controlling Caulerpa prolifera

[johnmaloney]

no i dont. you really should by them locally as they tend to ink when stressed and shipping is stressful. (which is why we don't sell them, not going to take a chance of crashing a tank for a sale- i am sure you can understand). Any LFS can get them though I would think, ask them to order them for you. They are very common and cheap on the wholesale market.

[simico]

Just an observation, Rowaphos and heavy weeding is working well (but still very time consuming!), but...

... liberally squirting Tropic Marin Elimi-Aiptas on LR with (grape) caulerpa completely nukes all traces of the algae from the rock overnight. Not ideal as it can only be used in small amounts, and is pricey, but the regrowth is absent for 3-4 weeks in treated areas. Regrowth encroaches from untreated surrounding rocks. I have done this in the main tank and let the liquid "sit" around the algae in situ, injecting it deep in the algae mat. Care would be needed if being tried close to desired life forms!

For a safer approach with heavy use, it may work to completely eradicate all traces of grape algae from live rock, IF it is possible to remove the rock to a bucket or quarentine overnight. (Sadly I can't do this myself as it is all locked together with cable ties).

Anyway, maybe that is some help to someeone, I'd be interested to know how anyone gets on...

NB I tried it on Red Bubble algae too, but it made no effect on it. (No idea why).

[simico]

OK, as I have had my algae problem well under control for a few months now, (including a 3 week period where no one even put their hand in the water,) I just thought I would mention the main things that worked for me in getting this under control:

In my tank (LR, SPS, +Fish), the LR was cable tied together so most of it could not be removed.

1/ Without a doubt, the #1 battle winner was hours of manual extraction, energy and stubborn perseverance!

In this order;

(Drying the algae out a bit under MH makes it easier to pull cleanly from the rocks). So...

Initially, I dropped the water level (~10-25%) then...

Spent 5 hours solid, for two nights concurrently, each week, grabbing handfuls of the weed until algae was too small to get by hand.
Then used long grab tongs to get individual long strands.
Then got a pair of metal long nose tongs and bent both tips over like a flamingos beak, (This allowed a better grab, whilst allowing larger hold), and I “scooped” whatever I could extract with that.
Then used long nose metal tweezers to pick every last scrap from crevices within the rock.
Every scrap of loose algae was removed from the water, so it couldn’t re-attach elsewhere.

2/ Increased water changes to 20-25% weekly with a 50:50 mix of Reefers best and D&D H2Ocean. (Gives a good balance of parameters if you test it).

3/ ...

Reduced feeding significantly.
Removed auto feeders with pellets and flake. (All the fish had suddenly died overnight of unknown cause see here, (http://bb.wetwebmedia.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1399), so stopping feeding was easier for me...(!)
Stopped all coral feeding, (had no detrimental effect!).
If there is any possibility of re-homing all fish (except those KNOWN to eat your trouble algae), to a stable and suitable alternative tank, I would really recommend doing that as it tips the battle heavily in your favour.

4/ Crucially, I stopped using Saliferts All in one (and Trace Hard/Soft versions). These contain iron which makes the algae grow like a triffid!!! I always test for iron, and it never showed a reading (which is the aim), but even the trace amount causes a boost. Obviously I stopped adding drops of Kent Marines Iron additive too. (If I had a very large algae sump that could out compete the main tank, using the iron additives may not have been so bad, kind of like using Miracle Mud).*

5/ All that would have been a waste of time without Rowaphos, I used 120ml for my 150G tank.

6/ Throughout, any fiddly or too densely overgrown rocks that could be removed, were placed in an entirely separate tank with a large long spined sea urchin, and two Black Mithrax crabs. By morning EVERYTHING was stripped from those rocks. (That would have included corals if they were there by the way!). Be warned, all that was left on these was rock, - not even the coralline algae was left! (This is why the urchin gets his own tank! – But he and the crabs did a great job for me for stubborn algae removal). (Other more destructing nuking methods may include boiling or soaking in Kalk water. The reason I favour the Urchin method is because it otherwise keeps the benefits (bacteria within the LR) intact, allowing quick and safe return to the display).

7/ Really awkward pockets, (or impossible to reach areas) were liberally squirting Tropic Marin Elimi-Aiptas which seems to nuke holes in clumps of the grape algae overnight.

8/ My new purple tang does eat SOME. I would not say he would ever get even get close to clearing a tank though, but he does a light utility job of picking small bits which helps, but only once it is otherwise sorted. Regal eats some too, but not much. Chevron and large Lieutenant tang don’t touch it as you would expect. Generally both tangs only graze at recently cleared areas, that have already been mostly removed by hand, but again that is somewhat helpful.

If you have a month were you know you can commit to spending many hours a week meticulously picking algae out of the tank, and implement the additional controls simultaneously, you CAN get this in control, or even eradicate it with the right herbivores. However, I do believe you need to put the tank on a strict diet and ignoring the majority of the other points above will (IMO) result in failure, as the millions of years of evolution mean the balance is weighted so heavily against your success with this particular algae. Tip the scales with everything in your tool box, (buy some thick gloves!), and you can beat this one...


*(If I ever get around to setting up an over sized algae sump I will load it with water from water changes, and whilst keeping it “off line” from the main tank, load it with Iron supplements to generate a large algae bio load quickly. Once established, I would wean it into accepting lower nutrient levels, doing, a 3 week series of 25%, then 50% then 100% fresh salt mix water changes, (so as not to add any spare Iron into the main tank once connected). With 24hr lighting and large surface area I think once stable, and connected to the main tank, this sump may suck out nutrients from the main tank fast enough to crash the algae in the main tank. Anyway, maybe worth a try if you don’t have the time for the above...)

[sump'nfishy]

sorry i never updated, i wiped it out by dropping the salinity to 1.021~1.023 and using long metal tongs to remove the smallest pieces i could.

[simico]

That sounds easier!

Did that cause it to crash and completely dissappear, or is there a bit left here and there?

What effect did that have on your corals?

Did you adjust any parameters at the lower salinity to compensate?

How long did you drop it for?

[Cronamator]

id be cautious leaving specific gravity @ 1.021 for a lengthy time in a reef tank. he is right though. its been proven to work.