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Sargassum Going Crazy


Grog

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Got a chunk of Sargassum that has been in my tank for about 6 months. Recently I noticed that new growths of sargassum are appearing everywhere in my tank. On rocks, in between corals, everywhere.

What will munch on these baby bursts of sargassum? Small angel? Tang? Thinking of getting a coral beauty for the tank again, as the last one loved macros. Don't know if one will eat sargassum though.

The main chunk of sargassum is doing very well and growing great, I just wish it wasn't spreading everywhere O.O

Hope I don't have to resort to manual removal via pulling. There is a LOT of it that has sprung up in the last few days.

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I think you're screwed. When I was researching macro algaes for my tank I came across this one and everything I read indicated that it was more trouble than it is worth. Nothing reliably eats it and in some tanks it will grow like crazy. I think your best bet is going to be manual removal.

sorry.

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I had some when I first started up my tank. There was a huge head that broke off, so I put it in my 20g. The Peppermint Shrimp in there got hungry and ate the whole thing. It disappeared in my 125g, and I think the Peppermint ate it there, too. They left the Lobophora, but all the Sargassum is gone. I kinda miss it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Still cutting this stuff regularly. I had an idea....

Supposedly it likes high light. I don't want to do a full lights out for the tank but what if I blocked the light in the area where it is prominent? I don't have anything in that section of the tank that really wants high light so I don't see a negative. Thinking of putting a piece of plywood over that quadrant of the tank to block most of the light.

Think it would help?

So far I'm

  • Watching my feeding rate, cut it down more than my normally low rate
  • Harvesting as much as I can with scissors, 2x a week.
  • Increased the frequency of water changes (hoping to deplete any nutrients for the algae)
  • Planning on the light cover for that area

Seem like a good approach? I'm open for ideas. It is not a emergency critical mode, but I'm trying to keep it from becoming a major issue. I don't want it everywhere. I think I'm making progress already.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Today is my day to update threads.

I've become aggressive with my harvesting, pulled rocks out and brushed off the stuff with a toothbrush, and it is almost non-existent. I have one more area to tackle tomorrow. Tank is looking much better.

Something I tried in desperation... My mushroom rock had the stuff sprouting in between the cracks in the shrooms. It was BEAST to get it out so I gave up and stuck it in my 'not so reef safe' mantis tank.

The urchin and 'big red' the crab tore into that sargassum last night.

If this stuff appears here and again, and I'm having trouble, I may put the problem rocks on rotation in the 'not so reef safe' tank for a few days as clean-up and extra food for the denizens therein. tongue.png

Making lemonade with lemons!

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Apparently there's a wide range of sargassum. You might have the lower temperature variety. Have you thought about boosting your temperature to say 80F, or do you have Catalina Gobies or something that won't like the higher temps? Reef Cleaners said, "This particular macro requires medium to strong lighting to thrive." That mentions the light but not temperatures. These guys are selling it for $8 a clump. Maybe you could charge a fee for people to come pick some, like those "harvest-it-yourself" orchards. cool.png

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haha That is where I purchased it from. I had one clump, and what I heard is that it is difficult to keep. I guess I have the perfect conditions for it. Either way, I'm winning the fight. I was happy to see the urchin in my other tank munching on it. I may get another for this tank. Win-win... New critter and pest control. ;D

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