Halimeda must go!?!?

[trippclark]

This post is related to my earlier post "Unhealthy Soft Corals - HELP!" located at
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/199667/unhealthy-soft-corals-help
I have been really putting the time in on my tank (2-3 hours per night and more on weekends) doing water changes (RO/DI), daily testing (sometimes with 2 different brand kits to double check readings). Over the course of the past four to five weeks, I have done 70+ gallons of water change in a 55 GAL tank with approx 10 gal sump & fuge.
Several things remain issues:
* Soft corals remain retracted (my biggest worry)
* Snail deaths seem abnormally high (my NEXT biggest worry)
* Halimeda (Money Plant) is growing like mad
* I cannot keep Calcium level above 380 in spite of massive dosing
My present theory is that the halimeda is sucking up all of the calcium as fast as I can add it . . . and the faster I add it, the more the halimeda grows!
To give some idea of the rate of Calcium addition, over the past weekend I topped off with a constant drip of 3 gallons of RO/DI water with 2 tsp Kalk per gallon (6 tsp Kalk total). I also added Kent liquid calcium morning and night, 4 tsp per day. I also added Kent Pro Buffer dKH once (1 Tablespoon). Throughout this weekend I took measurements three times. dKH stayed between 8 and 9. CA went from 380 to 400 then back to 380.
Halimeda, which all of my reading describes as a slow growing calcium hog that is good in a display tank, continues rapid growth (visible growth daily). I pulled out almost all of it two weeks ago and now it is back almost as much as before.
All other readings that I have kits for are ideal (I don't have kits for Magnesium, Strontium, or Iodine).
Could low Calcium alone account for the snail deaths and retracted soft corals? Should I continue to pull out the halimeda, or is that not the culprit? If it is the culprit, is there anything that eats halimeda so I can come up with a natural way to keep it in check?
I really like the looks of halimeda, I just don't like how it is taking over my tank.

 

[stanlalee]

I have a bit of it (about double whats in that pic now. doesn't look like much but its just a 30 gallon)

really hasn't cause much problem for me (may just not have enough). I do dose calcium about every few days. I have a fair share of LPS and softies. none seem to be affected.
The good thing about Halemida is it must be rooted therefore it doesn't grow out of control like other macro. Mine hasn't grown anywhere but the one rock I want it too. Its the only Macro you can have without a fuge. I only use Kent liquid calcium. How much Halemida do you have growing? Also what brand of test kit are you using?
I dont know about the corals but the macro sure as heck is getting enough calcium because it grows rapidly. I've also read the plant itself is a good indicator of disolved calcium. If the plant is white and frosted over looking in the morning its a sign of less than desireable calcium levels in the water (or so I think thats what I read. could have been the other way around).

 

[trippclark]

Thanks for the feedback.
As for test kits, I have a mix. For CA the one that I have that seems most reliable is Sera. I also have a Seatest kit, but I don't feel as confident with its results (I have a harder time with it judging "true blue"). Both kits are well within dates on the reagents. My KH kit is Tetra.
My present amount of halimeda looks to me to be about double what is in your picture. As I stated, I pulled most (probably 3/4 of it) out two weeks ago. Prior to that, I probably had at heast double what I have now.
Unlike yours, mine has spread. It first showed up on one rock, now it is on 10 that I can count, and was even rooted in my sandbed before I yanked that one plant out.

 

[dadummy]

i had a problem keeping the calcium up, everyday i added liquid calcium, every day the same reading, splurged for the magnesium test kit, yup, mag was low, raised the mag with kent marine tech M. calcium is holding now,
i also have some halimeda, doesn't grow much at all
??

 

[trippclark]

Originally Posted by dadummy
i had a problem keeping the calcium up, everyday i added liquid calcium, every day the same reading, splurged for the magnesium test kit, yup, mag was low, raised the mag with kent marine tech M. calcium is holding now,
i also have some halimeda, doesn't grow much at all
??
Yeah, I have considered Magnesium and probably should get a test kit. My though (flawed perhaps) is that with all the water changes that Magnesium should be okay. I know that CA has many "consumers" (corals, coraline algae, halimeda), but is Magnesium similarly subject to being consumed in great quantities???

 

[dadummy]

don't have the answers, haven't checked the mag levels in the salt, been using IO.
set up a 90 gal a few months ago, looking back at calcium and alk, I don't think mag was ever right.
gonna try a different salt next time around. pay a little more for salt, less for additives
hope ya find the answers

 

[zman1]

Originally Posted by trippclark
Yeah, I have considered Magnesium and probably should get a test kit. My though (flawed perhaps) is that with all the water changes that Magnesium should be okay. I know that CA has many "consumers" (corals, coraline algae, halimeda), but is Magnesium similarly subject to being consumed in great quantities???

I use coralife salt and Mg is around 950. I dose Mg in my change water to bring it up to around 1250 a couple days before the weekly change.