grape caulerpa...

HI All.

I have LOADS of grape caulerpa that has gotten into my rocks and is taking
over - it is growing at an alarming rate - how do I get rid of this - every
time I pull it off it comes back 5 times quicker.....???

~m

"Mike Lawford" wrote in message
...
HI All.

I have LOADS of grape caulerpa that has gotten into my rocks and is taking
over - it is growing at an alarming rate - how do I get rid of this -
every
time I pull it off it comes back 5 times quicker.....???

Phosphate my man. And maybe nitrate. Get rid of the fertilizers -
phosphate & nitrate!

If your grape caulerpa wasn't "growing at an alarming rate", you would
likely be complaining about hair algae instead. Count your blessings!

Instead of using caulerpa to take up the fertilizer, how about a skimmer?
Do you have a skimmer? Is it underpowered? Do you have a lot of fish?
Do you have live rock & a deep sand bed to deal with nitrates? Water
changes?

Thomas Bartkus

Thanks for the reply.

Yes I know - the pain with grape caulerpa is that it intertwines in the
rocks - really tough to get out!

Yes I use a skimmer - perhaps it is a bit underpowered but I doubt it. Yes
I have rock and DSB and all that. I have a good balance of fish and they are
all happy. I think it has just started to grow and I have ignored it for
long enough for it to become a problem.

Perhaps I need a phosphate remover - will get one. I just wondered if there
is any quick fix to get rid of what is there.

Thanks,
Mike




"Thomas Bartkus" wrote in message
...
"Mike Lawford" wrote in message
...
HI All.

I have LOADS of grape caulerpa that has gotten into my rocks and is
taking
over - it is growing at an alarming rate - how do I get rid of this -
every
time I pull it off it comes back 5 times quicker.....???

Phosphate my man. And maybe nitrate. Get rid of the fertilizers -
phosphate & nitrate!

If your grape caulerpa wasn't "growing at an alarming rate", you would
likely be complaining about hair algae instead. Count your blessings!

Instead of using caulerpa to take up the fertilizer, how about a skimmer?
Do you have a skimmer? Is it underpowered? Do you have a lot of fish?
Do you have live rock & a deep sand bed to deal with nitrates? Water
changes?

Thomas Bartkus

"Mike Lawford" wrote in message ...
I have a good balance of fish and they are all happy.

Are we talking about a different tank now,
or the same you keep the sick regal tank in ?
This fish is not happy for sure...

No same tank - tang looking fine again now. I think that the seaweed might
be the solution as whenever I feed seaweed he seems to get much better - I
only feed every second day now - is that too little?

~m


"Pszemol" wrote in message
...
"Mike Lawford" wrote in message
...
I have a good balance of fish and they are all happy.

Are we talking about a different tank now,
or the same you keep the sick regal tank in ?
This fish is not happy for sure...

"Mike Lawford" wrote in message ...
No same tank - tang looking fine again now. I think that the seaweed might
be the solution as whenever I feed seaweed he seems to get much better - I
only feed every second day now - is that too little?

If you have too many fish in the tank, the solution
is not fish starvation - the solution is bigger tank.

Mike Lawford wrote:

Perhaps I need a phosphate remover - will get one. I just wondered if there
is any quick fix to get rid of what is there.

Some sea urchins.

Or make caulerpa wine :-)

Mike

"Mike Lawford" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply.

Yes I know - the pain with grape caulerpa is that it intertwines in the
rocks - really tough to get out!

Yes I use a skimmer - perhaps it is a bit underpowered but I doubt it.

Don't be so sure! That "good balance of fish" needs to be fed. And that
means fertilizer for algae like caulerpa. Powerful skimming is a means to
eliminate the fertilizer.

Yes
I have rock and DSB and all that. I have a good balance of fish and they
are
all happy. I think it has just started to grow and I have ignored it for
long enough for it to become a problem.

You started the post claiming that the caulerpa was growing at an alarming
rate.

Perhaps I need a phosphate remover - will get one. I just wondered if
there
is any quick fix to get rid of what is there.

Rip it out!

If you limit a critical component - such as light or phosphate - it can't
grow back quickly. If you have a fish only tank, you can try cutting back
on the light. If you can't cut back on the light then you need to get the
phosphates down to near nothing. In a well lit reef tank that includes
hungry fish, I and others use *intense* skimming to keep phosphate (and
thereby algae!) under control.

If you try phosphate remover, be sure to test for phosphate. The phosphate
remover will only remove the tinyest traces. If you have a lot of
phosphate, you will go broke buying phosphate remover. If there were a
better way to get control of this without serious skimming -

I would like to hear it myself.
Thomas Bartkus

An African Sea Hair will do a good job on it.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



Mike Lawford wrote on 8/23/2006 10:42 AM:
HI All.

I have LOADS of grape caulerpa that has gotten into my rocks and is taking
over - it is growing at an alarming rate - how do I get rid of this - every
time I pull it off it comes back 5 times quicker.....???

~m

Googled it but cant find what an African Sea Hair is? Do urchins really get
rid of caulerpa?

~m

"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message
...
An African Sea Hair will do a good job on it.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



Mike Lawford wrote on 8/23/2006 10:42 AM:
HI All.

I have LOADS of grape caulerpa that has gotten into my rocks and is
taking over - it is growing at an alarming rate - how do I get rid of
this - every time I pull it off it comes back 5 times quicker.....???

~m