Algae Help / Lobophora

[jk1nole]

So, I first noticed some white fuzz growing here and there in my tank a few weeks ago.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1827430

While reading some different threads tonight I think I might have figured out what the white fuzz is... Please take a look at these pictures and let me know if it is Lobophora. The fuzz has started to string out some now. I was able to scratch off a patch of this brown stuff off the sump once I started to really look at it.

If it is Lobophora what should I start doing to combat it. If it is something else let me know.

 

[WangoTANGo]

I battled lobophora a few years ago and it is a pain to get rid of. If your tank is big enough then a Naso tang is probably your best bet. If it isn't Sally-Lightfoots and long-spine (diadema) urchins are supposed to be decent alternatives. My urchin didn't really do a whole lot, and didn't try the crabs.

Mine seemed to start clearing up on its own after a while though.

 

[Saltfinsax]

I am not sure if I can see the white fuzzy stuff in the pics. I think the brown stuff looks to be brown wafer algae. If it keeps growing and covering everything, then a Naso tang is the fish you want. get a small one depending on your tank and then sell him or take it back to the store when he is too big.

 

[jk1nole]

It is only a 65... So, I don't think a Naso Tang is a good idea. I think Brown Wafer Algae is the same as Lobophora isn't it?

I've tried and tried, but can't get any good pictures to show the fuzz. I just thought it was worth mentioning since someone else mentioned it was a symptom they saw.

I'm afraid to try a SLF Crab after hearing of all the issues they can bring.

 

[serval]

jk1nole,
Did you make any changes that affected the BWA one way or another? I have it too, at about the same level your pictures show.

 

[topdog1956]

If it is lobophora you're in for a long bad trip! This stuff is NASTY, it will begin to form plate like leafs and cover everything in your tank! I had a small patch on a rock and thought it was kind of cool until I noticed that it began to take over my 220!
I went for a complete kill by blacking out the tank with aluminum foil for 2 months, at first I thought I got it but it came right back. I use 2 methods to control it now (neither very good but there is no alternative that I have heard to date).
Sea urchins will eat it but they only can eat what is accessable but they do keep it under control (along with all my coraline alge) :-( The other thing I do is to take a propane soldering torch, and when I see it growing on a rock, I yank the rock out of the tank and burn the alge to death,; heating the rock enough to kill it in the pores! It is a pain in the butt but it is the only thing I have found that ACTUALLY works. If you have a better idea let me know, I know my alge problem has been significantly reduced to the point I can find and kill each new batch as it begins to grow. Unfortunately, I do not know how to eliminate it completely. BTW, I use a (I believe) zenon bulb flashlight at night to look for it, the color of the bulb causes the alge to "stand out" and is easily recognized. Another thing I do, though not pretty at times, is on the larger rock, or rock that is too difficult to remove, is to stick plumbers puddy over any alge that grows in inaccessable areas to starve it for light. Any better ideas, I'd like to hear from you.

 

[Rumplestilsken]

Yikes I didn't realize that there were pest algae worthy of a flaming, fiery death.








But I like it!

 

[saltcrazy]

i agree with the naso tang suggestion. i had the same lobophora (brown wafer) algae growing all over my tank. it got so bad that it was growing on the side of my dendrophyllia colony and eventually covering a few heads. this is when i started to learn as much as i can about this stuff. i tried manual removal and other methods, but the stuff keeps coming back. then as a last resort, i bought a naso tang (i learned this from one of the other reefers) and my prayers were answered. the naso ate all of the lobophora to a point of leaving the rocks bare where the algae once grew and he cleaned up my tank in just a few days. i'm happy to say that i have been lobophora free ever since and that was like 6 months ago.

 

[skh]

I had a lobophora outbreak in my tank and, like others described, it starts to cover everything. It's also incredibly hard to scrape off the rock. Just when I thought I was losing the battle, it started to recede and is now completely gone. Just based on my experience I feel it's a temporary condition (<6 months) that peters out after a while if the tank is maintained.

 

[sneeyatch]

I think the worse part about lobophora is when it keeps growing, it will allow detritus to settle in the folds. You need to keep blowing it off when it grows large, and then it will break off and float around the tank right into intakes. Then it will start growing there too if left for too long.

Algaefix Marine did it for me. I was battling hair algae on my powerheads that I just couldn't get rid of and after dosing it for a few weeks, I noticed all of my lobophora was gone.