The red turf algae battle
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I too have been battling the evil RTA. My nutrients are low, N-2, P-.02. The tank is a few years old and, besides this, looks great. I'm not sure where it came from, perhaps a frag. I do have a few turbo's, crabs, and a tuxedo urchin. It looks like they eat the stuff but can't keep up. The urchin absolutely devours the stuff but he is large and slow. I started MB Clean and MB Razor a few days ago. It looks like the snails are more productive. I'll report back....
A Young Reefer
Valuable Member
Update I am successfully being able to eliminate it using a blue tuxedo urchin.
Looks like the Clean/Razor treatment has produced some very good results for me, not yet completely gone but very close! I ran the following process for 2 weeks but I did stop the other day when my SPS and some of my Acans started looking pretty bad. Also my Tuxedo Urchin isn't feeling well. I didn't add any additional CUC although I have some turbo's in the tank and some other snails and a few hermits. The urchin and turbos loved eating the stuff. Also I did monitor my nutrients closely, that was a roller coaster ride. At first they dropped quickly to zero so I started dosing N's and P's to get them back up.
I found Emerson's post on Page 5 the most intreresting. So using this information I created a plan (very important to have a plan in this hobby and to stick to it!). My plan was to follow Dr. Kents directions along with a little elbow grease to help. I also started dosing Biodigest every other week. Below is the process I followed...
- Follow directions on the bottle for both products.
- Created a schedule – stick to it.
- Stopped dosing Iron trace elements (my suggestion, not Dr. Kents)
- Turned off all LED’s but Blues. Turned off T5’s for a few weeks (my suggestion, not Dr. Kents)
- Turned off Carbon for a few weeks
- Maintain skimmer
- Run filter socks – change every 2 days
1) Scrub rocks with toothbrush
2) Mix MB Clean with 1 cup tank water. Activate Apex Feed C Cycle (programmed to turn off all pumps and powerheads for 10 minutes, and UV/Skimmer off for 3 hours).
3) Pour MB Clean directory over rockwork in DT (directions say it works best in a biofilter area of the sump but I don’t have any bio material in mine).
4) Wait 2 hours
5) Mix Razor with 1 cup tank water. Activate Apex Feed Cycle B (programmed to turn off all pumps and power heads for 20 minutes). Target dose Razor on trouble rocks first using a baster/syringe, the pour remaining over rockwork.
6) Blow off rock work in the afternoon
I wanted to update this thread with my results after several months of dosing Clean and MB7. I have not seen any RTA in my tank for months now...it is gone and my tank has never looked better! I've been dosing MB7 and Clean weekly along with Biodigest every other week and will continue to do so.Looks like the Clean/Razor treatment has produced some very good results for me, not yet completely gone but very close! I ran the following process for 2 weeks but I did stop the other day when my SPS and some of my Acans started looking pretty bad. Also my Tuxedo Urchin isn't feeling well. I didn't add any additional CUC although I have some turbo's in the tank and some other snails and a few hermits. The urchin and turbos loved eating the stuff. Also I did monitor my nutrients closely, that was a roller coaster ride. At first they dropped quickly to zero so I started dosing N's and P's to get them back up.
I found Emerson's post on Page 5 the most intreresting. So using this information I created a plan (very important to have a plan in this hobby and to stick to it!). My plan was to follow Dr. Kents directions along with a little elbow grease to help. I also started dosing Biodigest every other week. Below is the process I followed...
Every Morning Schedule for 2 weeks (I might go further if I see progress but no eradication)
- Follow directions on the bottle for both products.
- Created a schedule – stick to it.
- Stopped dosing Iron trace elements (my suggestion, not Dr. Kents)
- Turned off all LED’s but Blues. Turned off T5’s for a few weeks (my suggestion, not Dr. Kents)
- Turned off Carbon for a few weeks
- Maintain skimmer
- Run filter socks – change every 2 days
1) Scrub rocks with toothbrush
2) Mix MB Clean with 1 cup tank water. Activate Apex Feed C Cycle (programmed to turn off all pumps and powerheads for 10 minutes, and UV/Skimmer off for 3 hours).
3) Pour MB Clean directory over rockwork in DT (directions say it works best in a biofilter area of the sump but I don’t have any bio material in mine).
4) Wait 2 hours
5) Mix Razor with 1 cup tank water. Activate Apex Feed Cycle B (programmed to turn off all pumps and power heads for 20 minutes). Target dose Razor on trouble rocks first using a baster/syringe, the pour remaining over rockwork.
6) Blow off rock work in the afternoon
Clean and mb7 or clean and razor?
Did you switch to clean after it was cleared up?
Mb7 and clean are bacterial.
Fairly certain razor is just an algaecide.
So it seems like it's really just algaecide to kill, then stains of bacteria to establish a healthy replacement.
I just started trying to attack this again.
Bought a new clean up crew. Including 3 crowned turbo snails from reefcleaners -- they are small though.
I did notice immediately something cleared out a patch of red turf. One of the emeralds and hermits I added was picking at it.
I'm also dosing mb7 and clean. I dosed flucanazol a few months ago to knock out hair algae which then kicked off dinos -> cyano. The bacterial dosing helped with that.
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Emerson
Active Member
Glad to hear the Clean/Razor worked for you! I have not had a recurrence since I won my battle a couple years ago. I religiously added MB Clean weekly (20 ml/25 gal per the bottle) for a year and a half. I've tapered off on that now, and it seems that the tank has reached an equalibrium where I don't need to be so dedicated to it. I'd say I add the weekly dose of 80 ml for my tank most weeks, but if I forget or my schedule gets busy and I miss a week or two I don't sweat it. RTA is a thing of the past in my tank. If it starts to show again, I feel comfortable knowing I may just need to be more disciplined with my weekly dosing.
I might give it another go.
On week two I started having issues with corals so I cut it out and haven't tried razor again.
I may give it another go but this time be more aware of nitrate/phosphate levels and be prepared to supplement those.
That's actually what happened with my flucanazol treatment. It knocked out GHA, i expected a nutrient spike and preemptively ran GFO. Turns out I had no spike and I think the gfo lead to dinos because my tank was stripped running 0 nitrate or phosphate.
A Young Reefer
Valuable Member
Try using a blue tuxedo urchin. It’s the only thing that worked for me
xabo
Valuable Member
Description states it is not an algaecide and not use with algaecides...
Yes, and Vibrant's description was that it was bacterial.
Unless there is a similar study to the vibrant one that shows razor is something different - its a bit of a mystery in a bottle that magically kills algae.
Added another urchin
The blue tuxedos definitely eat it. Problem is just getting them to focus!
If I wanted to go hard, I'd likely buy a bunch of urchins then trade them in/resell them after the algae was under control.
Turbos are hit or miss, the urchins seem to always hit.
The clean spot up top was where I put the urchin when adding to the tank. It removed all algae then moved down and mowed down a few more spots.
The blue tuxedos definitely eat it. Problem is just getting them to focus!
If I wanted to go hard, I'd likely buy a bunch of urchins then trade them in/resell them after the algae was under control.
Turbos are hit or miss, the urchins seem to always hit.
The clean spot up top was where I put the urchin when adding to the tank. It removed all algae then moved down and mowed down a few more spots.
A Young Reefer
Valuable Member
It’s just a waiting game now.Added another urchin
The blue tuxedos definitely eat it. Problem is just getting them to focus!
If I wanted to go hard, I'd likely buy a bunch of urchins then trade them in/resell them after the algae was under control.
Turbos are hit or miss, the urchins seem to always hit.
The clean spot up top was where I put the urchin when adding to the tank. It removed all algae then moved down and mowed down a few more spots.
I've had one for a few years.
Id assume it's a matter of enough to "win".
Unfortunately had all my turbos get killed from dinos a month or so ago.
Just added 4 new ones, plus a variety of other stuff from reef cleaners.
Will see if this round of turbos goes after the turf.
A Young Reefer
Valuable Member
Turbos only trimmed it down in my experience, blue tuxedo urchins is what totally removed it.
I started this thread a few years ago and will summarize my experience briefly.
- Blue tuxedo urchins work. If yours doesn't, get another. My new/baby one goes to town on the turf; the other, larger, blue tuxedo I've had for years never really made a noticable dent.
- I've bought so many turbos, different names/types/etc. Turbos from reefcleaners, from my LFS. None of them ever removed the turf like an urchin. They 100% will "trim" it. But only the urchins leave behind clean rock.
- Chemical treatment. It works for some. I'd say its a hard "no" for me. I tried the Razor/Clean treatment twice now. Both times had negative effects on the tank. The urchin works great and doesn't involve any type of mystery chemicals.
===
I'll also note this. I wouldn't bother trying to starve the algae out. Over the past two months I ran an "experiment" with a frag plug covered in turf.
I put it in a clean QT tank.. and left it there for 2 months.
Algae didn't die off despite the tank being a 0/0 nitrate/phosphate tank and the only light being residual light from my office.
I also put another frag plug covered in the turf in a small cup.. and then poured a liberal amount of razor in there.
I changed the water weekly/redosed the razor. The turf persisted.
It finally started to die off a bit when I literally put the cup outside on my deck and the weather started to get cold (30s F at night).
So I go back to what I said above, I'd avoid chemical treatment. I'd use urchins. Urchins are a super natural part of the reef ecosystem, and are known for scraping rocks clean and eating all sorts of pervasive algae's. I was actually trying to snag a Halloween pincushion - but they were out of stock everywhere and my LFS had blue tuxedos so I figured I'd give a second one a shot - and what do you know, its a red turf destroyer.
I doubt the turf will never be 100% gone - but I really don't need it 100% gone. Not going for sterile here, just trying to avoid rocks covered in a red shag carpet!
Good luck to everyone who has this in the future -- and please do yourself a favor and just buy a couple of tuxedo/pincushion urchins. Can always donate them back to your LFS later!
- Blue tuxedo urchins work. If yours doesn't, get another. My new/baby one goes to town on the turf; the other, larger, blue tuxedo I've had for years never really made a noticable dent.
- I've bought so many turbos, different names/types/etc. Turbos from reefcleaners, from my LFS. None of them ever removed the turf like an urchin. They 100% will "trim" it. But only the urchins leave behind clean rock.
- Chemical treatment. It works for some. I'd say its a hard "no" for me. I tried the Razor/Clean treatment twice now. Both times had negative effects on the tank. The urchin works great and doesn't involve any type of mystery chemicals.
===
I'll also note this. I wouldn't bother trying to starve the algae out. Over the past two months I ran an "experiment" with a frag plug covered in turf.
I put it in a clean QT tank.. and left it there for 2 months.
Algae didn't die off despite the tank being a 0/0 nitrate/phosphate tank and the only light being residual light from my office.
I also put another frag plug covered in the turf in a small cup.. and then poured a liberal amount of razor in there.
I changed the water weekly/redosed the razor. The turf persisted.
It finally started to die off a bit when I literally put the cup outside on my deck and the weather started to get cold (30s F at night).
So I go back to what I said above, I'd avoid chemical treatment. I'd use urchins. Urchins are a super natural part of the reef ecosystem, and are known for scraping rocks clean and eating all sorts of pervasive algae's. I was actually trying to snag a Halloween pincushion - but they were out of stock everywhere and my LFS had blue tuxedos so I figured I'd give a second one a shot - and what do you know, its a red turf destroyer.
I doubt the turf will never be 100% gone - but I really don't need it 100% gone. Not going for sterile here, just trying to avoid rocks covered in a red shag carpet!
Good luck to everyone who has this in the future -- and please do yourself a favor and just buy a couple of tuxedo/pincushion urchins. Can always donate them back to your LFS later!
Bit of a visual to compare against the picture from a few weeks ago (Nov 16th).
The shelf is nearly fully cleared off, urchin has been going through and clearing all the rock beneath it.
Crazy the difference between two urchins - the new (little one bottom left next to the chalice) has been doing all the work.
The shelf is nearly fully cleared off, urchin has been going through and clearing all the rock beneath it.
Crazy the difference between two urchins - the new (little one bottom left next to the chalice) has been doing all the work.
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