Red turf algae? *pic*
- Thread starter xenon
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PSam
Active member
Which one, the Valonia (green bubble) or the, what looks like it might be(?), Asparagopsis (red stringy-ish)? Manual removal & possibly emerald crabs are the only ways I can think of getting the Valonia out (in 29 gallon). Be very careful not to burst the bubble when removing. Emeralds are hit or miss.
Sorry, just read the title again. you may have some luck on the red with the real Turbo snails (not the astreas sold as turbo, but the Turbo fluctuosus).
Sorry, just read the title again. you may have some luck on the red with the real Turbo snails (not the astreas sold as turbo, but the Turbo fluctuosus).
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acrodave
REEF NERD
I have had it in my tank..Snails dont do much to it ..i have had astrea,turbos,margarita,trochus,hermits,and blue tuxedo urchins. and they did nuthing .. the only thing that i know that eats are tangs.. i see you have a 29gal.no tang should go it but ..if you have to you can put one in a very very small yellow. and then take it out after its gone..that suff will take over the tank and grow right over corals. I had to restart a tank..i had other issues but that was one of them
xenon
Owner of Canada Corals
Besides adding livestock that will eat it. How else could I kill it?
If I starve the tank of phosphates then it will have nothing in the water to feed it correct?
My Salifert PO4 test kit reads zero but there is no way this stuff can grow without it so the algae must be consuming it and that's why I am unable to test for it.
If I starve the tank of phosphates then it will have nothing in the water to feed it correct?
My Salifert PO4 test kit reads zero but there is no way this stuff can grow without it so the algae must be consuming it and that's why I am unable to test for it.
acrodave
REEF NERD
Got me thats what po me. and i put every grazer i could just short of a tang or foxface.lol.. my last tank was up for a little over two years and i battled it for the last year..It grew on my snails and hermits. It took over some of my weak corals like my pipeorgan.If the tank had not sprung a leak. the algae would have been about 50% the reason why i would have started a new tank..My new tank i hope stays clear i cut off all my acro off the rock or the plugs they were on..So a lot of my friends got a lot of free sps frags from my tank. Some had tangs and said they went ape poo of the stuff...So i would start some kind of plan soon to nip it ...Good luck... keep us updated!!
PSam
Active member
I'd still try a Turbo for the Asparagopsis. Coupled with manual removal / water changes, it's worth a shot. You may try linking this thread to the Algae forum here if you haven't yet.
Also, those Salifert PO4 kits aren't worth anything imo. You might grab a DD for a decent kit, it at least has pretty discernible readings and it geared towards lower levels of PO4, I could never see anything in the Sali PO4 kit. If that's not an option, perhaps someone local to you has a Hanna?
Here's a link on Asparagopis, assuming that's what you have (it does look very similar). http://www.aquatouch.com/algae.htm.
That's the tough thing about smaller tanks, hard to add livestock that isn't too large for the tank. good luck.
Also, those Salifert PO4 kits aren't worth anything imo. You might grab a DD for a decent kit, it at least has pretty discernible readings and it geared towards lower levels of PO4, I could never see anything in the Sali PO4 kit. If that's not an option, perhaps someone local to you has a Hanna?
Here's a link on Asparagopis, assuming that's what you have (it does look very similar). http://www.aquatouch.com/algae.htm.
That's the tough thing about smaller tanks, hard to add livestock that isn't too large for the tank. good luck.
This stuff is bad bad bad. I am struggling with it after a year and a half. My water quality is excellent.
I posted this topic on Eric Borneman's board on the Marine Depot forum a year ago. He stickied the thread and said that the algae is a major problem and thrives on high light and strong flow, despite low nutrient levels.
I posted this topic on Eric Borneman's board on the Marine Depot forum a year ago. He stickied the thread and said that the algae is a major problem and thrives on high light and strong flow, despite low nutrient levels.
coralnut99
New member
I've only had luck with my sailfins keeping it in check, but as noted, not an option in a 29. A drastic approach would be to remove the rock and chip off the area that it's growing on, but that may not be an option either. Yet another "livestock" option would be a sally lightfoot (much as I hate them). Return the SLF to the LFS once he's done. Turf algaes are very resilient in low nutrient environments. The best you'll do is slow it down.
the name escapes me right now, but trust me, it's not the cotton stuff I had that for a long time then added these http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+526+2459&pcatid=2459 and it was gone very quickly. I did not buy them from LA so I'm not totally sure they were the exact same species but they were called "zebra turbo snail". I bought 4 for a 90 gallon. I'm also not sure if it was coincidence or the snails? Good luck!
tonyespinoza
Premium Member
i've had this same stuff in a couple rocks. PM'd back and forth with Naka (James) as well about this. (and had it even when my tanks measured zip on PO4 and NO3 -- it apparently doesn't need much to go on.)
best solution i found was a yellow tang in one tank and a rabbitfish in the other.
i *do* have a theory that dosing aminos and trace may have contributed to the problem.
it originally hitchhiked into my tank on a frag plug...
it's one of the reasons my next tank will have only dead rock in the display (with a remote cryptic zone with regular live rock). not sure i will be able to keep it out, but will try and see what happens.
SPS grew fine around it as far as i can tell -- just didn't look great.
best solution i found was a yellow tang in one tank and a rabbitfish in the other.
i *do* have a theory that dosing aminos and trace may have contributed to the problem.
it originally hitchhiked into my tank on a frag plug...
it's one of the reasons my next tank will have only dead rock in the display (with a remote cryptic zone with regular live rock). not sure i will be able to keep it out, but will try and see what happens.
SPS grew fine around it as far as i can tell -- just didn't look great.
I've had to deal with this stuff too. It thrives on clean water and lots of flow. It grew on every single surface in my tank including snails and hermits. I did beat it though using huge mexican turbo snails. They literally picked the surface clean whether it was rock or powerheads or glass and i mean clean as in nothing left behind. It took 8 of them about 2 months to clear my 75. After they finished the job the turbos eventually died and started my next dilemma, battling Hair Algae.
That looks similar to the stuff in my tank. My NO3 is 0.5 but my PO4 is .13 and it grows only on the top of a tall rock spire on the end of the tank where there is a strong whirrling current from my Vortech's. However, I do notice my yellow tank and Clarion picking at it regularly so it's more of a short mat then defined branches like in the pic.
I wonder if that's the same stuff the grows so well in the rocky inter-tidal regions of the pacific northwest?
Brett
I wonder if that's the same stuff the grows so well in the rocky inter-tidal regions of the pacific northwest?
Brett
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