No GHA

[geosquid]

Ok, this is my third tank that will be using only algae as filtration. Previous tanks were only 40 gallons and my scrubbers worked great with a deep sand bed. This tank is 180 gallons with water pumped up to 2 30 gallons containers over the tank that surge back about 10 gallons each with a flapper valve. One container I have as a refugium and the other is going to have a scrubber. Also a shallow sand bed in the main tank. My issue......This tank has been set up for 7 months and I still have no hair algae growing anywhere. I've always used my tanks as a bit of an experiment to see how little equipment I can get away with and still have a nice tank. I live near San Diego and I'm using scripps water (natural sea water pumped through sand filters used by the Scripps aquarium). I collected my own macro algae from the sea and that has been in the refugium since I first added fish. Not sure if this is why I'm not getting hair algae. I have 4 fish and about 6 or 7 corals in the tank. The tank has no mechanical filtration and my nitrate/nitrite readings have always been very low. I add fish and coral very slowly. Soon after starting the thank, I had the normal cyano outbreak but it was a green variety. This lasted a couple months and then receded. I thought diatoms were coming and then hair algae. A couple months went by with no other issues but still no hair algae. Recently, I had a diatom outbreak and now I have red cyano. I'm doing at least monthly 20% water changes and even 10% every couple weeks. The water is free, so why not. I do have an experimental scrubber set up in one container. I have some rough plastic screen set up in the inter tidal area as the water rises and falls for the surge. Not sure if it will work this way. 7 months in with no hair algae seems strange to me. My observation of my current methods is that I'm at the mercy of whatever wants to grow. It seems that I really don't need to worry about nitrates with this method as something is always using it to grow.
Anyone have an idea of why no hair algae or is this normal for this size tank? Might it be the macro I added first?
Anny input would be awesome.
Thank you.

[SantaMonica]

Do you mean hair algae in the scrubber, or rocks?

[geosquid]

I don't have any hair algae growing anywhere in my system.

[SantaMonica]

Posts pics of the scrubber growth.

[Alishakeri]

I also have this problem, but with increasing intensity during the bubble and hair algae immediately arose, but little belt algae

[geosquid]

i don't know if it's worth posting a picture. I have two surge tanks roughly 2ft wide by 3ft long 9" deep with two 4ft T5 HO lights 4-5 inches above the screen. I have roughed up plastic screen sitting horizontally on a pvc frame in one of them, macro algae in the other. As the water level rises in the surge tank, the screen is submerged for roughly 30 seconds. When the water surges into the main display the water level lowers and the screen is out of the water for 30 seconds or so - and then it repeats. I don't even know if this idea will work. I was thinking it might be something like the old dump bucket style scrubbers. I don't want to abandon the idea until I get hair algae in the display and not on the screen. Again, I'm trying to utilize anything I can in an effort to have as little equipment and electrical output as possible.

[geosquid]

Oh, right now the scrubber is covered in red cyano.

[SantaMonica]

That will not work; the screen must have a turbulent air/water interface. Either the water must dump down onto the screen, or you need to make a river, waterfall, or upflow.

[geosquid]

Thank you for the input. I guess I should reconfigure.