Lobophora variegata control  9/28/05
Hi Bob:
Lobophora variegata slowly but surely getting out of hand in my 90 gal- one year old reef.
I am surprised that I cannot find much info on how to control it or better yet, eradicate it.  Very little info, including on WWM.  I read some comments on the addition of urchins but nothing concrete.  Can you make any specific suggestion?  Manual removal has been nearly impossible.
Thanks.
Paul M
<Manual removal is the preferred route to go... look into some long tongs, scissors, siphon... Bob Fenner>

Re: Lobophora variegata predators  9/29/05
Bob:
Since we don't use tongs and siphons on the ocean reefs to keep this stuff in check,
<Nor glass boxes...>
I assume there must be a more natural predator. Any other thoughts?
<I really like the futo maki at Kamagaki market down towards Kealakekua Bay... wish we were going by there on our way to Two-Step to go diving... before they're all sold out... about noon.>
Thanks again.
Paul
<Mmm, a few tangs, Rabbitfishes... Here's the bit on Google: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-43,GGLD:en&q=predators+of+lobophora
Bob Fenner>

Dictyota
Hi Crew
<Joe>
I am at the verge of tossing all my live rock in the trash. I have had a Dictyota outbreak in my 90 gal for a while now. I bought a small Naso that wiped it out but as we know the Naso was too big and now resides in a 200 gal. I have an ev120 skimmer and a 30 gal sump with macros growing. I do 10/15 gal water changes weekly with 0 TDS. I don't know what to do.
<Re?>
Joe Culler,
<You could kill off this brown algae by placing your LR in the dark for a few weeks... Bob Fenner>

Sargassum weed in refugium
Good day.
Several months ago, I was pleased to see Sargassum weed growing from a section of live rock in my reef.
<Hope you've got a rechargeable weed whacker!>
After pruning it back many times, I decided to remove it by pulling it out by its roots. Since I know I should be thankful for having this appear in my reef I decided to place the weed in my refugium rather than simply discarding it. It has been about a month or so and it appears to be growing. The roots have grown and expanded and the weed has the usual seed pods attached. It has become slightly darker than it was in the main tank which I assume is due to the significantly lower lighting. 
<Likely>
I have noticed a little coralline algae growing on the leaves although this does not seem to be adversely affecting its growth. My question is, how common is it for this type of weed to be used in refugiums and is it recommended?
<Not unusual... but needs a good deal of iodine/ide... and not as palatable as some others... Greens, Reds>
Does it have the same nutrient export capability as Chaetomorpha? By the way I also have Chaetomorpha growing in the refugium as well. Sound like a good combo? Thanks for your input. Paul
<Different in some aspects/degrees, but complementary... Bob Fenner> 

Dictyota for Nutrient Export?
I was wondering if Dictyota can be used for nutrient export in the sump or is it more of a plague? My LFS has some for free but didn't want to get it before I knew what it was, its the blue green species of it
thanks
<Hi!  Dictyota is highly noxious and is a poor choice for nutrient export.  Chaetomorpha is much better in this application!  You know what they say about a free horse...Cheers, Ryan>

Cladophora prolifera predation/control
Hi all could u tell me is there anyway I can get rid of Cladophora prolifera algae and is there any inverts that will eat this stuff. It is starting to get out of control
<This algae is consumed by various invertebrate groups and fishes: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&q=cladophora+predators
Bob Fenner>

Nuisance Algae Counterattack!
I figured out what the nuisance algae is. it is Lobophora, the brown algae. I found it on your site finally. Knowing this now, what is the best way to control this??
<A "tough" algae like this will require a more aggressive grazer, such as a Long-Spined Urchin, IMO. Yes, you'll need to watch out for potential collateral damage that these animals can cause, but the combination of dedicated grazers and continued attention to nutrient export should do the trick in time. Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Lobophora (Brown Wafer Algae) Eating Urchins
Trying not to bother you guys, but time to go to the experts.
<MikeD here and not an expert, but a long time urchin aficionado>
75G FOWLR
DAS H99 in-tank sump/skimmer
Lights - 2x40W NO (today replaced 9 month old 50/50, and 11 month old full spectrum with Coralife 50/50 and 10000K)<It was time>
NO2/NO3 0.0
pH 8.1
Believe I have the nutrients under control, using RO/DI and have a good size patch of Halimeda that I crop.<Sounds good>
Lobophora is taking over my tank. After agonizing over what urchin to get, settled on a Blue Tuxedo after seeing a monster size Long Spine.
Well, after watching the Blue Tux eat coralline for a week and going out of it's way to not even touch the Lobophora, it's now decided to spite me by packing around pieces of it.<It's not spiting you, but rather, like many short-spined urchins, camouflaging itself to escape notice of fish predators, such as triggerfish.>
Talked to the LFS and they are willing to exchange for a Diadema.
Diadema questions:
-how realistic a Diadema will eat Lobophora?<It depends on whether it is obtainable or growing on irregular surfaces that the urchin can't easily adhere to.  Flat, open surfaces will almost always be preferentially grazed due to the ease with which the tube feet can hang on.  Many will learn to go to the surface of the water to be hand fed, should you so desire.>
-they're ~5" diameter now, how big, how fast?<This depends upon available food within reach, the type of food and the water chemistry.  Urchins were long used as "miner's canaries" to monitor water parameters before the advent of cheap, easy, reliable test kits, proceeding to shed their spines as water conditions deteriorate long before most fish show adverse reactions.>
-how does a Long Spine's appetite for coralline compare to a Blue Tux?<Again, it depends upon what's easiest to reach, although if it helps any, the Long Spine's aren't usually camouflagers.>
-can they be exposed to air (transferring to quarantine)? For short periods. The waste discharge hole (anus) in the top usually prevents trapped air bubbles.>
-if the Long Spines a bust, how do I handle the Lobophora?< Pruning with tweezers and shears is what I usually resort to.  Foxfaces will usually remove ALL vegetation to an extent that makes most tangs look like carnivores.>
Mark in snowy Edmonton, Alberta,<Brrrrrrrr>

Scroll Algae (10/24/04)
Dear WWM crew. <Steve Allen with you tonight.> All is mostly well thanks to you guys… I still have one more algae problem and a water quality issue though!
Algae problem:
No more hair algae! Yea!!! Lots of Scroll algae! Boo! They were pretty when only a few ‘scrolls’ opened, but I have 4 other kinds of algae that are
prettier that came with the live rock and this one is the second most aggressive. <Are you certain of your ID. Are you referring to the species Padina? I've not heard of this one being a problem. Some folks grow it on purpose.> The tang leaves these alone and only goes for the hair and Nori (on a clip). Are scroll algae considered nuisance algae? <As above, not generally.>
Water quality issue:
My pH is between 7.9 and 8.1 in my tank vs. 7.9 in freshly mixed salt water after 24 hours! <Are you using r/o water? Do you buffer it? Quality fresh-mixed saltwater usually had a pH of 8.2 or higher? Very strange if true? What is the pH before you add the saltwater?> I recalibrated my Hanna instruments pH meter twice and that’s still the reading. <Do you have an LFS who can test for confirmation?>
Hagen test kit gives me a KH of 130mg/L for freshly mixed salt water after 24 hours and 70mg/L for what’s in my tank!<Something is eating up your buffer.><<Likely the profuse algal growth. RMF>> Very low--does not respond
much to Kalkwasser or Seachem reef builder! <Again, strange. Can you think of what might be consuming this?>
Don’t know my nitrates because my test kit ran out and I’m waiting for my kit. It was <10ppm a month ago. <What about phosphate? Any phosphate will promote algae growth) Temp is between 78.5F and 80F. Salinity is 1.025. Calcium is between 380ppm and 400ppm and the same for both.
I’m ready to do a 55% water change. Occupants show no sign of stress--includes feather dusters and cleaner shrimp and snails. Any comments or suggestions…. I know I overfeed, but my nitrates have never been high. <Check phosphates.> The LFS guys tell me they had a problem with their reef display until they replaced their 4” DSB with ¼ inch crushed coral. <Many folks are succeeding just fine with DSBs, though a little deeper than yours might be better. Is it aragonite?> Something about the sand under the live rock accumulating crap and getting mucky! <Should not be an issue if properly maintained. Do you have a cleaner crew to pick stuff off of the top of the sand before it can "sink in?"> My bed is 3-4.5 inches deep. The bubbles don’t penetrate past the top 1” or so. Thanks! Narayan <Hope this helps.>

Urchin saves the day - eating Dictyota 2/2/04
Hello again Anthony,
I wanted to give you an update about our Dictyota problem. Our urchin is now eating it. :)
<outstanding to hear. I do love those urchins>
We could not be more happy to see the right upper half of the tank free from this plague. Slowly the little urchin is going to town on it. Mark took a picture of the urchin to the SeaBay meeting but he never got the chance to show it to you.
<Awww... no worries. DO send it here if you like>
We are now sure it must be a long spined urchin. I hope he keeps up eating the Dictyota. If it eats all of micro algae will it be happy to eat any coralline algae? We don't want it to starve.
<hmmm... tough to say. If so, I don't think it will survive on it. Fortunately, they will scavenge food bits. Offer an algae based frozen food and likely it will be fine (2-3 times weekly) after the nuisance algae is gone>
Sincerely, Clair & Mark Dawson
<best regards, my friends. Anthony>

- Kiss my Sargassum!!! ...or at least remove it -
I am about 60 days into setting up a 55 gal reef tank.  About half of my 85lbs. of live rock is completely covered with Sargassum algae.  I am not particularly fond of its looks, and was wondering if I should try to remove it in order to grown corals later on.
<In the mean time you can use it as a great nutrient export method by periodically removing large amounts of it. If you think it's ugly, then by all means, get it out!>
If I remove it and encourage the coralline algae to grow and cover the rock surface, will it eventually prevent the Sargassum from returning?   Thank you,  Randy
<Once it's all removed and hasn't grown back, I wouldn't expect it to return at a later date unless you reintroduce it. Good luck! -Kevin>

Nuisance Dictyota Algae 1/7/03 
Anthony- I hope it is OK to write to you here. Amy told me it would be better to write to this address with my question. If I messed up I do apologize. 
<no worries my friend... very welcome to e-mail here or any addy I have (readingtrees.com , yahoo.com, etc). Its nice here though as answers can be shared/archived for the benefit of others. Very sorry for the delay by the way... I left for the Colorado Rockies on Friday when you e-mailed and just got back> 
I have a question about a Dictyota problem we are having. 
<Arghhh! Can be pretty to look at, but becomes a nuisance> 
Some back round about my tank as follows: 125 gallon, 2X250 watt radium's. Euro-reef skimmer and a 45 gallon refugium. Ammonia nitrite nitrate all test zero and our ph is 8.2 during the day 8.0 at night. Alk 11dkh and CA 375. We keep the temp at 81 degrees. A 4" DSB and 140 pounds of live rock. 
We have a mixed reef that I know you will not like to hear about. Sorry about that. 
<heehee... no worries. Just try to focus/group better animals (more natural/biotopic or akin/"amiable" species) when possible> 
We get preached about it all of time but I am not going to change it no matter what my husband or Amy tells me. Sorry. You can chew me out if we meet soon. 
<you are safe :) > 
About the Dictyota. It has spread all over the rocks. We pull it out daily and mess with the skimmer so that we can get a least 1/2 cup of dark stuff each day. We have tried every animal we can think of to eat this and nothing has. 
<indeed... it can be highly invasive, is noxious and not readily controlled by herbivores> 
A Longspined urchin was put in two weeks ago with the hope of it eating the Dictyota but it only eats the coralline. Do you have any suggestions? 
<hmmm... odd. Diadema urchins are one of the few that are likely to control it. They are also one of the least likely urchins to eat coralline. De send a pic or recheck the ID of your urchin. I wonder if its a Diadema?> 
We are afraid for our LPS after reading about this algae in your new book. 
<being an educated consumer gives you the freedom to shop anywhere... including the less knowledgeable places. Great stuff to be found even there (and often so) as long as you have done your homework. Don't give up on that LFS just yet :) > 
Thank you for any advice you can give. I hope my husband and I can meet you at the SeaBay club this month. Kindly Clair 
<outstanding!... be seeing you soon :) Anthony> 

Nuisance Dictyota Algae 1/8/03
Anthony- Thank you for the reply. I am going to look on-line and in my RI book to make sure I have a long spined urchin. I'm pretty sure we do but I will check to be safe.
<yes... all good. Or do send us a small digital pic :) >
I think you might have misunderstood me in my last e-mail. I am not worried about my local fish store, I was worried about my LPS (large polyp stonies).
<ahhh... yes. My fault dear, I read too fast and see now <G>>
I am sure I remember reading that Dictyota will harm them if the algae grows on the skeleton.
<very very true. Its quite a nuisance>
I have two bubble corals and a frogspawn that has the Dictyota on it. My husband has been pulling it off weekly but it is upsetting the frogspawn. We are not sure if the algae is upsetting it or having the algae pulled of it so often.
<other than nutrient control to starve it out, and help from diadema... there is little else besides manual extraction. This is just the sort of "harmless" organism that needs to be screened in a quarantine tank when all new corals, rocks, plants, etc are brought in>
We will let you know what we find out about the urchin.  Kindly, Clair
<best regards my friend... see you soon! Anthony>

Brown algae 2/8/03
Hey beer drinking buddies how is it hanging?
<low and to the left... thanks for asking>
I think I have some Lobophora variegata growing in my tank can't seem to rid myself of this algae nor have I seen it anywhere else besides my tank....
<actually rather common... this rubbery brown alga>
nothing wants to eat it and when remove it grows back...
<yep... that about sums it up <G>. Actually... urchins will graze it. Try a short-spine black urchin from Florida or a Pacific Tuxedo urchin (Mespilia)>
I am going with a new skimmer trying to eradicate nutrients!...
<a good idea, but not as immediately gratifying for control of this algae>
any ideas on how to smoke this turkey??...
<dry it well first... rolling papers versus bowl are your call>
Or should I  spend some time with some extra aggressive skimming?
<oh, ya.... that too>
thanks again I will tip one for you later
<rock on my brother :) >
PS Anthony I love the coral prop book. and I already have the invert book on order cant wait for the release
<thanks kindly, my friend. Look forward to sharing a brew in the future. Best regards, Anthony>

Brown Wafer Algae: Lobophora and like species
I have on a couple of my LR some algae that look's exactly like the algae on this page: http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/algae_page/lobophora.htm
It began to grow at the same time coralline started (aprox. 2 months back)... I was wondering if you 'aqua-maestros' have any idea (and I'm sure you do)  on what this is and what steps should I take do get rid of it. My tank is 6 months old, all water params are ok, I use Kalkwasser for all evaporation and a RO unit...
Thank you.
<The "brown wafer algae" Lobophora is fast growing but not at all palatable to most herbivores. Some Diadema urchins will eat it, and if your tank is over 100 gallons, then a Naso tang may control it for you. Else, manual extraction is called for (Ughhh!... no fun). Best regards, Anthony>

Plant or Algae?
I have attached a picture of some sort of plant or algae (I think its a plant) growing from my live rock in my 75 gallon tank. I have searched several places on the web and cannot identify the plant/algae. I have pulled a little of it out but it is very hard, like a plant and it just breaks off. 
<we use the term "plants" generically in popular aquarium literature but there are very few true plants. Most indeed are algae and that is what you have. Two species in the image here: the fan shaped specimen (right/bottom image) is Padina. The leafy species is not quite so clear but is likely another brown algae like the Padina and may very well be a Sargassum species. (regardless of color). The Padina you can leave alone... is not tough to maintain. The Sargassum or like "plant" is an incredibly fast grower and will need regular pruning. Still... they are both beautiful. You got some nice live rock>
It is getting close to getting out of control and my yellow tank will not even look at it. 
<few herbivores for a small tank will>
I was wondering if I should get something to eat it, or just pull the excess out. 
<trim regularly>
It is growing in several different places in my tank and I don't want it to get any further out of hand. I just setup a 20 gallon refugium and was wondering if it would be a good addition to it? 
Yes! Very fine and much better than Caulerpa>
Thanks in advance.
<my pleasure, kindly Anthony Calfo>

Algae cups
Hi Bob,
I have a curiously spontaneous whitish cup-like growth on my live (Fijian) rock (picture enclosed). That picture was taken in early December, and each of the individuals (about 3/4" to 1.5" across in the picture) has grown profusely since then (the two groups pictured are now colonies about 4-5" in diameter). I have now taken to referring to them as 'potato-chip-coral', but I really have no idea what it is; would you please take a crack at identifying it for me? I'd like to share it with my friend Paul, but it would be nice to know a little more about it so that we needn't indulge too much in trial-and-error to propagate it.
I have noticed that this creature, or creatures (if a colony), shows a fine diaphanous cilia along the outermost ridge that extends 2-3mm, and its body is not particularly fragile (it's reasonably flexible---similar to watercress Caulerpa IMHO---and oscillates in the current opposite my sump-return near my overflow box). It seems to be very happy within 2" of the surface lit by 4 VHO Actinic White fluorescents, and has spawned at least two other colonies within my 55gal tank since I began watching it. I have other less-zoomed pictures if you're curious.
Thanks for your attention, -Tyler
<It is a type of macroalgae called Padina. -Steven Pro>

Macroalgae identification??
Hey Bob,
Any ideas what sort of algae this is?
<Um, no image... maybe place on a site, send the URL>
I assume it is helping in filtration and not harmful at all. People seem to be looking for algae species that Tangs, Angels and Rabbitfish will not eat, and they will not eat this stuff at all. My fish seem to enjoy playing in amongst this algae and I was hoping you may know what it is. My LFS buddy wants me to chop some off for his tank as it grows fairly quickly in my system. He says he can't grow it and that surprises me because he is the one I usually go to for help. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Here are a couple pics. Thanks Rob Huss
<Bob Fenner>
[Unable to display image][Unable to display image][Unable to display image]

Re: macroalgae identification?
well if you are referring to the background of the tank it is just an off the shelf plastic backing for tanks, the tank itself is my tank that I purchased from Elmer's aquariums in Monroeville PA. 
<Oh! I know the store. Nice folks (Gary the owner let me give a pitch to the staff downstairs a few years back). Nice effect in the setting.>
My question still remains do you have any clue what type or species of macroalgae that is on my site, been having no luck finding out anywhere.
<Addended the last message and resent... this is assuredly a Brown Algae of the genus Sargassum. Bob Fenner>

Re: macroalgae identification?
Well Bob here is an address to my site, you now have your very own page for questions I have for you enjoy! Thanks Rob Huss
http://pages.zdnet.com/holeinone1972/92gallonreeftank/
<Nice site... will post link on WWM... and really like the image on your HP of the corner tank... the backgrd... is this a product you bought or something made? Bob Fenner... oh, and this Phaeophyte (brown kelp) is a Sargassum species, perhaps S. japonicum>

Brown Algae
The water parameters seem to be all right. However a lot of brown algae is growing on my rocks killing all plant life. It is not diatoms (little brown dots) this stuff is thick and dense. What is causing it to grow and how do you prevent it from growing?
<Check out Bob's algae articles on www.wetwebmedia.com. Go to the search page and enter 'slime algae' (be sure to check the 'search WetWebMedia.com' option) -Lorenzo>