Nightmare Red Cotton Algae: Took over my tank - Page 7

waterfaller1 · #**151** 09/14/2006, 02:16 PM

Yes, when available. Call to see if they are in.

honeybee · #**152** 09/14/2006, 06:42 PM

lilp...

I think that might be Gelidium, I have a few clumps that I am trying to physically remove. I vac up fragments that might spread the macro.

Honeybee

The Cardinal · #**153** 10/04/2006, 09:21 AM

Hello again guys, I have been using a product called AlgenEx, not sure if you have it in the states but it did have an impact on this algae and it is more or less gone now. I hope it stays that way. Anyway I see this as a good option if you cannot get hold of mexican turbos (I couldn´t).

Here is a comparison on page 7 with Algenex and this nightmare algae that I have battling for almost a year now:

http://www.saltvattensguiden.se/foru...clownens+balja

Unforunately it is in swedish and the tank is in a real mess as it recently has been moved due to a leak but I hope you see the clear difference.

/Peter

bronxer · #**154** 01/15/2007, 05:25 AM

I hooked up an 18 guage needle to a syringe , then shoved a length of tube up the syringe and connected the end to a turkey baster. then connected the baster to a wet/dry vacuum hose.

It's a bit unwieldy (and a little dangerous with an open needle) but I decimated much of the glass anemones I have -- I figure it might work on your algae problem.

Just a thought.

whatnot45 · #**155** 01/15/2007, 12:23 PM

where do you get seringes? No one will sell them to me

bronxer · #**156** 01/16/2007, 08:23 PM

I work in a hospital, so I can "borrow" whatever I need. By the way, the turkey baster is also from the hospital, but is used for other purposes. It just looks like a turkey baster.

If you like, I could take a picture of it tomorrow and show you the setup. It kinda works, but a few days later my problem with the aiptasia was back, so I'm not sure if this will help you all that much.

Also, the 18 guage needle is a little too small. I'm trying to get a 15 guage, but it's hard to find. All I can find is biopsy needles, and they won't fit on the syringe.

flipteg · #**157** 01/17/2007, 03:06 PM

i came across this thread from the Reefkeeping article about macro algae that is currently on the home page of Reef Central... i too have been having problems with this algae... although it's not a really big problem yet, i take out about a cup's worth of the stuff every month from my 30 gallon aquarium... today, i bought one Mexican turbo snail from the fish store for $3.50... it is about an inch in diameter... after putting it in, even before i had a chance to close the glass top of the aquarium, the snail was already munching on the stuff... i can actually see the snail suck up the cotton looking algae...! now, in the next 2 weeks or so, i'll see if this one snail can clean up my 30 gallons or if i have to get a second one... i just hope that the hermit crabs don't kill it...

waldomas · #**158** 01/17/2007, 04:24 PM

I would think that 1 turbo would be enough for your 30!

If your crabs do him in, try to find a bigger snail. I have seen them as big as 4 inches across!

I bet it doesnt take him 2 weeks to irradicate it all!

KH971 · #**159** 01/22/2007, 11:04 PM

It is all intertwined in my refugium on my calupera prolifera. Mexican turbos cannot knock down the prolifera and get it, how do I get rid of this nightmare? It is mostly in my refugium and if I found a rouge crab I would throw him in, because he can't go anywhere.

WILDTHING · #**160** 01/23/2007, 01:35 AM

I accidently bought a plating coral with one tuft of this algae on it. My snails eat it but seem to leave a thin film of it behind. I just bought a Purple tang and to my utter surprise he is eating it too.

bronxer · #**161** 01/26/2007, 12:21 PM

To KH971

If it's only in your refugium, then there's something in your main tank that's eating it.

THB · #**162** 01/29/2007, 01:49 AM

Thank heavens I found this thread. A few days ago I was in the "look what a pretty red fuzzy macroalgae hitchhiker" stage. I was going to let it grow because I thought it looked good. After reading this thread I immediately went to my tank and removed every speck, with extreme prejudice. I feel as though I have dodged a bullet.

jpa0741 · #**163** 01/29/2007, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KH971
It is all intertwined in my refugium on my calupera prolifera. Mexican turbos cannot knock down the prolifera and get it, how do I get rid of this nightmare? It is mostly in my refugium and if I found a rouge crab I would throw him in, because he can't go anywhere.

Did you try the mexican turbo in your fuge anyways. I had the same problem in fuge only and tried adding two. They ate it all right out of my mess of macro.

KH971 · #**164** 01/30/2007, 10:13 PM

They would not get on my prolifera and eat it off. The Turbos ate it from my main tank except where they could not reach it. My fuge is slam full of the stuff. i try to siphon off as much as i can when I do a water change. Would an urchin eat it?

jpa0741 · #**165** 01/30/2007, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KH971
They would not get on my prolifera and eat it off. The Turbos ate it from my main tank except where they could not reach it. My fuge is slam full of the stuff. i try to siphon off as much as i can when I do a water change. Would an urchin eat it?

I doubt it I have a pencil urchin in my fuge he never really seemed to touch it.

Herpervet · #**166** 02/02/2007, 01:17 AM

Well it's nice to know I am not alone. Such a familiar story. The stuff started off as a single ball about the size of an orange and I thought it looked neat.......O MY GOD.

Now my tank is in the same shape as the guy who started the thread.

I was at SMILLER's house picking up corals last week and noticed he had this algae and he told me about the mexican turbo's.

I just put in 30 of them yesterday. I think I will buy another 70. Good grief this stuff is frustrating.

BTW if you put a wad of it directly under pure actinic it fluoresces like an orange highlighter. The most amazing orange color I have ever seen.

Anyone want to buy some hot orange algae. $5 per cup. Unlimited supply....

Herpervet · #**167** 02/02/2007, 03:14 AM

Ok I read the part about not needing so many. I will see what my HERD O' 30 Mexican turbo's can do in the next 3 weeks in my 550 reef full of the "RED SCARE"

Zebra turbo's do not touch the stuff. I have the really big ones and almost didn't realize the difference.

BTW this stuff grows just about anywhere except areas with Zero light.

It seems to bleach out when it gets hit with really high intensity light but underneath the bleached surface is happy red cotton.

KH971 · #**168** 02/03/2007, 03:35 PM

Mine just takes over my refugium, I wonder what fuels this stuff?

waldomas · #**169** 02/03/2007, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KH971
Mine just takes over my refugium, I wonder what fuels this stuff?

Saltwater!

KH971 · #**170** 02/03/2007, 04:56 PM

Wish it was that simple!!! If I knew the Zeovit method would starve this stuff out, then I would use it!!

baj · #**171** 05/19/2007, 12:12 AM

I tried starving the tank but this thing takes very little to grow. It would begin to die out by becoming pale but it would bounce back with a nice vibrant red as soon as I fed the tank or dosed it with even a small amount of aminoacids. I introduced mexican turbo snails and they took care of it but not entirely. What defnitely killed it was when I accidently introduced a sprrig of caulerpa in my tank about 3 weeks back. Since then I've been travelling and have had very little time to maintain the tank and now the caulerpa (racemosa) has completely swamped the tank, the red stuff is gone.

miracles38 · #**172** 05/19/2007, 01:44 PM

I was able to get rid of it by packing my refugium with chaeto and manually picking out the red stuff. As nitrates went down so did the red stuff. Prior to that I had just a smallish ball of chaeto. But after filling it up with chaeto, now it grows like crazy. I have to pull a huge amount every week.