How do I keep macroalgae from killing my corals and clams?

[M.E.Milz]

I have a pretty wide variety of macroalgae in my reef tank, and I do my best to erradicate it by harvesting the stuff at least once per week. But one strain is particularly bothersome.

This stuff is a brownish/green and sort of triangular shapped with concave sides (like if you sliced arcs off the sides of a trinagle) (sorry, no pictures). It is growing on the sides of my clams and several LPS corals, and extends past the edge of the base so as to touch the clam's mantle or the polyp of the coral. I have already lost an Elegance to this algae, and I am afraid that I might loose a Fox. I try to pick this stuff off, but it falls apart in my fingers.

What can I do? I am tempted to get a toothbrush and try rubbing it off of the sides of the corals and clams, but I am afraid of harming the corals and clams. Any suggestions??

Mike

 

[Merkur]

Do you have any herbavores? I know in my tank i could never have any macro's growing. my tang's would eradicate it in very short order.

 

[drwwalker]

since nobody is helping you maybe I can get the trend started I would get somthing like a tang or something that eats algae.The Red-lipped blenny is known for its excellent habit of helping to keep reef aquariums free of problem algae

 

[jdeets]

you might contact bigtank and see if he will send you his tang!

(see the thread "how do I catch a yellow tang. . .)

Seriously, I can't grow any macro in my tank, either. The tangs slurp it all up--I added a handful of feather caulerpa to the main tank once, and they ate all of it in one day. All my macro is in the refugium. The tangs keep it mowed down in the display tank.

Also, if you don't want a tang or blenny, my sally lightfoot (nimble) crabs also eat lots of macro--they're always picking it off the rocks and munching it--and they are also good for eating it high up in the tank where the tangs won't normally go to graze.

Looks to me like a serious herbivore is in your immediate future.

 

[liquid]

However, I believe that the blennies will also nip clam mantles...

A herbivorous fish, like a tang, would significantly help your situation. However, if you have anything under a 75 gallon tank I wouldn't recommend them and it also depends upon the genus and species of macroalgae in question...

Various urchins will readily eat macroalgae. Here's a couple threads to read on the Ask Dr. Ron board over at ReefCentral:

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16958&highlig ht=urchin+macroalgae

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13339&highlig ht=urchin+macroalgae

Looks like the general trend was to recommend a Diadema sp. long-spined sea urchin. If you want to ask the Doc directly, head over to this url:

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=40

If you are not 'a) a registered ReefCentral member' or 'b) not logged onto ReefCentral' you will not be able to access this forum.

Good luck finding a cure! The tooth brush method would work on the shell of your clam but I wouldn't use it on your corals...

Hope I was of some help...

liquid

 

[M.E.Milz]

I have tried all of the above to no avail. I have a chevron tang and a regal tang, neither of which seems to be interested. Maybe they just can't keep up. I have removed as much as a 1 gallon bucket's worth (about 5-6 pounds) after a single week of growth. Although I could look into another tang, that might be pushing it, particularly sine I also have an Ebili and a pair of Wantanabe angels in there as well. My tank is pretty well stocked out.

I haven't seen my Sally light-foot in a while - maybe he is dead. I do have a huge decorator crab that I only see every month or so. I added an emerald last week, but I haven't seen any improvement.

 

[M.E.Milz]

Well, I thought I had beaten the macros back, and had very little growth for about a month, but all of the sudden the macros are growing like weeds again (just as my calcium and alk levels are getting back to normal). Last night, I harvested a 2 gallon bucket's worth of mostly grape caulerpa, some feather, and some saragassum (sp?). This was about a weeks worth of growth in my 200 gallon reef. This stuff is growing around the bases and and through the branches of my sps corals. Everytime I harvest, I end up knocking branches off of my corals.

I have a chevron and a regal tang, a elibli angle, a mated pair of wantanabe angles, a fang blenny, and a few wrasses. None of them touch it. I have also tried emerald and salley lightfoot crabs (they tend to disappear). I have also tried a large seahare, which also vanished.

Anybody had any luck with Naso tangs? Any other suggestions?

 

[Anonymous]

Can you set up a refugium, or do you already have one? If you can get it growing rampant in a refugium then it will slow down in the main tank due to lack of nutrients.

 

[grimreefer1]

I have a rather large (7-8") Naso Tang that will eat as much macro as I put in the tank. He is a pig. My yellow tang is more of a nibbler, not a destroyer, so I think it makes quite a difference what type of tang it is. I also have an algae blenny who literally scrapes and bites at rocks to get algae from them. He hasn't nipped the derasa clam - yet.

By the way, the Naso is for sale/trade to anyone in the Bay Area (California) who has a big enough tank. 100+g

 

[Len]

Mike,

Ctenochaetus sp. aren't particularly suited to grazing macroalgae. They're "brush" feeders, with a primary diet that consists of diatoms, dinos, and filamentous microalgae.

Paracanthurus hepatus should at least partially feed on macroalgae, so you've got me there. Sometimes specimens that are fed well do not bother grazing the substrate and rocks.

From personal experience, I know that Zebrasoma sp. tangs are great consumers of all algae, micro or macro. Naso sp. tangs will also eat macroalgae.

Without knowing your setup, I would consider increasing the use of other nutrient export mechanisms. Algae growth is a positively linked with nutrient availability. Try to outcompete them with increased skimming, water changes, carbon, etc. Or more stricly enforce your nutrient import (feedings, Ca media, R/O membrane, etc.). I'm sure you know this already, but it never hurts to suggest it - just in case.

 

[DKKA]

Maybe try cutting back on your feeding. If they get hungry enough your tangs might develop a taste for home grown greens. Your tank sounds pretty healthy and obviously lush, so I'm sure there's enough supplemental chow in there to keep anyone from starving even if you cut way back on your feed. Just make em work for it.
Dan

 

[naesco]

You did not mention the size of your tank.
What is its size.
If you can trade one of your tangs for a sailfin tang they will deal with the macro in short order.
I would not recommend adding one with the tangs you already have in your tank.

 

[redneck]

Whatever you do, I advise against grapes. (C.Rasmosa (sp?). They're truly evil. They grow about two inches a day under 400W Iwasakis. I prune a head-of-lettuce size ball a week.

My tang didn't work. I'm either going to eradicate it with a toothbrush, rock by rock, or just blast it with a .375 H&H Mag.

The latter won't work, but offers some satisfaction.

 

[Anonymous]

The grape caulerpa is a big pest in my tank as well. I have sallys and emeralds and a mimic tang, none of which touch it. I'm in the long term process of upgrading to a 150 (from a 65) and I will probably try a sailfin tang in that tank...

 

[M.E.Milz]

Thanks for the thoughts. FWIW, here is a little more detail about my set-up, which has been up and running for a little over a year (although much of the livestock, live rock and live sand came from older tanks):

1) Tank - Oceanic 200 gallon reef-ready
2) Lighting - 3x250watt 6500K Iwasakis & 2x160watt VHO actinics
3) Sump - Custom berlin style sump made by Nova, does include some bio-material to control bubbles from my skimmer
4) Skimmer - ETS 750 twin stack, powered by an Iwaki 30RLT pump
5) Circulation - 2x Iwaki 40RXLT pumps returning water through 4 return lines, 2 high and 2 mid-level behind the rockwork
6) Extra circulation - 2x 402 power heads recently added to increase circulation
7) Live rock - probably 150-200#'s of Fiji and Tonga rock (enough to fill the tank)
8) DSB - 5" DSB consisting of a mix of HD sand, ESV oolitic, and Caribsea oolitic sand. Previously seeded with a fauna kit from Inland, and live sand and gunk from 3-4 LFS.
9) Reactor - Koralin 1501

As far as live stock:
1) Fish - about 12, most of which are listed in the post above
2) LPS corals - Huge frog spawn, large favia, scolimia, bubble, fox, candy-cane
3) Soft corals - star polyps (several large colonies which cover 1-2 square feet of rock), button polyps (3-4 colonies), mushrooms (probably 6-7 types/colonies)
4) SPS corals - I would guess about 20-25 types and about 40 colonies, including: purple, green, and orange digitatas; yellow, green, solid blue, blue-tipped, purple tipped, green tipped acros; solid purple and a brown capricornas; solid pink and solid purple millipores; pink bird nests; hydros, anacroporas; a few others I that I can't remember the names to
5) Clams - 7" deresa and a 4" crocea (I have not bee lucky with clams)

Parameters:
1) specific gravity - 1.025
2) Nitrates - never measured anything but 0
3) Calcium and Alk - I have had fluctuations in these over the past few months. First, my cal dropped (my reactor just couldn't keep up). After beginnig a routine of adding kalkwasser as top-off, and dosing calcium chloride to get things balanced, calcium levels are back up over 400. However, my alk has all of the sudden dropped (this may have been the result of overdosing mag). I will now be concentrating on getting this back up to at least 10 dkh.

As for setting up a refugium, I can't fit this in. My best bet is to try and find a fish that will eat the macros. Perhpas I can bring a bag of the stuff to the LFS and see if the fish will eat it before bringing him home. I will let you know what happens.

Thanks again for the input. Mike

 

[whirley]

You could always donate it to a local reefers.

whirley

[ July 18, 2001: Message edited by: whirley ]

 

[SPC]

M.E., just a thought, maybe you should find out what people are doing who can't get the stuff to grow at all. To me more herbivores mean more waste which means more fuel for the macro. If you are growing this stuff in these quantities you have to have a large amount of nutrients in the water that are feeding the algae, no way around it.
Steve

 

[M.E.Milz]

Whirley, I see that you are in the area ( I live in Hinsdale). E-mail me your phone number and I will give you a call after my next harvesting session. I probably should have saved the last batch, particularly since I also tossed some mushrooms and star polyps that were attached to the macros.