Mowing Down Macroalgae?  - 05/23/2006
Hello great reef gurus!
I have a question about Udotea (which I have ID'd from photos on your site).
I have a 55 gal. reef tank without a sump, approaching 6 years old.
Apparently some Udotea hitchhiked into my tank on some new live rock.  I was trying to keep up with picking it off the rock, but lost the battle, and it has now it has spread to other rocks and is starting to take over!
<Kind of amazing...this stuff tends to grow slowly in most instances!>
I am afraid it will crowd out my corals, plus I really don't like the "new look" of my tank.  My question is (other than WHY people actually want this stuff), is there anything that will eat this?  My Zebrasoma Tang doesn't seem to be dining on it, nor do the Ocellaris Clownfish, Cleaner Shrimp, or snails.  I think I need to do something before my tank looks like a salad garden.  Please advise!! Thanks so much for your expert advise and a wonderful web site!
Laura
<Well, Laura, this stuff is pretty edible to many herbivores; if the Tang has no interest, you could consider the old fashioned technique of manual extraction...yep- yank the stuff out by hand! Not fun, but much more "reef safe" and selective than other techniques! To be honest, I'd consider the manual extraction technique here. Best of luck! Regards, Scott F.>

Macroalgae warfare 10/05/03
Hi Crew! I am discovering for myself the major downside of grape Caulerpa,
<indeed... it has been documented to be perhaps the most noxious of an already very noxious genus of algae>
which doesn't seem to be the threat of going sexual, especially since I pull out from my 'fuge a cup or so every few days.  
<correct... the threat of "going vegetative" is easily skirted by interrupting the 3-6 month life cycle by regular thinning>
It's a weed!  Some other algae species seem to survive (such as feather Caulerpa and sawgrass) but not thrive.  My Gracillaria (Ogo) didn't make it and my C. racemosa also couldn't compete.  The Chaetomorpha ball hasn't grown in over two months!  but I guess it's doing the job of removing nutrients, don't you think?
<ahhh... not growing but exporting nutrients? How do you figure? Sounds to me like you've made the mistake of mixing algae that too many folks do. They are very (chemically) competitive with each other. Energies used in warfare could instead be used for good vigor/growth. Please have the discipline to use only one algae species proper in your vegetable filter/refugium. Anthony>

Welcome Back! (Algae control strategy, kudos & input for WWM)
I have a 100 gallon acrylic with a T1000 skimmer, 100 lbs. of FFExprees Fiji Live Rock, a 2'' sand bed, and 420 watts of Icecap VHO that are on for 12 hours a day. (Is this about the right photoperiod for algae and mushrooms?) 
<Yes... could be extended another couple of hours per day if that fit your schedule>
The system pump is rated for 1200 gph and I have two powerheads that rate 395 gph. The tank has been setup for about two months but because of out of town business, I have no fish. However, I do have some mushrooms, a camel shrimp, and feather Caulerpa (about 3/4 of a pound). My alk. is 4.0 and calcium is 380-400. All tests for bad stuff is 0 except for a slight reading of nitrate.
<Okay>
1) I am having an awful hair algae problem although I think I might be winning since it's getting a brownish look. It is astounding how fast it grows. . . a true plague. I want to add the salarius fasciatus but I'm going to be out of town for two weeks during the holiday season. 
<No worries. Add this fish>
Therefore the fish would not have the proper amount of time in quarantine. Would it be okay to freshwater dip with methylene blue and place this guy in the main tank? 
<Yes>
It would be great if he could keep the algae cropped back while I am vacating.
2) How about dipping inverts? If I exclude the shipping water and rinse the inverts in system water, do they need quarantining?
<Mmm, not necessarily... most if appear in good health, can/should be placed directly>
3) To combat this algae problem I have introduced feather caulerpa and halimeda into the main tank, I keep the tank at 76-77 degrees F, and keep alk and calcium high, and I'll add a salarius fasciatus ASAP. Would you suggest anything else not mentioned on WWM other than a refugium?
<Not enough data to suggest more.>
4) One final question: An LFS owner told me (today) that the only reason to quarantine was to protect the critters that you already have from becoming infected with a parasite from a new addition.
<Mmm, what about granting the new livestock a rest period? A bit of hardening on their own... a chance for you to observe them?>
He said that if no fish are present (like my tank) then there is no reason to quarantine since overcrowding is not a concern. From what I know, this argument just doesn't ring true. I know that eventually I will probably need to get a balance between parasites and hosts (add cleaner shrimps etc.), but isn't it silly to risk infecting my tank with the FIRST FISH?
<You are correct... right to question any/all "authority">
Bob, I know this FAQ writing is probably difficult for you to maintain on a daily basis but it is truly a great feature of this site; and because the information changes daily, there is always something new to read. 
<Thank you for this>
That is the biggest problem with most fishy sites. The information gets loaded onto the site, and sits there year after year with no updates. 
<Is this "possible"... that is, how could any field hope to stay abreast of topics, insights, input w/o constant renewal?>
Aquarium Frontiers was a fantastic publication IMO but at this point it's a dead site that is quickly getting outdated.
Thanks for the effort and hard work!!
David Dowless
<You are welcome my friend. Thank you for your input, addition. Bob Fenner>

Green seaweed research questions (and useful, scientific input!)
Hi Bob,
I found your address at the WetWeb site and thought I'd contact you
directly. Hope you don't mind.
<Not at all>
I'm a bio professor/researcher who studies the reproductive behavior
of tropical green algae in their natural environments (Halimeda,
Caulerpa, Penicillus, etc). I notice a fair number of posts to aquarium
sites that have to do with "green clouds", "white" or "dying seaweeds",
etc. and recognize (as you do) that most of this relates to the sexual
reproduction of these seaweeds... a 24 hour conversion from sterile to
fertile condition, followed by explosive gamete release at dawn and
immediate death of the "parent".
<Yes.>
My research explores the consequences of these reproductive events on
coral reefs (mostly Caribbean, though I'm currently on sabbatical in
Guam). I'm particularly interested in what induces a seaweed to become
fertile, since we often find hundred to thousands of algae on a reef (but
never all of them) becoming simultaneously fertile... not only is the
ensuing bout of sex the next morning a spectacular visual phenominon..
the subsequent death of so many "adult" seaweeds has important
ecological implications for the reef community as a whole.
<Agreed>
I notice from various posts within the aquarium trade that lights,
chemistry, temperature, stress, etc, etc, are implicated in the onset or
prevention of reproduction by green seaweeds in aquaria. Do you know of
any formal treatment of this idea... 
<No... unfortunately seem to be entirely anecdotal accounts... of "stress", change that bring on these events.>
or is it just a hodgepodge of
observations thrown out over time? I notice you reference "24 h"
lighting as a preventative and I've seen reference to blue lights, or
non-blue lights (can't remember which) having similar effects. If you're
interested, I'd love to pick your brain about this... or you can sic me
on someone else.
<Very glad to be of assistance.>
If interested, you can also learn more about my research on seaweeds by
visiting: http://lclark.edu/~clifton/Algae.html
<Thank you much for this reference. Will post to our sites (WetWebMedia)for hobbyist perusal>
Thanks for your time... I hope to hear back from you.
Ken Clifton
<Sorry for the delay in response. Have been on a liveaboard... in the Bahamas. Be chatting, Bob Fenner>

algae is everywhere
Hi Bob:
<Actually, Lorenzo Gonzalez, standing in for Bob-in-Singapore>
My husband Bob and I have had a 30 gallon mini reef tank. It has been
standing for just over 3 years. We have a purple tang, a percula clown, a cleaner shrimp, a cowry snail. We recently lost our flame angel and gobi (w/in the last year due to moving & we believe age). We also have 3 strip lights consisting of: 2 36" 50/50 bulbs; and 1 24" actinic bulb. The lights stay on for about 10-12 hours with the actinic on one hour past the 50/50's, which we believe is too long. We have all the classic types of algae; brown, red, some hair, coraline, somesort of brownish film algae, and somesort of algae that looks like a pine bush. 
<The one you're missing is caulerpa, which is a great competitor for the nutrients that keep the 'undesirable' algae flourishing, and is much nicer to look at, and far easier to prune and throw away! Your photo-period sounds fine - be sure you don't have stray/occasional/random sun hitting the tank - and that the bulbs are all replaced (one at a time over 3-5 days) every 12-14 months, working or not.>
We usually keep the traditional snails & blue legged crabs. We have recently purchased about 25 red legged crabs, 15 blue legged crabs, 2 emerald crabs, 20 Mexican turbo snails and 2 bristle stars. 
<Wow! Quite the clean-up-crew-package-deal, sounds like!>
We would like you opinion on our situation to better control the tank
and it's algae. Our filter system consists off a 304 biological filter and a skilter 400. 
<That sounds fine for a 30 gallon. Keep the air-water 'reaction chamber' of the skilter religiously clean for maximum effect.>
Lastly, what is your opinion of the bristle stars. Can they harm our anemones or feather dusters?
<No. They'll be fine. And in fact, all the stirring, and munching of all these new critters will likely clobber your algae problems... but watch carefully for dead newbies! Remove any snails that don't move for several hours, if they don't 'latch on' and move around if you pick them up and place them on a rock. And any snails that fall down in the sand should be righted on a rock as SOON as you notice, or the blue-legged hermits will attack them for their real-estate!>
Tanks a lot
Jen & Bob
<Welcomes a lot! -Lorenzo>

Question: I have a green algae that is growing on the glass of my 85 gallon Hex tank. It is 3 years old, has a sump filter system with a skimmer inside. I have a 175 watt 5500K Metal halide with reflector installed along with an attinic blue flourescent bulb. I have been using some calcium blocks from a local reseller and I cam not experiencing any coralline algae growth anywhere. I have 2 tangs (Chervron and Yellow) a Sleeper goby a niger trigger a neon damsel and a rock beauty angel. They are doing great.

I have about 65 lbs of live rock and it too is covered in the same green algae any new peace after a week or so loses its beautiful colors and is covered with the same algae, and I am not sure how to start the coralline algae growth. My fish prevent any heavy algae growth. Can you help me, Please.....

Bob's Answer: Mike, sounds like you have a good start, and you are successful already, keeping your current livestock alive... You don't list some important considerations, like calcium levels, alkaline reserve measurements, or even pH. Are you familiar with optimizing, slanting your water chemistry to favor calcareous algae? What books do you have access to? You want my advice? Get thee to a library and at least read John Tullock, Hans Baensch and Helmut Debelius Marine Atlas, and Stephen Spotte's works.