Help - This stuff is slowly taking over!

Uslanja

Active Member
Good Day! We have a problem in our tank with this algae. It has started as a small spot on a rock. We tried to pick it off and it has a very strong hold on the rock, so at best a few small pieces will break off but the part gripping the rock remains. Inevitably the remaining pieces just continue to grow. We have tried to brush it free with a clean tooth brush but that doesn't remove the little pieces that have gripped into the rock. A few months back we placed a torch coral into the tank and slowly over time the algae is growing on it as well.

So, can anyone tell us what kind of algae this is, and does anyone have any idea on how we can eradicate it?

We grabbed a quick shot under the actinics so the colour is off a bit, but under the daylights it is a deep red, almost a maroon colour. We can provide a picture under the daylights if anyone wishes.

Here is a shot of the algae growing on the torch coral trunk.
IMG_3842_edited-1.jpg
 

GlassMunky

Active Member
My LFS had some stuff that looked very similar to this in their nano LED tank. they said it was some kind of kelp, not sure if thats right or if these are even the same. sorry i couldnt be of any real help
 

Big Ray

Has been struck by the ban stick
+1 ^

dont break it off, the broken off peices will attach themselves to anything and regrow. ...

how is the N and P readings ?

I hate that algae personally, as it can and will spread, so I would suggest blocking light to the tank for 1-2 days, just to weaken it, followed by a big water change so you can siphon them out. corals will be fine for 3 days with no light.

good luck.
 

GrendelPrime

Well-Known Member
i had some of that that came on a frag but my tennenti tang made short work of it, i would honestly post that pic over on reefcleaners and im sure john will be able to id it
 

EricTheRed

Member
I was recently trying to ID a red algae and stumbled acrossed this link. It looks exactly like red turf algae. The link also describes how to get rid of it...

Progress on Red Turf Algae

GrendelPrime is right, I'd email John at reefcleaners.org and see what he says.
 

Uslanja

Active Member
Hi everyone! Thanks for the help! You have all been so helpful and that is why we hang out here at Reef Sanctuary!! Your support is more than we could hope for!!

Hi GrendelPrime! The Tennenti Tang is a gorgeous fish and one of our favorites, but we don't have much room for one in THE 23. Anyone close by want to bring their tang over for dinner? We have some red turf algae for him!

EricTheRed! That link is exactly what we have. Thank you!

The poster on that site is correct in that this is one tough algae! We have a small spot of this stuff in our other tank and it just doesn't grow. So when we placed some rock with it in our nano we weren't worried. Mistake!! It has slowly started in other areas all over the tank and so we are pretty much relegated to dealing with it in tank, or breaking down the tank and starting over.

We will contact John at ReefCleaners and see if he has a solution.

If that comes up empty then we will not have much choice other than to try the "Sop Aptasia" treatment that is mentioned in the link. We have many many small spots of this stuff so with the pumps off we should be able to treat them with some degree of safety toward the tank inhabitants. We'll go slowly treating small areas over several days and try to keep from throwing the water parameters out of whack. But we also have four spots that have started growing on the shells of two different bi-valves that came in as hitch hikers and we certainly do not want to loose them.

FYI: We had tried to brush this stuff off of the rock earlier and from what we have experienced and now read, it looks like we inadvertently spread it! Be Careful!!
 

Uslanja

Active Member
Hi everyone! Just cruised on over to John's forum and found a link there that has exactly what we are dealing with. Words of encouragement for sure! John suggests small emerald crabs for reaching into the rock and turbos. Jut happens that we have an emerald in our fuge. We actually moved it out of THE 23 when we found it because they can be a little heavy (claw) handed. So, back into THE 23 it goes and we're hoping that it eats the red stuff first and then we'll yank it back out. Lets see what it does!

Thanks again for all your help!
 

Uslanja

Active Member
Hi nanoreefing4fun! We could try a Mexican Turbo but we are a little leery about how much it could move our reef around. Or are we worrying for no reason?
 

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I had two in a RSM 130D (34 gallon) they can move frags that are just sitting on rocks... but I never really had any problems with them. They do a great job on red turf algae, I got some on a frag & it spread, I read the url I posted & tried two... they wiped it out in a few weeks. Though from your pic, I am not 100% sure that what it is...

check out these post

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/marine-algae-plants/62915-what-our-live-rock.html

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/58134-any-idea-what-type-algae.html
 

zigginit

Member
i have the same thing in my tank... i just noticed it a bout 2 weeks ago. its only a small spot right now and i thought it looked kinda neat so i left it alone. but after reading what a pain in the but it is i think ill kill it now.

this is what i plan to do and have done with other problem algaes, get a large syringe or turkey baster with a small tip and fill it with boiling hot RO water. then slowly spray the spot (in the tank even) untill you feel you have cooked it long enough. go slow because if you go fast you heat up the area and my harm other near by corals. i like this way because i have control over where and how much i "cook". if i need to stop i just stop and the tank water mixes and cools the spot off right away. i have done this with other algae and it turns bright green (maybe red in this case) before going clearish a little later meaning its dead. i have noticed it has turned live rock white in the spot for a few weeks though but thats just untill life fills in the void again.
 

Uslanja

Active Member
Hi zigginit! Nice idea with the boiling water. We could boil up some tank water and that way, other than the temperature the impact to the water parameters should be minimal. Or, boil some RO water and other than the temperature it shouldn't be much different than top up water. Very Nice idea!
 

zigginit

Member
just be careful as the hot water will float around a little with the current until it cools off(about 3-4 inches). it could pass over other corals or inverts. i have done this many times and never had any problems. some coral nearby closed up for a few minutes but came back out and was just fine. this is why i say go slow, it will provide a slow stream of hot water in the spot you want and let the hot water that floats away cool much faster since there is less of it.
 
Is that what the algae is...turf algae? Well, shucks. I just had a bit of this stuff pop up in my 12g nanocube. I only have a tiny spot of it on the glass. Not sure it would be good to hit the glass with boiling hot water so I'll look at John's recommnedations for getting rid of this stuff.
 

zigginit

Member
it wont be boiling by the time you put it in your tank. it will just be very hot. should be fine. glass is made by fire.
 
it wont be boiling by the time you put it in your tank. it will just be very hot. should be fine. glass is made by fire.

But it's not a good idea to apply hot water to cooler glass, it can cause the glass to crack. That's why you shouldn't add hot water to a cold glass, you chance causing the glass to crack. Basically, the hot water on cooler glass causes the glass to expand and may cause it to crack. When we were kids, my sister burst one of her fish bowls this way when she was cleaning it. She washed with cold water and then rinsed with hot. It caused the glass to crack. Don't want to take this chance with an expensive tank...especially one that has gallons of water and livestock in it.
 
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