Removing Sea Grass from my tank???

[Sea Turtle]

I have had this growing in one spot for a while now. I really never thought much of removing it becasue it was small and actually quite pretty. It is very bright green and sways around in the current. However, it is starting to get big and I wan't it gone! I tried to pull it out but apparently it's anchored down to the point where I actually lift the 10 lb rock up that its on when I pull on it. I chopped it down and tried to pull the roots out with plyers but I can't get it all. I know it's just a matter of time before it grows back. Also I'm worried that all the roots that I pulled out are going to find a home somewhere else in the tank and start small patches everywhere. Is there something that I can do to remove it for good without hurting the corals/fish/inverts?

I did not manage to take a pic of it but I found some on the internet which is exactly what I have. Here it is:

 

[blackcloudmedia]

My first thought when I saw this thread was "where did you get seagrass?" and "that should take two seconds to get rid of" :lol:
This isnt seagrass. Theres a couple of different species that this "hair" algae could be. Do a search for Hair algae. You'll see that its an ongoing battle.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Okay. I have done some research. It is not hair algae. It is called Maiden's Hair Algae or also know as Chlorodesmis. Not really sure how destructive that it can be but I have learned that it too can be difficult to remove from your tank. Anyone have any ideas or tips on how to get rid of it?

Here's a link to look at it http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... fastigiata).html&usg=__Sc8yLz-A9Fsq7hBRFBqN4YN9lf4=&h=480&w=640&sz=90&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=3NLd-HVYNURANM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DChlorodesmis%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

 

[Anonymous]

Remove the rock that it is on, get a chisel/screwdriver and chip off the rock that has the algae attached to it since it looks like there's nothing really on the rock with the algae, yeah rock can be expensive but its much easier to nip in the bud when its relatively contained to a small area of the tank.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Do you think that this stuff can spread? In other words, I cut it and pulled out roots the other day. They blew all around the tank. Will they settle somewhere and produce a colony?

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Yep. Thats how a lot of algaes reproduce.

 

[Sea Turtle]

:x

 

[Anonymous]

My tang and coral beauty would love to eat that!!!!! :wink:

 

[cklayko2000]

Have you thought about a pigmy angel or tang? What about a sea hare? All these should devour hair algae... If you get a sea hare - try to borrow it as most of them starve out in short order...

 

[Sea Turtle]

My tang and coral beauty would love to eat that!!!!! :wink:

From my research that I have done, it appears as if most fish do not eat it because it is toxic to them. Anyway, I got myself a really pointy pair of scissors and chisled chuncks of the rock off that it was rooted to. So far it seems to be gone. We'll see though...

 

[Anonymous]

My tang and coral beauty would love to eat that!!!!! :wink:

From my research that I have done, it appears as if most fish do not eat it because it is toxic to them. Anyway, I got myself a really pointy pair of scissors and chisled chuncks of the rock off that it was rooted to. So far it seems to be gone. We'll see though...

You are indeed correct and I doubt his tang & angel would touch it with a 10' pole

Try using kalk paste on it. It doesn't like high PH. It also tends to burn itself out on it's own by shading too much of the lower portion of the "plant".

 

[Anonymous]

Try using kalk paste on it. It doesn't like high PH. It also tends to burn itself out on it's own by shading too much of the lower portion of the "plant".

Yeah, but if you trim it down like you would HC, glosso or hairgrass, you could probably keep it growing well and possibly encourage it to spread out at the same time....

Hmmmmm.

 

[Sea Turtle]

It has been about a week since I chizzled it off the rock and I haven't seen any of it growing anywhere yet. i'll keep my fingers crossed that I got rid of it.