Ridding of Macro Algae on LR

So I am ready to transfer about 15 lbs of LR from my 14BC. Only issue is that there are macroalgae "runners" of caulerpa on a lot of the rocks. I wish I knew better back a long time ago when I put it in the DT!

Is there any treatment I can do to the tank to get rid of the macro?

I thought maybe if i take the pieces that do not have light-requiring corals on them and put them in the sump that they would maybe melt away without the light.

The pieces of LR that have soft coral AND macro on them will still have to go into the new 30 Oceanic Cube that is ready to be stocked. There is minimal macroalgae on them and without much orange/yellow/red in my lighting spectrum I am hoping between the light starvation(to the plant chlorophyll) and minimal nutrients available (I am very tight on feedings/excess waste/etc) that it will slowly fade away . . . .

Any suggestions?

 

you could try something that is known to eat that species of algae... another option would be to nuke the rocks that don't have corals on them, or carefully remove the corals from the rocks and nuke all the rocks.

after seeing some of the tanks in the "ugliest tanks" thread overgrown with caulerpa, I'd be especially careful about introducing it into a display tank...

maybe talk to John @ reefcleaners about a CUC that will take care of it, if you decide not to nuke the rocks: Reef Cleaners - 3reef Forums

 

hmmm....great suggestion to ask John!

So are you saying that keeping it in the dark for a month or two will not kill all of the macro off?

There are no other pests and the rock is covered in green, teal, purple, pink, and white coraline that I do not see anywhere else I can get LR - I agree that the nuking is a sure-bet - but that would be my last option.

 

Propane torch

 

What kind of caulerpa is it? Do you have a pic?

 

caulerpa racemosa

There are really only a few small runners - it would be tough to get a pic.

I keep low nutes and run chemipure with frequent water changes so they really dont grow at all since i have gone on the offensive several months ago trying to get rid of most of it.

 

I'm guessing no, that spores could easily lie dormant and just as soon as you apply light again, you'll have algae. If you have corals, that doesn't seem like an option anyway though...

If you're trying to preserve the rocks, I would manually remove as much as possible, and rinse with saltwater OUTSIDE of the tank so fewer spores/ nutrients are released into the tank. Then get something from reefcleaners.org that will eat the rest...

 

Yup - that's def what I am going to do. Get as much as possible off manually and then rinse - all while OUTSIDE the DT.

Also just did what I probably should have done in the first place and checked out reefcleaners.org and they suggest emerald crabs and that totally makes sense to me.

I see emerald crabs get bad hype from some - but to most they are consistently good members of CUC's!

Thanks for the suggestions and help!

 

I've never had it re-populate after a time out.

 

I had the same problem, but with GHA, tried everything, but nuke. So 2 days ago I soaked all my LR in vinegar+ hot H2O for 20 min, then rinsed it in the sink for another 20 min, than baked it at 350 degrees for 30 min, rinsed with SW and put it back. Now I have base rock again. and my Emerald Crab looking for food all over my tank, which is a good thing I think.