Ralfsia expansa algae

[milano07]

After a lot of research I have finally found the name of the algae that I have been fighting for the last few months. This thing is called is Ralfsia expansa and I wonder if you any of you has had this same problem. If so, I would like to hear how this thing was defeated.

Here is a bit of info about my tank. It's a 40 gallon tank that has been set up for years. The skimmer is a MCE600 and I do bi-weekly water changes. The tank inhabitants are a pair of clown fish and that's it.

The only thing that I have done differently lately was to go from a MH fixture to T5 fixture and I wonder if this change is the cause of this algae problem.

What eats this thing if anything....?

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m265/yvr_75/3279627922_0f7b3a32ea_o.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m265/yvr_75/3279627922_0f7b3a32ea_o.jpg

Thanks

[Myka]

Interesting, thanks for posting ID. How did you go about IDing it? Just picture match or something more scientific?

It looks a lot like an algae that I had in my tank for the first 6-8 months of setting it up. It eventually just went away on its own as nutrients were lowered and the tank matured. I added a Tuxedo Urchin as well who seemed to eat it a bit.

[dreef]

Are you sure its not Lobophora Variegata ..looks what i was battling a few years ago.Found some info on RC, they suggested a certain kind of tang,or sally lightfoot crabs.I went with the sallys,and within months,was totally gone.I know some don't trust any crabs.My fish are big,or a good size,still have a few sallys after the years.Zero problems,all they do is clean rock 24/7 here's an RC link

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=810891&highlight=lobophora

[shrimpchips]

Anything that eats coralline algae - urchins will usually do the job. My rock had it here and there but the urchins will eventually mow it over.

[christyf5]

I've had that in the past, urchins will eat it as a byproduct of the coralline they seem to prefer. What worked for me, ultimately, was lowering nutrients. At the time i was using the Fauna Marin Ultralith system. It disappeared in about 6 months. After quitting the system small patches have reappeared but seem to be limited to those two patches. It has been several years and a tank upgrade since I had it. Try increasing your water change frequency and feeding less (ie. lowering/exporting nutrients) and it should slowly start to recede.

[milano07]

Interesting, thanks for posting ID. How did you go about IDing it? Just picture match or something more scientific?

It looks a lot like an algae that I had in my tank for the first 6-8 months of setting it up. It eventually just went away on its own as nutrients were lowered and the tank matured. I added a Tuxedo Urchin as well who seemed to eat it a bit.

I was able to identify this algae after I found a couple of threads with pics on RF. After looking at their pics I quickly realized it was the same type of algae that has been taking over my tank for the last couple of months. Here is a link to a site where you can find more info on this type of algae.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/algaephotosclassificati/ig/Brown-Algae-Photo-Gallery/Ralfsia-expansa.htm

http://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=1271


Are you sure its not Lobophora Variegata ..looks what i was battling a few years ago.Found some info on RC, they suggested a certain kind of tang,or sally lightfoot crabs.I went with the sallys,and within months,was totally gone.I know some don't trust any crabs.My fish are big,or a good size,still have a few sallys after the years.Zero problems,all they do is clean rock 24/7 here's an RC link

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=810891&highlight=lobophora

I am a 100% that it's not Lobophora Variegata. I have seen this type of algae in friend's tank and it's definitely not the same one that's in my set up.



Anything that eats coralline algae - urchins will usually do the job. My rock had it here and there but the urchins will eventually mow it over.

Yeah, I have to stop by the fish store to find out if they have any Urchins in stock.



I've had that in the past, urchins will eat it as a byproduct of the coralline they seem to prefer. What worked for me, ultimately, was lowering nutrients. At the time i was using the Fauna Marin Ultralith system. It disappeared in about 6 months. After quitting the system small patches have reappeared but seem to be limited to those two patches. It has been several years and a tank upgrade since I had it. Try increasing your water change frequency and feeding less (ie. lowering/exporting nutrients) and it should slowly start to recede.


I'll look for a small Urchin later on. Water changes will be increased for sure. I'll do them weekly instead of bi weekly and hopefully this will help. Now, I doubt the bio-load is high as there are only 2 fish in this tank and they are only fed 3 times a week. The skimmer I use is the MCE600 which I think it's a pretty good skimmer.


Again, the only thing that I have changed in the last few months is the light fixture. There used to be a MH over this tank but this was switched for a T5 fixture and that's when I noticed that this algae started growing. I should mention that I was using a GE 6500K bulb but it got rid of it not long ago as I thought that this bulb might have something to do with this algae problem.