General Discussion - Grape caulerpa help

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Grape caulerpa help

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Forum Name: General Discussion
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URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82319
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Topic: Grape caulerpa help

Posted By: SFReef
Subject: Grape caulerpa help
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 10:16pm

I have a ton of grape caulerpa in my main display that I cannot seem to get rid of. It seemed to be thinning out and getting under control but now it is back in full force. I have a 40 gallon breeder with a 20 gallon sump. I am doing a 5 gallon water change weekly and only feed the fish every other day. I love the one spot foxface which I have heard would take care of it but I think my tank is too small.

Can anyone give me any other ideas of how to get this under control?

Thank you for your help.

Replies:

Posted By: phys
Date Posted: April 01 2017 at 1:45am

If you get a small foxface and take it out when it starts getting too large. Be sure to note that they have venomous spines. Other choices are yellow tang but they can be jerks. Also, you could run some GFO or phosban/phosguard to help keep the phosphates down which help to feed it.

Posted By: SFReef
Date Posted: April 01 2017 at 7:13am

Thank you for the response. What does the gfo or phosban/phosguard do to other things in my tank (if anything)? I mean corals, fish, coraline algae, etc.? How do I run it and how does it work exactly? Does it stay in all the time? How long does it take to take effect? On the other hand, if I put in a foxface how long would it be before I would have to get it out of there?

Thank you foe your help with this.

Posted By: phys
Date Posted: April 01 2017 at 4:03pm

GFO (granular ferric oxide) and phosban/phosguard (aluminum oxide) help to reduce the nitrates in your tank. The simplest but not most effective way is to run it in a media bag placed in a high flow area of the tank. They will not harm any of your inhabitants but be sure to rinse them well so you don't get the silty leftovers floating around. Depeding on which one you use, you'll use it from 4 days to 6 months but that also depends on the levels of phosphate in your tank. More phosphate, the less time you'll get with the chemicals as they'll saturate faster.

The foxface in your tank kind of depends on how often you feed it. The more you feed it, the faster it will grow. They can be coral munchers though so if you're just using it to get rid of the algae, then get it out sooner than later if you have corals. The size of when you get it out just depends on you and how comfortable you feel it is in that size of a tank.