Caulurpa Problem... PLEASE HELP!

revance · 08/18/2006, 05:08 PM

Ok, So I have had some pesky grape caulurpa growing in my sump that I haven't been able to get rid of but have just pruned out every once in a while as best I can.

This time something went wrong...

A huge piece got sucked into the return pump where it was chopped up into lots of tiny pieces and blew a slury of green water and little grapes everywhere. My tank is still under construction and currently has no lights over it and no livestock yet.

What should I do to make sure this stuff doesn't infest (and "infest" is putting it lightly) my display??? Should I cover the tank to block out all light? If so, how long would it take to make sure all the caulurpa is dead? I figure it is best to do something about it now while I still can.

Any help is appreciated.

DANNY G2004 · 08/18/2006, 05:48 PM

make sure you have some tangs in that tank just incase they start growing.

revance · 08/18/2006, 06:15 PM

There will be a couple tangs, but I don't really want to rely on that. I would rather eliminate it now while I can.

Does anyone know if not having lights is enough or if I need to completely cover the tank and how long I need it to be dark?

erc111 · 08/18/2006, 08:37 PM

I had some caluerpa in my fuge for a while and then I removed it, or so I thought.
I wasn't seeing any.

At the time I had a 6 in sohal in my 120.

After a while the sohal got too big and I removed it without replacing it with another tang.
The caluerpa exploded and the YT I put in later could not keep up.

I ended up tearing the tank down and starting over, scrubbing and cooking the rock, except for rock with zoas/mushrooms. I didn't see any caluerpa(sp?)on that.

The the small amount of livestock went into a temp. 40g.

When i moved the rock and stuff back to the 120 I had some small pieces of calerpa still.

I added a hippo immediately.

Now I see none.

I do have chaeto in the fuge.

revance · 08/18/2006, 09:45 PM

well, I would really like to attempt to get rid of it before adding livestock. I have heard that caulurpa isn't good to feed fish.

How long did you cook the rock? I have the convenience of being able to cook all of it. I'm thinking that if I cover it now, the spores and little shreds of it won't be able to get established.

erc111 · 08/19/2006, 12:11 AM

I cooked the all rock i could, about 200 lbs for 3 months.
I still had some cal that came back.

I also had some aiptasia that survived.

And I had some zoas that made it too.

I even bleached a rock with lots of cal and a few zoas.
The bleach killed the cal but the zoas survived

3 months in a covered can, only 3 water changes and the stuff lived.

Amazing, if you ask me!

08/18/2006, 05:08 PM	#1
revance Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 534	Caulurpa Problem... PLEASE HELP! Ok, So I have had some pesky grape caulurpa growing in my sump that I haven't been able to get rid of but have just pruned out every once in a while as best I can. This time something went wrong... A huge piece got sucked into the return pump where it was chopped up into lots of tiny pieces and blew a slury of green water and little grapes everywhere. My tank is still under construction and currently has no lights over it and no livestock yet. What should I do to make sure this stuff doesn't infest (and "infest" is putting it lightly) my display??? Should I cover the tank to block out all light? If so, how long would it take to make sure all the caulurpa is dead? I figure it is best to do something about it now while I still can. Any help is appreciated.

08/18/2006, 05:48 PM	#2
DANNY G2004 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: OXNARD CA Posts: 1,541	make sure you have some tangs in that tank just incase they start growing.

08/18/2006, 06:15 PM	#3
revance Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 534	There will be a couple tangs, but I don't really want to rely on that. I would rather eliminate it now while I can. Does anyone know if not having lights is enough or if I need to completely cover the tank and how long I need it to be dark?

08/18/2006, 08:37 PM	#4
erc111 Moved On Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Florida Posts: 245	I had some caluerpa in my fuge for a while and then I removed it, or so I thought. I wasn't seeing any. At the time I had a 6 in sohal in my 120. After a while the sohal got too big and I removed it without replacing it with another tang. The caluerpa exploded and the YT I put in later could not keep up. I ended up tearing the tank down and starting over, scrubbing and cooking the rock, except for rock with zoas/mushrooms. I didn't see any caluerpa(sp?)on that. The the small amount of livestock went into a temp. 40g. When i moved the rock and stuff back to the 120 I had some small pieces of calerpa still. I added a hippo immediately. Now I see none. I do have chaeto in the fuge.

08/18/2006, 09:45 PM	#5
revance Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 534	well, I would really like to attempt to get rid of it before adding livestock. I have heard that caulurpa isn't good to feed fish. How long did you cook the rock? I have the convenience of being able to cook all of it. I'm thinking that if I cover it now, the spores and little shreds of it won't be able to get established.

08/19/2006, 12:11 AM	#6
erc111 Moved On Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Florida Posts: 245	I cooked the all rock i could, about 200 lbs for 3 months. I still had some cal that came back. I also had some aiptasia that survived. And I had some zoas that made it too. I even bleached a rock with lots of cal and a few zoas. The bleach killed the cal but the zoas survived 3 months in a covered can, only 3 water changes and the stuff lived. Amazing, if you ask me!