Macro Algae

[AdAndrews]

I have a 125litre brackish tank that will be turned into marine, and i want to add some macro algae, mainly to use up some nitrates, but, becuase i like the look of them too...

which species are suitable? my lighting is 2x18w flourescent t8's, whites, and a blue led strip.

Ive heard something about them going sexual and ruining the tank??

thanks.

 

[ben1987]

caulerpa algae can go sexual if it isnt lit 24/7.

Ive always used cheato, but its not an attractive algae, does a very good job though. But id have thought you wouldnt need to with one puffer.

 

[AdAndrews]

caulerpa algae can go sexual if it isnt lit 24/7.

Ive always used cheato, but its not an attractive algae, does a very good job though. But id have thought you wouldnt need to with one puffer.

one puffer, a pair of adult clowns, and maybe damsels(or maybe not the clowns)


thats bad news then, so, what actually hapens when it goes sexual? just releases spores?

 

[ben1987]

not 100% sure tbh...got a feeling the tank crashes because all the oxygen has be taken out the water

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Some species of Caulerpa have been known to go sexual which is why people recommend having them lit 24/7 (though it has been proven that 24/7 lighting on macro algae reduces it growth and therefore nutrient export over time).

I dont believe that every species of Caulerpa will do the same but in the marine world they are very rarely id'ed properly.

Cheato is another common macro algae used for nutrient export and also good for 'fuges to give 'pods a place to reproduce. This isnt very good as a "display" algae though as it looks like green wire wool and doesnt have roots so just floats about.

I cant really recommend any nice display type algaes but I'm currently looking into it myself for a seahorse tank (aka marine planted tank ).

Might want to have a look at the link below. Have only skimmed it myself but looks interesting:
http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-01/sl/index.php

 

[AdAndrews]

thanks for your help mate.

edit: just looked at the link, i read it earlier

 

[AdAndrews]

after some further research, i have found that, apparently. The problem is that with insufficiant photoperiods, the plants produce co2(as they respire), prolonged darkness=more co2, which, results in a ph crash.

Apparently, i would need to light the tank 18-24 hours, that, just isnt possible, its in my room, and ive gotta sleep sometime

 

[AdAndrews]

Ive spoken to a couple of people who have had success with a macro algae aquarium, by using a lot of surface agitation, i can drive off the co2 produced by the algae as they respire, which, will hopefully not cause my ph to crash,

a 10 hour photoperiod was used in their tank, so, im going to get a load of different species, and see how it goes, gotta get my salinity up first

 

[xxBarneyxx]

hmmmmm interesting. I would have thought given the hardness of salt water that it would have taken a whole load of CO2 to make the PH drop by any significant amount and any tank with a decent amount of surface movement shouldn't have a problem.

I have read that lighting macro algae for long period of time (ie 18-24 hours) actually kills it over time as during the photosynthesis process plants require a period of darkness to actually grow.

Please update us on how it goes, will be doing a similar sort of tank myself soon so interested in seeing your results.

 

[AdAndrews]

hmmmmm interesting. I would have thought given the hardness of salt water that it would have taken a whole load of CO2 to make the PH drop by any significant amount and any tank with a decent amount of surface movement shouldn't have a problem.

I have read that lighting macro algae for long period of time (ie 18-24 hours) actually kills it over time as during the photosynthesis process plants require a period of darkness to actually grow.

Please update us on how it goes, will be doing a similar sort of tank myself soon so interested in seeing your results.

ok mate, will do, it'll be a couple of months yet though, gotta get the s.g. up first!

 

[mistyash]

I have macros growing in both my SW tanks. I have some Caulerpa racemosa, some feather caulerpa, chaeto, gracilaria, sargassum, halimeda, and a few other unidentified 'volunteers'. One of the tanks is 7 months old, the other is 2 months, and will be getting seahorses this weekend.
When i first tried macros, i had some feather caulerpa go sexual on me. The tank was new, and some cyano grew over the algae, and after a few days like that the caulerpa all turned white, and made the tank cloudy for about 4 hours. Nothing died, and the water cleared up. Since then, i've just been making sure that they have plenty of light (but not 24 hours), and i thin them out every couple of weeks. my rose urchin loves to mow it all down, and it springs back happily.

in short, I wouldn't worry about it. If you're nervous, just stay away from the worst offenders. there are plenty of other beautiful macros to try. I got a lot from gulf coast ecosystems. But i think it's a bad idea to keep your tank lights on 24/7, it's stressful to everything living there, and it doesn't allow for the night critters to come out and play.

hope that helps.

 

[AdAndrews]

I have macros growing in both my SW tanks. I have some Caulerpa racemosa, some feather caulerpa, chaeto, gracilaria, sargassum, halimeda, and a few other unidentified 'volunteers'. One of the tanks is 7 months old, the other is 2 months, and will be getting seahorses this weekend.
When i first tried macros, i had some feather caulerpa go sexual on me. The tank was new, and some cyano grew over the algae, and after a few days like that the caulerpa all turned white, and made the tank cloudy for about 4 hours. Nothing died, and the water cleared up. Since then, i've just been making sure that they have plenty of light (but not 24 hours), and i thin them out every couple of weeks. my rose urchin loves to mow it all down, and it springs back happily.

in short, I wouldn't worry about it. If you're nervous, just stay away from the worst offenders. there are plenty of other beautiful macros to try. I got a lot from gulf coast ecosystems. But i think it's a bad idea to keep your tank lights on 24/7, it's stressful to everything living there, and it doesn't allow for the night critters to come out and play.

hope that helps.

thaks for your help, i went to the lfs yesterday, and saw various macro algae, ive definately gotta try some, it will look loads better than just plain rock...

a question for anyone who wants to answer it;

In any standard house, using 2x4" joists on a supporting wall, how much weight do you think is the maximum i could put on 2 of the joists? with the tank being against the supporting wall?

^thats because at the lfs i also saw some very nice live rock, but, im not sure whether i can push it and 13-15kg extra weight