How to you remove macro from refugium

[skeeter_ca]

I am starting to overflow on my Macro algae in my refugium. Last night i removed some just by grabbing it and pulling it loose from the main clump. I removed about a third of it. I am going to replace it entirely because it is caulerpa and i don't want it to go sexual and start polluting the tank. What causes it to go sexual? Is there a proper way to prune it?

skeeter

 

[papagimp]

You did it just fine. If ya wanna be all "professional" about it, you can always use some shears. But I just use my hands. it goes assexual as a means to propogate itself and spread. You can reduce the likelyhood of caulepra going assexual by lighting it 24/7. If you replace it later with Cheatomorphia, you'll want a day/night cycle though.

 

[Lotus99]

I prefer to gently pull out whole strands of the caulerpa. It apparently releases a toxin when cut, so I try to avoid breaking it or cutting it too much. I usually take out the lower, less green strands, whenever possible, as they're more likely to add problems to the tank.

No one really seems to know why caulerpa goes sexual. I just keep an eye on mine, until my codium (another macroalgae) gains enough mass to replace the caulerpa. Look out for dark green or black specs on the "grapes" (I'm assuming it's grape caulerpa). If you see those, pull the plant out ASAP.

 

[Samala]

This article - A Warning Sign of Impending Doom may help you visualize the black spots Lotus is referring too. They are the structures that will release the spores, so their appearance is a very bad sign.

Pruning can be as simple as what you are currently doing. When you finally replace the Caulerpa with Chaetomorpha be sure to try to have a well established mop of Chaeto ready. Using too little of this algae after removing all the Caulerpa could trigger algae blooms elsewhere in the system. Alternatively, you could try to grow the Chaeto alongside the Caulerpa, and slowly weed the Caulerpa out.

>Sarah