problems with hair algae

I am new to fish keeping and aquatic plants. We purchased a fluval flex 15 gallon tank that has been running for about 3 months. There is hair like algae that grows on all the plants, and the plants seem to be a little stunted. The new growth on the plants is green but the older growth is brown and dying from the hair algae. We have 8 neon tetras, 3 guppies, and a nerite snail. I do 30% water changes about every 10 days, have lights on a timer for 7 hours a
day, and use Co-op green as a fertilizer. Any suggestions on how to improve the plant's growth and reduce the algae?
day, and use Co-op green as a fertilizer. Any suggestions on how to improve the plant's growth and reduce the algae?

If you can find away to lift the oxygen content in your tank that will help. Check your temperature the lower the temperature the better. Add more plants, the more heavily planted your tank is the higher the oxygen content. Increase your water changes to weekly and reduce the amount of food the fish are getting. Put an air stone on the tank. These are just a few of the things you can do to help reduce algae.

erinbarbour said:

There is hair like algae that grows on all the plants, and the plants seem to be a little stunted. The new growth on the plants is green but the older growth is brown and dying from the hair algae.

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Hair algae doesn't kill the plants. The old leaves are dying due to a nutrient deficiency. Your plants are removing nutrients from the old leaves to support the growth of new leaves. Plants only do this when there is a short of ntrogen, potassium, magnesium, phosphate, and molybdenum. Your tap water typically has some magnesium and molybdenum. Make sure you do a water change once a week and I personally prefer replacing 50% of my water in the tank to keep water chemistry stable. Using a fertilizer would also be helpful. but note most fertilizers typically don't have enough calcium and magnesium for good plant growth. So depending on your water a you might have to increase your GH (general hardness) of your water with a GH booster might help. Boosting the gh by 2 degrees using a GH booster should be more than enough to eliminate any concerns about calcium and magnesium.