Is this red turf algae? If so, how to get rid of it?

[duganderson]

Is this red turf algae?

 

I have had good success in the last few weeks reducing green hair algae and bryopis (it is dying in this photo) with increased water changes, purigen, phospan, chemipure and Upflow Algae Scrubber BUT this red algae actually seems to be getting worse

 

Do you get rid of this like other algae (lower phosphate and nitrate, treat with hydrogen peroxide, water change, etc.) or is there another method????

 

 

[Red_Blenny]

Is the red algae kinda wire looking? Could be gelidium. I had them and I got a mexican turbo snail and they took care of it in a month.

[duganderson]

Is the red algae kinda wire looking? Could be gelidium. I had them and I got a mexican turbo snail and they took care of it in a month.

 

Thanks for the post. I looked at images online for gelidium and I don't think it's that.

[Captain Hook]

i had snails that ate it but just kept coming back till i yanked the rocks with it on them and dried them all out

[duganderson]

i had snails that ate it but just kept coming back till i yanked the rocks with it on them and dried them all out

 

I'm hoping to avoid that.

 

I'll probably pull the rocks and treat them with hydrogen peroxide and then hope my recently added upflow algae scrubber helps it from coming back.

[Captain Hook]

hydrogen peroxide did nothing for me but you may have a different stain. The problem is that its a creeper and even a tiny piece will grow back so small it can strech a few inches hairthin before it thickens up to where you can see it and than its already taken a decent foothold

[SantaMonica]

If you keep your nitrate and phosphate low enough, they won't be able to grow.

[duganderson]

If you keep your nitrate and phosphate low enough, they won't be able to grow.

 

Yes, I'm hoping as my HOG.5 scrubber gets going even more this stuff will die off.

[metrokat]

Red is gelidium. invasive. I am trying to get rid of mine by smearing superglue on it. Some crabs will eat it but sparingly.

from reef cleaners

 

Gelidium, Red Wiry Turf Algae

Many species of short creeping red algae exist so the hobby generally lumps all of them under the heading "Gelidium", (the genus that is home to many of those species), and the common name Red Turf Algae, or Red Wiry Algae.

Manual Removal - Difficult. Macros that have fragile runners and creep along the rock are the hardest to manually remove. Do the best you can. Use a dental pick to do the most damage, DO NOT BRUSH. You will dislodge it and spread it. Yeah I know, it is boring as can be, but if you do it once surgically with a dental pick the problem goes away for good. If you can take the rock out, all the better.

Clean Up Crew- Emerald Crabs, urchins, sea hares, and large turbos.

Tip - Don't pass on frags with this stuff, don't put one in your tank. This algae has become extremely common on traded/aquacultured frags. So my advice is every time you add a coral or a rock look for it from now on.

If you keep your nitrate and phosphate low enough, they won't be able to grow.

not true.

[duganderson]

Kat....have you tried a dental pick on it as Reef Cleaner suggested?

 

I'm going to try peroxide on it again. I did that before but it eventually came back.

 

Red is gelidium. invasive. I am trying to get rid of mine by smearing superglue on it. Some crabs will eat it but sparingly.

[Polarcollision]

Red is gelidium. invasive. I am trying to get rid of mine by smearing superglue on it. Some crabs will eat it but sparingly.

 

from reef cleaners

 

Gelidium, Red Wiry Turf Algae

Many species of short creeping red algae exist so the hobby generally lumps all of them under the heading "Gelidium", (the genus that is home to many of those species), and the common name Red Turf Algae, or Red Wiry Algae.

Manual Removal - Difficult. Macros that have fragile runners and creep along the rock are the hardest to manually remove. Do the best you can. Use a dental pick to do the most damage, DO NOT BRUSH. You will dislodge it and spread it. Yeah I know, it is boring as can be, but if you do it once surgically with a dental pick the problem goes away for good. If you can take the rock out, all the better.

Clean Up Crew- Emerald Crabs, urchins, sea hares, and large turbos.

 

Tip - Don't pass on frags with this stuff, don't put one in your tank. This algae has become extremely common on traded/aquacultured frags. So my advice is every time you add a coral or a rock look for it from now on.

 

not true.

 

Kat....have you tried a dental pick on it as Reef Cleaner suggested?

 

I'm going to try peroxide on it again. I did that before but it eventually came back.

 

Really old thread I found from image search. I have the exact stuff Kat posted which is collecting detritus/mulm and causing localized nutrient problems.

 

Picked up an itty bitty tuxedo urchin. It's about the size of a nickel or dime if you don't count the spines so that it can fit into rock niches. It's chowing down, stripping the rock bare. Highly recommended for anyone else battling this stuff.

[hypostatic]

I had some really low growing red turf algae that I couldn't even get rid of with a razor. GFO my friend.

[RK_tek]

I saw in your first photo that you also have Neomeris annulata ( the bright green tube).

 

Get rid of the rock

 

Neomeris will continue to spread for the life of your tank. Spores can lie dormant for over 2 years

[brandon429]

higher concentrations of peroxide as drained treatments are very effective on all brush algae, fast.

 

3%, so so.

I havent used 3% in yrs, 35 is so much more kick

this isn't to promote one technique over another, its to promote that if you want to make a serious win, up the percentage

 

you take twenty bucks to a health food store refrigerated section and buy 35%

 

then dilute it by half

 

then wear eye gear and gloves and dont breathe in for a while

 

 

spot treat w a paste, or liquid spot app right on the bad area, let sit for a min, rinse off and put back in. before being overly concerned about applying 15%, consider my little tiny tank gets about 10 mls of 35% every time I clean...15 is safe when used carefully.

 

consider all the stuff we let seat into our rocks, and then expect a 1x run of anything to cure that, its a tough standard to meet.

 

you know cycles on reefs are circular, when you blast off brush algae we purposefully farmed by letting it grow and seat into place expect a small return. then blast that. etc

 

you can up the strength percentage to offset the number of repeats per invader. the fact 3% comprises about 99% of all online after pics is amazing to me, its weak man. having to repeatedly apply 3% to anything is no surprise.