Green Hair Algae?

[H17E5H]

Hi,

My tank has been running for approx 3-4 weeks now of which 2 weeks with Live rock but no fish as yet, however i've noticed i have green hair algae starting to grow on the glass, sand and live rock. I understand that algae need light, phosphate and nitrate to survive. I use RO water and the RO unit has a DI unit for final extraction of everything in the tapwater so i don't see why i have phosphates in the tank water :confused:, i don't have a test kit for phospahates yet but will do it a couple of days so can test for it then. I only have a small bunch of Caulerpa and Chaeto in the sump which i hope will grow soon and compete with the algae to eradicate it.

All i wanted to know was can i do anything at this early stage before it takes a foothold of the whole tank? Possibly had some critters etc? :D

[sinaarrgghh]

Having a phosphate remover is a good idea. However if your nitrite and ammonia readings are 0 you could add a few critters. They'll enjoy the hair algae especially the hermits. At 3-4 weeks its nothing to worry about all tanks get a bloom in the early days, it's not a bad sign and will clear up eventually.