Fighting Dictyota

[Anonymous]

Am I right in thinking that there are no easily available grazers of Dictyota (that's what Anthony Calfo's Reef Invertebrates tells me)? Which would imply that my only course of action is to reduce nutrients in the tank. I don't feed much at all (two small fish), but I think I can probably reduce feed a little, increase the frequency or volume of my water changes, use wetter skimming and increase water flow (rather low up until now because of flyaway sand). Might it also be worth decreasing my photo period (currently 8 hours MHs, 10 hours actinics)?

The Dictyota is really starting to establish itself all over the place. :x

 

[Ben1]

I had it at one point and just stuck to manual removal. I did add a diadema urchin and foxface, not sure how much either helped. I think my manual removal and took care of it for the most part, and it never got out of hand. Are you running GFO?

 

[Anonymous]

dont narc me out to the tang police, but I've heard Naso tangs love dictyota...never owned a Naso before, so YMMV

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks both. Ben, no I'm not running GFO at the moment, but one of my next jobs will be putting in an order with Premium Aquatics, including for a couple of reactors, one to run GFO and one to run GAC. People seem to have success with Algaefix as well, so I'll get some and try dosing that. I was planning to put in an order for my next bulbs anyway, so I'll just expand the order. I might hold off on the Rabbitfish if I can, as I know that it'll end up being too big for the tank, so I'd end up just giving it back to the shop after 6 months (shops here never give credit for returned livestock, they just happily take back for free and then sell on :x ). The downside is that I'll have to remove the drop-in fuge in order to fit both reactors in my sump (there's no room outside the sump either). But I'm not convinced it's doing much anyway, so no big loss really.

Budha, thanks for the Naso recommendation. I'd seen the same thing, but what goes for the Rabbitfish in my 65g goes double for a Naso tang I suspect!

 

[Anonymous]

Oh yes, and come the next water change (ASAP) I'll be trying to methodically remove manually as much as I can and then doing the same every time I see more appear.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a good plan Tom.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Tracy. I'll try and put an order in with Premium Aquatics tonight. Have to first overcome my wife's shock that I'm yet again spending money on the tank.

 

[Ben1]

FWIW I really like my duel Bulkreefsupply reactor as well as their media. Not sure on the logistics of them shipping to Japan though. I am sure PA has some nice reactors, they are pretty basic after all lol.

Anyhow I am sure you'll get it taken care of. Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Ben. I've just sent BRS an e-mail asking about international shipping. They don't mention it on their website, which makes me think they might not offer it, but we'll see. The reactor price seems a lot less than the Precision Marine reactors I was thinking of getting.

 

[Anonymous]

Nothing to add but tagging along. - I feel your pain. - I've had that evil weed come back even after nuking by leaving the rock dry in 5 gallon buckets (in the sun) for a summer and in an outdoor storage shed in the winter and halfway through another summer and then scouring the rock with a deck brush to knock off anything I didn't get picked off to begin with and then freshwater rinsing the rock before starting the reconditioning cycle.. :x

I hope you fair much, MUCH better!

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks. I spent a good hour and a half at least today removing rocks and scraping them clean. Must have removed a hefty amount of the stuff (and a good part of my corraline with it).

Even then, there are few smaller rocks left that I didn't manage to do in the time I had available. I plan to do those soon. Whichever way, I don't think that will defeat it, only halt its progress temporarily.

I have tentative high hopes for the Algaefix though, as I know someone here who had the same problem and he tells me he knocked Dictyota on the head with it.

 

[Ben1]

Is this the stuff?

http://whatsinproducts.com/msds.php?brandId=6027

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure Ben, but I guess so. Apparently there are two types on the market, one for Marine fish tanks and one for freshwater.

This is what I've ordered.

http://premiumaquatics.com/store/me...ode=PA&Product_Code=RY-AAP387D&Category_Code=

 

[Ben1]

Interesting, well hope it works for ya! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I should have taken pics before I spent so long removing the stuff but couldn't face it. But I'll let you know how the algaefix goes. A couple of the things I wanted weren't in stock, so it'll be a couple of weeks before they can dispatch. Knowing my luck, I probably won't get it until 2011 and by then, there's likely to be more of the stuff, enough to see an effect if there is one.

 

[Anonymous]

I just realised that I didn't update this thread. For info in case anyone finds this searching for a Dictyota solution, the Algaefix worked a treat. There was a short lived bloom of cyano as a result, but that soon passed. Oh, and my Strombus snails buried themselves for a while (lack of food I guess, as the AF hit all algae), but reemerged once the dosing finished and are fine now.

I had to redose at one stage as the Dictyota came back after a few weeks, but haven't for a couple of months now and there's no sign of the Dictyota.