View Full Version : green grapes everywhere
corndog1212
02/07/2016, 12:33 PM
I have cheato in my sump and there was grape caulerpa mixed in as well. A long story short. I now have a outbrake in my display. looks like a vineyard! has anyone gone through this and lived to tell the story? Ive have been taking it out during water changes but it battels back every week! I cant seem to get on top. is there fish I should look into, or a dose for it, :headwalls:!!!!
corndog1212
02/07/2016, 02:36 PM
Any help would be great!
joshbrookkate
02/07/2016, 02:54 PM
When I bought my used 75g tank setup, it was infested with caulerpa and bubble algae. I thought they both looked nice (I knew nothing when I first started out. Lol) so I let it grow.
Started reading on RC and found out the truth. But not before the caulerpa went asexual (or went sexual, I forget what the correct term is.) I had to run my canister filter to clear that up.
I got rid of the caulerpa by reducing feedings and manually pulling strands off the rocks about once a week. I kept at it for a couple of months and it worked. Finally, when I was down to 1 smallish rock with it, I chucked it out. Absolutely no sign of it now and it's been about 8 months.
I try not to use chemicals to solve these kinds of issues so it was worth the effort to me.
Good luck.
Treasure Coast
02/07/2016, 03:17 PM
Might be bubble, I had some on a colony. I pulled the colony out of the tank and cut them all off. Took about 10 minutes, you don't want to do it in the tank because it will release its spores.
corndog1212
02/07/2016, 04:09 PM
It's not bubble algae. I have gotten the caulerpa out of the sump but it has taken hold in the sand and rock in the 75 display. I'll keep pulling and pruning. I know it takes time but this is bad!
slief
02/07/2016, 05:17 PM
You're caulerpa went sexual and when that happens, it will spread through the entire system. It's dangerous (as you are learning the hard way) even in a refugium as it will go sexual unless you keep your refugium lighting on 24/7. Even with 24/7 lighting, it can still spread beyond the refugium.
My past experience with caulerpa didn't end well in that particular setup and ultimately resulted in a redoing of the complete system. Getting rid of it can be a real nightmare. Best advice I can give you is to remove what you can manually from both your display and refugium. Drop your Po4 as much as possible to slow the growth. Switch the fuge lights to 24/7 and add a fox face or other rabbit fish if you don't already have one along with some tangs. This assuming your tank is large enough. If it's not, a Lawn Mower Blenny may help but you need to manually remove as much as you can daily to stay ahead of it it so the grazers can get what you miss.
corndog1212
02/07/2016, 05:51 PM
Good solid advice thanks! I don't want to start over again but if I have to I will. I can give it some time to try and over come it.
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