Overrun by Sea Lettuce!!!

[Manose]

My coral is doing wonderful but still having a REALLY REALLY REALLY hard time keeping this sea lettuce under control!!!!!!!!!!

AND a new surprise is what looks like the start of some really tiny bubble algae

My parameters as of 2:25 pm 5/12
Ph=8.07
alk=8.7-8.8 tested same time everyday
No3=0 (I have finally removed all my chaeto as to get some to show up and still zero)
Po4=0.03-0.035(yes this is a little high but if I use any gfc then I am at zero)
Calcium=440
Mag=1275

I have some options:
1.Start a double dose regiment of Vibrant and suffer the consequences of red slime
2.Get a pincushion or tuxedo urchin and worry about him knocking all my coral over. I would have to take my rock out and glue all my frags in place
3.Get a small Rabbitfish and be prepared to remove him when he gets big
https://fishybusinessaquatics.com/wysiwyg/nano-size-golden-rabbitfish/

Any animals that I need to get have to be ordered as my local LFS is not to be trusted

I am at my wits end because the tank is doing so well and stable but this Sea Lettuce is NUTS!!!!

Anyone's help would be recommended

 

[Phil D.]

Yellow Tang will eat it too

 

[reef lover]

How big is the tank?

 

[Manose]

How big is the tank?

80g Deep Blue 48 x 24 x 16

 

[Justfebreezeit]

I'm personally a fan of urchins. They do like to carry stuff around, so like you said, you'd have to glue your frags.

Since you aren't mentioning tangs i'm assuming you have a smaller tank, that limits your options for grazers.

Have you tried a 3/8" tube zip tied to a toothbrush?

Aah I see you just wrote 80g tank, a one spot foxface should suffice. No?

 

[Robert McCreary]

maybe a lettuce slug can tank care of the sea lettuce

 

[xjiang7]

Exactly my situation here. My tank is 7 months old and I also have sea lettuce and bubble algae. I got a sea hare but it did not touch it. My tank is way too small (25G) for any tang. Currently I am dosing Vibrant started from last weekend.

 

[Manose]

I'm personally a fan of urchins. They do like to carry stuff around, so like you said, you'd have to glue your frags.

Since you aren't mentioning tangs i'm assuming you have a smaller tank, that limits your options for grazers.

Have you tried a 3/8" tube zip tied to a toothbrush?

Aah I see you just wrote 80g tank, a one spot foxface should suffice. No?

I think a combo of one or 2 urchins and a rabbitfish but really not sure the best place for purchasing.
I would have to take out the rock the coral is on and glue it otherwise I am cool with getting a urchin.
I do not understand about the toothbrush.

maybe a lettuce slug can tank care of the sea lettuce

I have some pretty crazy flow in the tank so not sure about the lettuce slug.

Exactly my situation here. My tank is 7 months old and I also have sea lettuce and bubble algae. I got a sea hare but it did not touch it. My tank is way too small (25G) for any tang. Currently I am dosing Vibrant started from last weekend.

I have read Vibrant needs to be dosed 2 times a week or no effect on bubble algae.

 

[Robert McCreary]

I think a combo of one or 2 urchins and a rabbitfish but really not sure the best place for purchasing.
I would have to take out the rock the coral is on and glue it otherwise I am cool with getting a urchin.
I do not understand about the toothbrush.


I have some pretty crazy flow in the tank so not sure about the lettuce slug.


I have read Vibrant needs to be dosed 2 times a week or no effect on bubble algae.

lol yeah people talked me away from lettuce slugs also. so yeah lol they are not as popular as I hoped for

 

[reef lover]

I think a rabbitfish would be fine for a long time in an 80.

 

[Butuz]

I had that as well, growing on my rocks, snails etc. picked them one by one, scraped the base. Eventually, I won the battle.

 

[Tft12]

I like ulva in a tank with tangs. In my experience they love it. A few months ago I tried to use Vibrant to deal with Bryopsis. I used large amounts of it over a period of months and it did basically nothing to the Bryopsis but totally wiped out my ulva and Valonia, along with my chaeto, while my nitrate and phosphate only went down very little. I've hear of other people running into trouble from Vibrant tanking their N and P so maybe be careful with that if you decide to give the product a try.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

The toothbrush and tubing thing is.

1. You scrape the the algae with a stiff toothbrush
2. Anything that comes off is siphoned into the tube and in you can put the other end into a filter sock back in the sump so you dont lose water.

Worth a shot maybe, not sure how well anchored the ulva is.

 

[JMM744]

I have the same thing in my old reef tank. Stuff grows fast too. The bubble algae can be dealt with by using a pipette or syringe and hydrogen peroxide. Just load the device with peroxide and slowly discharge it over the bubbles. Wait a week and it should be quite dead. The bubbles will turn transparent and waste away. I have done a second application a few times but usually just the one time. Have not tried it on the lettuce.

 

[Manose]

I think a rabbitfish would be fine for a long time in an 80.

This is the tiny rabbitfish I found but they have ran out of pincushion urchins https://fishybusinessaquatics.com/wysiwyg/nano-size-golden-rabbitfish/
I do not have a quarantine for fish because I have the 2 fish I thought I would only have, so I have to be careful on where I buy from.

 

[Manose]

The toothbrush and tubing thing is.

1. You scrape the the algae with a stiff toothbrush
2. Anything that comes off is siphoned into the tube and in you can put the other end into a filter sock back in the sump so you dont lose water.

Worth a shot maybe, not sure how well anchored the ulva is.

It pulls out easy buy it's OMG fast to grow back. The picture shown is 5 days after spending hours removing it.

 

[Lukas75]

+Whatever on the one spot foxface. One should be able to live its entire life in those dimensions. I would fill out the "e-mail me when in" on several websites and wait for one. Until then, manual removal. A yellow tang might work in there too. I had it escape my sump as well, the one thing about it is manual removal is pretty easy, but it keeps growing back. Foxface cleaned it right up.

 

[Manose]

+Whatever on the one spot foxface. One should be able to live its entire life in those dimensions. I would fill out the "e-mail me when in" on several websites and wait for one. Until then, manual removal. A yellow tang might work in there too. I had it escape my sump as well, the one thing about it is manual removal is pretty easy, but it keeps growing back. Foxface cleaned it right up.

Does it have to be a one spot or will other rabbitfish do as good a job?

 

[Justfebreezeit]

The one spot is just preferred because even adult size your tank is big enough for it

 

[scriptmonkey]

Sounds like someone needs to make sea BLT's!