Pest algae again... Macro algae... HELP

This is everywhere.... It must have arrived in a coral... even though i dip them, it must have survived and now its taken over.
How do I get rid of it? The more I manually remove it the more it spreads.



and this

 

Look like you could have a couple different types of Caulpera, one being Verticillata. I have heard some Tangs and Fox Faces will eat it.


Just a guess though.

 

I thought buying a fish might help, but this is a 50.. I considered buying a small tang and trade it back once the algae is gone, but im not sure thats a really good idea.

But keep the ideas coming! i really need to get rid of this stuff.

 

Well I can tell you for sure that Foxfaces will eat some (or most) of that macro. I would actually consider getting a small one (something around 3") and let it have at it.

Otherwise, any issues with nutrients in the water? How long are your lights on for? Do you have a refugium?

 

I don't think there might be issues with that. The lights are on from 10am-6pm
I don't exactly have a refugium but there is this small place in the tank where i keep Chaeto and Mangroves. (its kind of like one but it wasnt meant to be one lol )

is there an invertebrate that will have at it that i can buy now? unfortunately I still can't get fish. We have so much paperwork to turn in, but if we get that done that will be my plan B if there isnt anything fishless that would do the job

 

I'm seeing what appears to be C. brachypus (the flat stuff with the lightly-toothed margins on the zoanthids), MAYBE some C. prolifera on the sandbed (may also be brachypus), and what looks to be possibly very young C. racemosa or a variant of it.

The trouble with manual removal is that if you break anything off, even tiny pieces, they will find a place to grow.

Once you pick the stuff down, you might try peroxide on it to kill the rhizomes. Otherwise, a foxface will eat the stuff. You could also try a sea hare or an urchin, MAYBE Turbo snails is you can get the stuff cut down low enuff.

Do remember to freeze any macro you pull out for 24 hrs prior to tossing it. This will kill it.

 

I see runners of brachy and a feather.... I'm not seeing the racemosa. One thing that has me suspicious of the stuff wrapped around your zoas are the little white dots I see along the edge. Typically you can see that on razor, but it's not on all of them that I can see.

But, can you spread out a section of fronds and runners on a piece of white paper and catch a picture?

 

I agree that's probably the type of feather it is. Brachy and feather is all I see.

 

FWIW, I agree with the C. verticillata...Renee and I talked about it, and what she showed me fits. I was originally thinking a kinda scrawny, young racemosa variant that really hadn't developed its "grapes/suction cups" yet.

 

Hmm I suppose I could try and get the fox face once the paper work goes through.. but how long am I "allowed" to keep it in there?

Is there any specific species of Sea Hare I need?