help with algae choking out frags...

[Anonymous]

Well, not really choking, but quickly forming around the polyps so they can't spread. I've tried picking with fingers, with hemostats, and scrubbing with both a regular toothbrush and a wire brush. Nothing works.

The plugs the frags are mounted on are small and it's difficult to get all the algae off.

Any suggestions?

Peace,

Chip

 

[Jimmy G]

I notice when ever I add a new coral to my tank my hermit crabs love to graze on any algae that may be on the rock. They usually pick it clean within a couple of hours.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but I hate hermit crabs. They crawl on corals and cause them to close up...

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

Here are some examples of what's happening :

Peace,

Chip

 

[Jolieve]

chip, I can't id the kind of algae that's on those frags, what is it?

J.

 

[Anonymous]

When that happened to me I tossed them in a tank with my Foxface rabbitfish, unfortunately not everyone has that ability my next suggestion is it possible to pry the frags off and mount them on new plugs and throw away the old ones with the algae on it?

 

[Unarce]

Chip - I received two frags, not too long ago, that also had that exact same algae on the rock. After acclimating them into my tank that same evening, I pulled 6 astreas off my rock and assigned 3 to each frag.

It was all gone the next morning :wink:

 

[Nautilus1]

If it is large enough, a small tang should keep it under control. But you should really be trying to reduce nutrients since that is the cause.

 

[pwj1286]

While working at a store in Fresno, Ca...I experinced that hair like algae. It is not fun. It is infection to our reef tanks. Angry at the world. Bad stuff. Highly infectious. Hard to control. Grows on very low nitrates and phosphates, but appreciates them in higher concentrations.

I will spell it phonetically. Bi-op-sis. No fish eats it, nor does many inverts. I think sea hares eat it.

Try not to contamenate anybodies water with your water.
_________________
Lost Forum

 

[Anonymous]

If it is large enough, a small tang should keep it under control. But you should really be trying to reduce nutrients since that is the cause.

I don't see how it could be excess nutrients. No fish, no feedings, new carbon every two weeks, water change every two weeks.

Where are the nutrients?

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

Chip - I received two frags, not too long ago, that also had that exact same algae on the rock. After acclimating them into my tank that same evening, I pulled 6 astreas off my rock and assigned 3 to each frag.
It was all gone the next morning :wink:

One thing I don't have in my tank is a snail brigade. I'll be stopping in the lfs on Sunday to snag a bunch.

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

While working at a store in Fresno, Ca...I experinced that hair like algae. It is not fun. It is infection to our reef tanks. Angry at the world. Bad stuff. Highly infectious. Hard to control. Grows on very low nitrates and phosphates, but appreciates them in higher concentrations.
I will spell it phonetically. Bi-op-sis. No fish eats it, nor does many inverts. I think sea hares eat it.
Try not to contamenate anybodies water with your water.

The weird thing is that if I let it grow large, it looks like caulerpa.

Peace,

Chip

 

[mutley29]

It's Bryopsis and it's kicking my ass again.

The only sporadic success i've had is with a Foxface, but it will only eat it when it feels like it

My rocks are pretty clear of detritus where this stuff is growing, it's getting to epidemic proportions in a couple of spots, removal by hand is the only thing keeping it back at the moment.

Best thing if it's on rock is remove rock and scrub or leave to dry out, which is rapidly approaching on my combat agenda for this stuff.

Here is an RDO article on it http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/main_p ... _algae.htm
This probably is Bryopsis . It is a nuisance alga that is difficult to remove and will not be eaten by most common herbivores. It is common to have blooms of Bryopsis during the early months of a tank's life, however, in time it recedes. Some aquarists have reported that it may disappear altogether given that tank water quality is maintained. But most importantly, the aquarist must take proactive steps, such as manual removal, to limit the growth of Bryopsis (especially in a mature tank). It is possible that nutrients are taken up by the holdfast of this algae so blowing detritus from the rock it is on may help to keep it under control. Tridachia crispa, the Sea Lettuce Slug, is a hardy specialist predator of Bryopsis and is available from aquaculturing facilities such as Inland Aquatics. However,it is a true specialist and will perish after all the alga has been consumed unless an effort is made to culture or otherwise provide the alga for its comsumption. John Rice has a nice page devoted to his battle with bryopsis

HTH

Anton

 

[Anonymous]

I tihnk it's bryopsis. A tough nut to crack!

The blow torch option is just plain not going to work.

Turpentine is right out.

I'd go with a few emerald crabs, a few blue legs, and a few astrea snails.

Have you checked your RO/DI effluent recently to see what the TDS reading/silicate/phosphate is? Sometimes we forget that our make-up water may be a nutrient culprit.

 

[Jolieve]

Phosban, weekly water changes, yellow tang, hermits. That's what it took to get rid of the stuff in my tank.. and without one of these pawns in play, it comes back. That stuff is agressive.

J.

 

[Nautilus1]

If it is large enough, a small tang should keep it under control. But you should really be trying to reduce nutrients since that is the cause.

I don't see how it could be excess nutrients. No fish, no feedings, new carbon every two weeks, water change every two weeks.

Where are the nutrients?

Peace,

Chip

Seems like the nutrients is in your aquarium.........
Just cos there are no fish, no feedings, there are still animals in the tank that are respiring, producing waste/ slime. Perhaps your source water is contaminated. Low quality carbon? Microfauna dying somewhere. There are endless possibilities. I guess you tested the water and found 0 ppm for everything.

 

[Anonymous]

Chip, do you have a refugium in your system anywhere? Sometimes keeping a macro, in a controlled area, that will aggressively eat whatever nutrients your system has will starve out the pest algae. Caulerpa prolifera, in my experience, won't invade your display, generally sticks to sand beds, not rockwork. Or chaeto. Might be worth a try, if you haven't already tried it.

 

[Anonymous]

Chip, do you have a refugium in your system anywhere? Sometimes keeping a macro, in a controlled area, that will aggressively eat whatever nutrients your system has will starve out the pest algae. Caulerpa prolifera, in my experience, won't invade your display, generally sticks to sand beds, not rockwork. Or chaeto. Might be worth a try, if you haven't already tried it.

Funny you should say that, Clare...I just bought a bunch of chaeto on Friday from a fellow reefer online and should have it by the end of the week. I plan on putting it in a controlled area in my tank. I couldn't move my stand so my tank is on the floor for now, so no refugium yet...but I will have one when I can.

This will be my first time with chaeto...I've had every other kind of macro in the past. It seems my best tanks had macro of some sort growing.

This pic is of a tank from about 4 years ago :

I had a lot less problems then.

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

Well Chaeto is usually prefered because it doesn't set down any sort of root system, although you will have a big green tumbleweed rolling around your tank, little hair like fibers going into your powerheads/pumps and all sorts of other great stuff. Stick it in a refugium, I put a nice baseball sized piece in, and within a week it turned into a basketball sized piece

 

[Anonymous]

Give Rowaphos a try first. Also try skimming wet.