Feather algea is outta control!!!

treesmoker

treesmoker

Zoa/Paly Collector
My two tangs (sm. sailfin and med. hippo) nibble, but never really do any damage. I trimm 2-3 times weekly but can never get the root.....so it just keeps on comming. I'm goin nutzo tryin to keep up with it all......and tryin not to break corals with my big 'ol gorilla sized mits gives a whole new meaning to the phrase " a bull in a china shop"


HELP ME!!!
 
Is this the calurpa feather algae? Anyways the algae is growing because of Light and Nutrients. You need to reduce either on of those before it will stop growing. At least when you rip it out, it removes some nutrients it from the aquarium. Without the algae, you may get more nutrient problems. Have you test for Nitrates and Phosphates yet? first figure out why its growing so much, then try to deal with it.
 
The lights out treatment does not treat the source of the problem.

Jake, your best bet is do a large water change making sure the parameter matches with your tank and use only RO water, after that do weekly or bi weekly water changes until the problem goes away. Also using a phosphate romover will help too. And make sure your skimmer is working by cleanining the skimmer cups frequently.
 
Yes it is the caluerpa.

I just tested my water yesterday.....0 phos....2-4 nitr.....plus I only run my halides for 6 hours a day. I use phosban sponges and havew been using ro water to do my water shanges lately.

Del sol- don't have alot of experiance with those. I heard someone tell me once that theirs had mowed down a colony of star polyps along with the algae.
 
I had bryopsis that went away after I started dosing kalk.

Guessing that it was due to the higher pH and the precipitation of phosphates.

I'd been dosing only 2-part before. Now I've switched to kalk for the bulk of the supplementation with the balance made up with a small amount of 2-part.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10979559#post10979559 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr. Ugly
I had bryopsis that went away after I started dosing kalk.

Guessing that it was due to the higher pH and the precipitation of phosphates.

I'd been dosing only 2-part before. Now I've switched to kalk for the bulk of the supplementation with the balance made up with a small amount of 2-part.
Click to expand...
If it's Bryopsis, I've had the same luck with kalk. If it's Caulerpa stop feeding your tangs, or at least slow down, I have yet to see a hungry tang pass it up. Manual removal helps too, good luck.
 
IMO if caulerpa has it's foot print set, good luck getting rid of it. You can pull ever last bit out you can see, but there will be a root in a hole or something that will keep coming back. Now if you're lucky and it's only on the rock faces and not growing in any holes then you have a fighting chance, but either way manual removal will be the only way to effectively get it out. I've had fish that ate it, and have kept it under control to the point of never seeing it, then when the fish left (poor foxface) boink, came back .
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10982160#post10982160 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sfsuphysics
IMO if caulerpa has it's foot print set, good luck getting rid of it. You can pull ever last bit out you can see, but there will be a root in a hole or something that will keep coming back. Now if you're lucky and it's only on the rock faces and not growing in any holes then you have a fighting chance, but either way manual removal will be the only way to effectively get it out. I've had fish that ate it, and have kept it under control to the point of never seeing it, then when the fish left (poor foxface) boink, came back .
Click to expand...

Agreed,

Possible solution I see is getting a Foxface also.


Now when you cull the algae, how much do you pull out?
Every last piece you can get, or only the overgroth?

It will continue to grow back, over and over, so My best "live with it" solution would be to Pull every last strann out, and add the foxface (small one). And Hopefully he will be able to pick at all of the little groth spurts, as they start to grow out again. hopefully this will keep it more at bay.

Another possible solution, if it is possible would be to add a refugum, and grow it in there. then it will overgrow where its easy to get at to remove, and you can start to strip the water of what ever its growing off of, and add some copopod population at the same time. Mysis like to live in there too.
 
yep, thats what happened. I took my tang out severeal weeks ago and I replaced him with two differant ones....but it took a while so it just kept building up.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10983946#post10983946 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by treesmoker
yep, thats what happened. I took my tang out severeal weeks ago and I replaced him with two differant ones....but it took a while so it just kept building up.
Click to expand...

Ya know, too bad the tank is too small for it, but a schoal of tiny convict tangs has always been a "dream" of mine, and I was going to suggest it. They make one heck of a lawnmower in a schoal on the reef.

Im considering trying to get them in my new 200gal set up im working on, but its still in the works
 
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