/DI system will solve most of your issues.

[lakshwadeep]

Don't get one. I recently bought one, and it did great at eating hair algae. However, it soon finished off most of that and then spent time going around the edges of the tank and occasionally getting on the rock. I decided to return it to the LFS before it starves. I agree with fishwish that a sea hare is only a bandaid to trying to control the algae after it has grown, not inhibiting its growth.

[Cubby23]

I'm not looking to buy a RO/DI system when I only need 2-3 gallons a week maximum.

What is another source for this water?

This will only prevent newer algae growth right?

And the CUC will get rid of all this stuff?

[matty0206]

If you have a good lfs near you they usually sell ro/di water! Thats what I do...Its kinda a pain in the ass though!

[BeesGoneWild]

you should serously consider buying an ro/di unit. Otherwise your tank is going to look like a big glass caged filled with green slime. It will not only prevent newer growth but when you make your weekly water changes you will be replacing nutrient rich water(tank water) with nutrient poor water, which is exactly what you want. A CUC will do minimal impact, especially if you dont take care of the problem which is going to be your phosphates and your nitrates.