Got RTA licked!

[sen5241b]

I battled this stuff for almost a year, read every single solitary forum on the web about it and tried more things than you can know to get rid of it. Red turf algae is a macro algae that only grows in low nitrate/phosphate environments. It will eventually cover every bit of rock, plastic and even a bit on the sand. It has been know to smother corals. Also, strong flow will only speed up its growth. I have been able to finally bring it under control and what little is left is not unattractive. If you have struggled with it you'll have to read the whole post on this other website: RTA

 

This thread, at the end, actually leads into another post. The short answer is: on completely covered rocks kill RTA with "Stop Aptasia" or Aptasia X" then let large Mexican turbos and Emeralds keep it under control. I have one 2.5 inch long turbo and 5 emeralds in my 29G. Smaller snails will not touch it.

Edited July 2, 2011 by sen5241b

[epleeds]

I had some in my tank. I put in a small scopas tang and within days, it was all gone

Edited July 2, 2011 by epleeds

[basser9]

Most people have went to smaller snails but they really dont work like turbos.

Plus turbos dont get stuck upside down.

I have 5 in a 20 gallon frag tank plus 5ceriths and 5 dig hermits.

Seems to me most people dont have enough cleaners.

[Chad]

I battled this stuff for almost a year, read every single solitary forum on the web about it and tried more things than you can know to get rid of it. Red turf algae is a macro algae that only grows in low nitrate/phosphate environments. It will eventually cover every bit of rock, plastic and even a bit on the sand. It has been know to smother corals. Also, strong flow will only speed up its growth. I have been able to finally bring it under control and what little is left is not unattractive. If you have struggled with it you'll have to read the whole post on this other website: RTA

 

This thread, at the end, actually leads into another post. The short answer is: on completely covered rocks kill RTA with "Stop Aptasia" or Aptasia X" then let large Mexican turbos and Emeralds keep it under control. I have one 2.5 inch long turbo and 5 emeralds in my 29G. Smaller snails will not touch it.

 

 

Nicely done!!

 

I don't think I have ever heard of someone beating the monster that you had without completely removing the rock and nuking it with something really aggressive like muratic acid or straight up bleach.

 

Glad to hear!

[Origami]

Interesting. Aiptasia-X is pretty much just kalk mixed with agar (I read the patent on the product not all that long ago). It sounds like smearing the rock in kalk paste may also do the trick.

 

Anyway, I'm glad you got the demon beat!

[sen5241b]

Yes kalk will work fine to kill RTA also. When you look at the many web discussions of RTA they almost always confuse RTA with other red algae. I wish I could count how many people have called red cyano "red turf algae". They are two completely different things. (Recall that of the green, brown and red algae, red has the most species.) I have never known any fish to eat RTA including the scopas.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I put some mexican turbos in my tank and the algae was gone in a couple of days. Thoes things mow that stuff down really nice. I was told to remove all the rock and kill all the rock... Thank god I researched some because that wasn't a good idea.

[sen5241b]

BREAKTHROUGH: All my RTA is GONE and I am not sure exactly why. There is not a trace left and I hope this post doesn't jinx it. Before now I had been able to only control it with "Stop Aptasia", large turbos and emeralds.

 

My guesses what killed it off:

• 
   
  
• I did treat the pieces that were covered with RTA by dipping them in Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) for 3 minutes but some pieces of rock with RTA could not be removed because they were at the bottom and I did not want to take all rock out. Little H2O2 actually got in the water but maybe the small amount that did killed it.
  
• I did put 5 emeralds and a bunch of smaller snails in the tank just prior to the disappearance or the RTA but I had already tried that to no avail.
  
• My large turbo that ate so much RTA died just a week or so before thr RTA vanished.
  
• Someone once told me that some macro algae can go through a bio-chemical cycle and it will eventually die off in a closed eco-system such as a marine tank.
  
• Other types of algae seem at an all time low in my tank.
  
• Combination of things?
  

[Coral Hind]

Congrats on beating back the RTA. I'd say a combo of the things you listed helped.

[schenktank]

i see this on my rocks but something in my tank must eat it because it never gets a chance to grow much before its back to just a few strands. with my luck ill be an RTA farmer in no time.