How to remove algae off of Coral on frag plugs?

drstratton · Mar 12, 2016

What is the best way to kill algae on frag plugs. I have a bunch of different coral ( I have zoa's, acans, torch etc.) in my frag tank and I want to eliminate any algae before I place it into my DT. The Torch coral actually has algae growing into a break on the hard part of the stem, not sure of the proper terminology. I've heard that you can use Hydrogen peroxide, but I'm not exactly sure how. I don't want to kill my coral, just the algae!

Thanks!!!

BryanS4 · Mar 12, 2016

Toss a tang in the frag tang. Gone within days.

I keep my sps frag tank really dirty and the tang does his job.

drstratton · Mar 12, 2016

Thanks, but the tank is to small for a tang! It's only a 20g long!

cloak · Mar 12, 2016

You might want to look into Hydrogen Peroxide. I know this works with zoanthids, but I'm not sure how the Acans and the Torch would react to it though. GL.

drstratton · Mar 12, 2016

cloak said:
You might want to look into Hydrogen Peroxide. I know this works with zoanthids, but I'm not sure how the Acans and the Torch would react to it though. GL.

Thank you! That's kind of where I'm at, I've also heard that some Zoa's can handle the Peroxide, but I don't know about the other coral!

bobman · Mar 12, 2016

Why not just take them off the frag plug and glue them to a small rock or another frag plug and when you got the torch out of the water scrub it with a tooth brush

drstratton · Mar 12, 2016

bobman said:
Why not just take them off the frag plug and glue them to a small rock or another frag plug and when you got the torch out of the water scrub it with a tooth brush

Thank you! I'm attaching a couple of pictures of what I'm dealing with! The Acan has algae growing all over it and as for the Torch, I was wondering if I could just cut that section off, but I have no idea how close I can cut to the head without damaging it!

bobman · Mar 12, 2016

The torch you are fine cutting it just keep it as close to the algae as possible. The acan I would try peroxide. Also that dont look like typical hair algae not sure what it is I would start lookig for an ID asap. Identify the algae and you can identify the best possible course of action.

charleslotz · Mar 12, 2016

2 emerald crabs will make easy work of the algue

drstratton · Mar 12, 2016

bobman said:
The torch you are fine cutting it just keep it as close to the algae as possible. The acan I would try peroxide. Also that dont look like typical hair algae not sure what it is I would start lookig for an ID asap. Identify the algae and you can identify the best possible course of action.

Thank you! How do I use the peroxide, should I spray it on, dip it or use a swab to get as little as possible onto the coral as possible!

chaoha · Mar 13, 2016

I just went to a club meeting yesterday and Justin Credible was the speaker. He spoke about peroxide in the reef tank and recommend 1-3 ml per 10 gallons dosed daily to control algae as well as flat worms and Luther pests. He had a formula for using it as a dip but I don't remember what it was.

don_chuwish · Mar 13, 2016

I've used it full strength to spot treat (applied with a dropper) just avoiding the coral as much as possible. Let it bubble like 15-30 seconds and then back into the tank.

drstratton · Mar 13, 2016

Thank you for the help everyone, I really appreciate it!!! I'm hoping to eradicate the algae while it is in my frag tank, I really don't want it in my DT!

TheEngineer · Mar 13, 2016

I usually do a full strength, 15s dip on zoas before they go in the tank. You can apply some directly to the algae at full strength. Then rinse with tank water.

drstratton · Mar 13, 2016

icecool2 said:
I usually do a full strength, 15s dip on zoas before they go in the tank. You can apply some directly to the algae at full strength. Then rinse with tank water.

Thank you! What do you think about the Acans, 2 of the 3 Acan frags have quite a bit of algae on them, the one pictured above is the worst!

TheEngineer · Mar 13, 2016

I've done diluted dips for acans. Put them in 1 cup of tank water and slowly add peroxide while swishing the cup. Do this until you start to notice bubbles on the coral. Let it soak for a minute and rinse with clean tank water.

drstratton · Mar 13, 2016

icecool2 said:
I've done diluted dips for acans. Put them in 1 cup of tank water and slowly add peroxide while swishing the cup. Do this until you start to notice bubbles on the coral. Let it soak for a minute and rinse with clean tank water.

Thank you so much! I will give this a try!