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Unread 07/10/2017, 02:38 PM   #1
johnfallon135
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how long can anemones live without light?

so i got this terrible pest plant in my tank from a coral i bought at my lfs and now its invaded my tank and i now just want to black everything out however i have anemones attached to my rocks so i was wondering how long can my RBTA's live without lighting as well how many days should i black out my tank to completely wipe out this pest plant? thank you.


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Unread 07/10/2017, 02:43 PM   #2
pszemol
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnfallon135 View Post
so i got this terrible pest plant in my tank from a coral i bought at my lfs and now its invaded my tank and i now just want to black everything out however i have anemones attached to my rocks so i was wondering how long can my RBTA's live without lighting as well how many days should i black out my tank to completely wipe out this pest plant? thank you.


I would suggest removing this Caulerpa manually. It does grow fast - but if you remove carefully all new sprouts and do not leave anything you will get rid of it in a week or two.

Be patient, persistent and systematic.

Also, turn off water flow during the removal so you can get rid of pieces left in the water column with a fish net.


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Unread 07/10/2017, 02:52 PM   #3
mcgyvr
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just pull the rock man.. peroxide dip/toothbrush it for a good 20 minutes and back into the tank goes..


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Unread 07/10/2017, 06:09 PM   #4
jda
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The BTA can probably go a few weeks, but the algae will outlast it. Even if you kill it to where you think it is gone, it will likely come back. There are no shortage of fish and inverts that will clean up whatever you cannot manually remove.

Like said above, just pull the rock and treat it, if you can.


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Unread 07/10/2017, 08:05 PM   #5
pszemol
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This algae "invaded his tank" - I do not think he has a problem with one rock...

Taking the live rock out and putting it in peroxide will make it a dead rock! Do not use poisonous chemistry when there is no need for it.

Taking rock out and picking algae from it with a pair of tweezers will teach him a lesson of patience. A lesson very needed in our hobby :-) It is not that hard, really - I had once a 20 gallon tank intentionally overgrown with Caulerpa for the purpose of breeding Lettuce Nudibranches. This stuff is really easy to peel from the rock - the white "roots" could be left on/in the rock, just remove all green stubby parts - carefully, so to not break them off the pieces lodged inside the rock - the goal is to pull steady but gently.

And this experience will make him think again to use quarantine tank for everything he purchases.

p.s. john, where are you located?


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Unread 07/15/2017, 01:30 PM   #6
johnfallon135
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lessons. this kid serious? LMAO!

Quote:
Originally Posted by pszemol View Post
This algae "invaded his tank" - I do not think he has a problem with one rock...

Taking the live rock out and putting it in peroxide will make it a dead rock! Do not use poisonous chemistry when there is no need for it.

Taking rock out and picking algae from it with a pair of tweezers will teach him a lesson of patience. A lesson very needed in our hobby :-) It is not that hard, really - I had once a 20 gallon tank intentionally overgrown with Caulerpa for the purpose of breeding Lettuce Nudibranches. This stuff is really easy to peel from the rock - the white "roots" could be left on/in the rock, just remove all green stubby parts - carefully, so to not break them off the pieces lodged inside the rock - the goal is to pull steady but gently.

And this experience will make him think again to use quarantine tank for everything he purchases.

p.s. john, where are you located?



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Unread 07/16/2017, 01:28 PM   #7
pszemol
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How is your Caulrepa infestation going, John?


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Unread 07/16/2017, 02:37 PM   #8
homer1475
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I had some hitch hike in on some LR. Pulled the rock, dipped in peroxide, scrubbed of the remaining, back in the tank. Haven't seen a spot of it since.

There are others ways to learn patients then dealing with an invasive algae, and tweezers.

Besides, how much more natural can you get besides hydrogen and oxygen?


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Unread 07/17/2017, 05:07 PM   #9
pszemol
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Homer - there are very powerful chemicals you can kill stuff with.
But why do this, if there are other more gentle and less harmful methods?

There could be a starfish or miniature snail or even clam inside this rock.
Dunk it in peroxide and it will die and rot in your tank.

But it is your tank, your live rock you paid big money per pound shipped from the ocean.

If you want to turn it into a piece of dead rock on your desire - be my guest :-)


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Unread 07/17/2017, 07:43 PM   #10
davocean
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Once caulerpa sets in, good luck trying to tweezer it out, most likely will never happen.
Caulerpa is extremely invasive, letting it take over will pretty much ruin the tank, hitting peroxide as others suggested is probably the best solution.

As to OP's question, a nem can easily deal w/ the typical 3 day blackout many do to wipe out common film algaes or similar, but as light is their main source of energy, I would expect it to wander in search of light, I'd say 3 days max, but I agree, this will do nothing for your caulerpa issue.


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Unread 07/17/2017, 07:54 PM   #11
pszemol
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davocean - I am talking from personal experience.

As long your rocks are not glued together and you can remove piece by piece to do your tweezers thing you will make a big dent to the algae population. If you do it twice-three times a week, and then you remove any piece you missed you will get rid of it completely.


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Unread 07/17/2017, 08:30 PM   #12
davocean
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pszemol View Post
davocean - I am talking from personal experience.
.
Me too, and about 12 years of reading on this site from many many other reefers personal experiences, as well as my own 32 years in this hobby, but to each their own, do as you wish, I will still do the same and give the same advice, that's what this site is for, sharing info as a collective of many others experience so we can learn more.

Not everyone will see the same, do the same, or have the same results, there is usually more than one method, I'm just stating my opinion of what I think is least invasive, as well as actually answering OP's original question.

Obviously many of us do not have convenience of just pulling rocks out every time one needs a tweezer grooming, kinda hard to let things grow out that way.


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