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  #1  
Old 11/16/2007, 07:07 PM
shelburn61 shelburn61 is offline
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Anyone have this algae in your SPS tank?

I have almost no algae in my tank beyond this ugly brown/red turf stuff. It grows in high light/ high flow areas and nothing seems to eat it.

I was thinking of getting an urchin? Any input on what it is or how to eradicate is appreciated!



  #2  
Old 11/16/2007, 10:45 PM
barjam barjam is offline
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I have it too and nothing will eat it.
  #3  
Old 11/16/2007, 10:57 PM
paradoxycal paradoxycal is offline
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turf algae i heard people cover their rocks / put them in shade
  #4  
Old 11/16/2007, 10:59 PM
JVHam JVHam is offline
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I am trying vodka dosing to see if that helps after a six month battle
  #5  
Old 11/16/2007, 11:32 PM
static80 static80 is offline
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Look up Asparagopsis taxiformis

http://www.aquatouch.com/algae.htm

Mithrax crabs picked at it in my tank but it was the Mexican turbo snails that really devoured it. You'll likely have to do a bit of hand picking because the turbos won't touch it if it's not cropped pretty short

Good luck
  #6  
Old 11/17/2007, 01:11 AM
shelburn61 shelburn61 is offline
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Great link static. Anyone tried urchins?

JVHam, this seems to be a "low nutrient" algae. I clean my glass once a week and chaeto has ceased to grow... but this stuff still does
  #7  
Old 11/17/2007, 01:52 AM
Sullyman Sullyman is offline
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Sally lightfoot crabs eat it.
  #8  
Old 11/17/2007, 02:09 AM
SimilanRocks SimilanRocks is offline
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I have those red hair algae bloom when I had phosphate and silicate problem from water source. When I reduced the phosphate and silicate level they look like bleaching. The are still there but does not spread anymore.

Looks like I need those crabs to clean them up.
  #9  
Old 11/17/2007, 03:11 AM
acrylic_300 acrylic_300 is offline
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I still have nightmares about that crap. I have no idea how I got rid of it but I pray I never see it again.
  #10  
Old 11/17/2007, 05:02 PM
trueblackpercula trueblackpercula is offline
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I bought a rabit fish and he took care of all of it.
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  #11  
Old 11/17/2007, 06:39 PM
Blair Blair is offline
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I have this algae too... I had A LOT of it. I have been dosing vodka for about two months now. My glass stays clean for a week and my acros are pale, but this algae just keeps growing. A week ago I bought two mexican turbos snails and so far they have consumed about a third of it. I am planning to buy two more to see of I can get rid of it altogether.

Blair
  #12  
Old 11/17/2007, 07:29 PM
lecher lecher is offline
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My Foxface eats it, but it is still there.
  #13  
Old 11/20/2007, 01:36 AM
818reefer 818reefer is offline
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that alge sucks I had it in my old tank hope I don't get stuff again in my new set up. I never was able to get rid of it. good luck to every one.
  #14  
Old 11/20/2007, 01:47 AM
magnoliarichj magnoliarichj is offline
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i notice it when i dose ammino acids. when i stop it goes away on its own.
  #15  
Old 11/20/2007, 12:40 PM
MJAnderson MJAnderson is offline
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I've posted a couple times about that stuff. Nothing eats it. Have tried mexican turbos, sea hares, various crabs. Only thing I have found that helps is really keep good parms to keep corraline growing as that will outcompete it. It needs light, so every once in a while I move my rocks around and flip them over. After a year I'm slowly winning the battle.
  #16  
Old 11/20/2007, 12:51 PM
barjam barjam is offline
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Is that two different algaes? I see brown turf style on the top photos and the last one is that red cotton stuff is it not?
  #17  
Old 11/20/2007, 06:29 PM
static80 static80 is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by barjam
Is that two different algaes? I see brown turf style on the top photos and the last one is that red cotton stuff is it not?
"Red algae have the most elaborate lifecycles of all the marine algae. Successive generations alternate between an asexual sporulation stage and a sexual stage composed of male and female plants. The physical appearance of these two stages is quite different making identification difficult at times. Early investigations into the species taxiformis initially lead to its asexual stage as being classified as a different species!"

quoted from the link I posted earlier

There seems to be a few different varieties of snails sold as Mexican Turbos so if you try one and it doesn't work maybe try getting one from a different LFS and trying it. Personally I've had the best luck with the ones that have a smooth shell and black and white zig zags or checkerboard type patern.
  #18  
Old 11/20/2007, 07:33 PM
johnnybravo234 johnnybravo234 is offline
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Dont let that get on your corals. I had some spidery looking red **** nearly take out my jacquelinae by surprise. I had to break it off the infected base and ditch the rock it was on. Kill it if you can.
  #19  
Old 11/20/2007, 09:35 PM
ReefJunkieOK ReefJunkieOK is offline
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I had alot of this stuff at one time. Added a Phosban reactor and it was gone within two weeks.
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  #20  
Old 11/20/2007, 09:52 PM
piercho piercho is offline
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IMHO not Asparagopsis taxiformis. Taxiformis in reef tanks resemble cotton candy, and color usually pink. Very fragile and fluffy. Mexican turbos do eat taxiformis, IME. Diadema urchins do not.

If its tough, short turf best bet IMO is Diadema urchin. Diadema gnaw rock down to bare white bone after which less rugged grazers have better chance to inhibit regrowth of this type algae. Small Diadema likely take weeks to dig in and start clearing patches of rock, IME. Diadema also grow fast and eventually become bad resident in small tank and have to be removed, IME. I had a Acanthurus japonicus which was also a pretty good inhibitor to tough red turf algae, but I think fish will be more hit or miss than an urchin.

Turf algae not unusual in SPS tank. If the coral can keep it from advancing on it's base, it was never a problem for me except for appearance. Bigger colonies will shade it out around their bases as they grow.
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  #21  
Old 11/20/2007, 10:00 PM
northbay-reefer northbay-reefer is offline
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I have the same algea, and my Redsea sailfin tang (desardini tang not the regular zebra tang) ate it all up. He also eat buble algea and anything that is green by far the best algea eating tang I ever had.
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  #22  
Old 11/21/2007, 10:17 AM
barjam barjam is offline
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[quote]I notice it when i dose ammino acids. when i stop it goes away on its own[]/quote]

I notice when I cut way back on feeding I get more of the stuff.... perhaps related. I have been feeding heavy this week to try to darken my acros and the red stuff is completely gone (I did add 3 large turbos though) and the short brown/white stuff is going away in areas that aren't really bright.

I also have the red cotton mixed in with my cheato and it is fading who a dark brown.

Who knows.
  #23  
Old 11/25/2007, 01:42 PM
tonyespinoza tonyespinoza is offline
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I have the red-wiry variety in my SPS tank... I've PM'd a few folks who've had it and none of them seem to have figured out a solution.

Thanks so much for this thread -- particularly for the early response about not dripping Kalk near the GFO... That's exactly what I've been doing and the effectiveness of my GFO seems to have been very short lived (a week and a half?). (I use the deltec phos kit and a hanna when i have time).

Given that I have a small tank and have been using C-Balance (no Ca Reactor) I think I'm going to stop dosing Kalk for a while and see if the GFO lasts longer...

I notice the turf grows when I don't change the PhosBan as often...

-tE
 

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