Red macro algae help!

reefknight · 02/06/2008, 03:18 PM

I have several pieces of live rock that came in with a form of red macro algae. It has spread over several of my rock pieces and onto a few corals as well. How can I get rid of it, short of removing the rocks at fault? I had a long spinned urchin (Diadema) in my tank until my Mystery wrasse made dinner out of it. (Lunch was a cleaner shrimp!) I had thought about adding a foxface or tang of some sort, would this help? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Blindmelonbob · 02/06/2008, 03:50 PM

You can remove it by hand, but that can be tedious. Are you growing any macro in a fuge?

reefknight · 02/06/2008, 04:12 PM

I don't have a fuge and with a 30 cube there really is no room for one.

I have tried removing it by hand but it is really deeply rooted! I almost pulled the top end of my reef off yesterday.

Justin/TiV · 02/06/2008, 04:20 PM

do you have a sump...you can put some cheato in there. I have a sump that has cheato in it, the cheato is between 2 peices of egg crate so it won't get caught in the skimmer or return pump.

can you take a pic of the macro algae...that will help as well

Aquarist007 · 02/06/2008, 04:57 PM

are you sure its not red cyano?

reefknight · 02/06/2008, 09:48 PM

No its macro, for sure seems to be of the genus Gelidium. (Modern Coral Reef Aquarium Vol. 1, page 309.)

I would like to find a way to rid myself of this in a natural way. Any thougts?

Justin - Do you have a way of taking a picture or two of your sump? I would like to see how you have done this as it seems intriguing.

reefknight · 02/26/2008, 10:45 PM

TTT - For more advice

ManotheSea · 02/26/2008, 11:35 PM

Make a 5 gal bucket of saltwater. Remove the rocks and scrub them with a tooth brush, then rinse in the bucket of water. Its done. You will drive yourself crazy trying to find something to eat it so just scrub it off. The coraline is tougher than the macro so it survives the clean up.

I once did this to get rid of a bad case of hair algae and it never came back. When I did it I rinsed my rocks quickly under fresh tap water. I then put them in a circulated tub of salt water for several weeks to see what the results would be. The rocks were fine so they went back in the tank.

its fry · 02/27/2008, 12:32 AM

^ Good advice. Your coraline will start to grow back in two weeks tops if your Calcium levels are right.

02/06/2008, 03:18 PM	#1
reefknight Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Warner Robins, GA Posts: 626	Red macro algae help! I have several pieces of live rock that came in with a form of red macro algae. It has spread over several of my rock pieces and onto a few corals as well. How can I get rid of it, short of removing the rocks at fault? I had a long spinned urchin (Diadema) in my tank until my Mystery wrasse made dinner out of it. (Lunch was a cleaner shrimp!) I had thought about adding a foxface or tang of some sort, would this help? Any thoughts are appreciated.

02/06/2008, 04:12 PM	#3
reefknight Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Warner Robins, GA Posts: 626	I don't have a fuge and with a 30 cube there really is no room for one. I have tried removing it by hand but it is really deeply rooted! I almost pulled the top end of my reef off yesterday. __________________ Bill Current Tank Info: DSA Neo 185gal - Coming Soon!

02/06/2008, 04:57 PM	#5
Aquarist007 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hamilton, Canada Posts: 28,240 Blog Entries: 1	are you sure its not red cyano? __________________ I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock

02/06/2008, 09:48 PM	#6
reefknight Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Warner Robins, GA Posts: 626	No its macro, for sure seems to be of the genus Gelidium. (Modern Coral Reef Aquarium Vol. 1, page 309.) I would like to find a way to rid myself of this in a natural way. Any thougts? Justin - Do you have a way of taking a picture or two of your sump? I would like to see how you have done this as it seems intriguing. __________________ Bill Current Tank Info: DSA Neo 185gal - Coming Soon!

02/26/2008, 10:45 PM	#7
reefknight Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Warner Robins, GA Posts: 626	TTT - For more advice __________________ Bill Current Tank Info: DSA Neo 185gal - Coming Soon!

02/06/2008, 03:50 PM	#2
Blindmelonbob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Arkansas, USA Posts: 662	You can remove it by hand, but that can be tedious. Are you growing any macro in a fuge?

02/06/2008, 04:20 PM	#4
Justin/TiV Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: kansas city Posts: 698	do you have a sump...you can put some cheato in there. I have a sump that has cheato in it, the cheato is between 2 peices of egg crate so it won't get caught in the skimmer or return pump. can you take a pic of the macro algae...that will help as well

02/26/2008, 11:35 PM	#8
ManotheSea Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: FL Posts: 414	Make a 5 gal bucket of saltwater. Remove the rocks and scrub them with a tooth brush, then rinse in the bucket of water. Its done. You will drive yourself crazy trying to find something to eat it so just scrub it off. The coraline is tougher than the macro so it survives the clean up. I once did this to get rid of a bad case of hair algae and it never came back. When I did it I rinsed my rocks quickly under fresh tap water. I then put them in a circulated tub of salt water for several weeks to see what the results would be. The rocks were fine so they went back in the tank. Last edited by ManotheSea; 02/26/2008 at 11:41 PM.

02/27/2008, 12:32 AM	#9
its fry Moved On Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Cincinnati Ohio Posts: 125	^ Good advice. Your coraline will start to grow back in two weeks tops if your Calcium levels are right.