Hiya.

I don't have a refugium, nor do I have a good place to set one up, but I'm struggling with nitrates and would like to add some macroalgae to my DT.

What is a good one to use that isn't likely to completely overtake the tank?

My lighting system is weak - just 1 48" T12 bulb - a 10,000K 40-watt fluorescent and a 24" (I think) blue actinic fluorescent. (My tank is an 80-Gallon.)

Is there a good macroalgae out there for me to get that fits my needs and restrictions?

Oh also - the macroalgae should be quarantined, right?

Adding a macro to the DT can be a risk IMO. Some of them can be extremely aggressive and can take over a tank if not kept in check. What are your nitrates at and with what test kit??

My nitrates are at 80 ppm, and that's the lowest they've gotten since I inherited the tank. (When I inherited the tank, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates were high, and the nitrates were an unknown amount over 160 ppm - that was the deepest color on the card, and it took at least 2 months of many water changes and substrate vacuumings to finally even get it to read a different value on the card. Also, DO was probably a problem, and I've since added a protein skimmer and 4 powerheads on a wavemaker.)

I'm using the API Saltwater Master Test Kit.

I would go for cheto in your display. It seems to be easy enough to control. colerpa is nasty and will attatch to every rock you have if given the chance. The cheto also gives great hiding places for pods

eh go with one of the red kelp like species, maybe some sargassum or a sea grass if you do something in the display, chaeto can get just as out of control if little bits of it float off the bunch.

I keep caulerpa in my display but I do need to trim it to keep it under control. Everyone is right, it does take a little more effort (but for me I dont mind). Biggest thing to worry about with any species is that when you trim it up not to let peices float off.

I've had to pull chunks of rock out to retreive out of control chaeto that had sunk underneath, since it doesnt attach like caulerpa it can actually be more of a problem if it gets away. The caulerpa is easy to track and trim since it attaches and follows the rock. If you miss a trimming though expect it to be a lot more effort to pull the attaching roots up from where it went else it'll come back.

Stick with things like the bottlebrush and some of the more fancy macro's that dont grow as fast and prolific and you'll be alright. Chaeto belongs in refugiums and culture systems IMHO and caulerpa as much as I like it definately is NOT for those who want low maintenance... it is a high maintenance algae for sure!.

eh go with one of the red kelp like species, maybe some sargassum or a sea grass if you do something in the display, chaeto can get just as out of control if little bits of it float off the bunch.



Stick with things like the bottlebrush and some of the more fancy macro's that dont grow as fast and prolific and you'll be alright. Chaeto belongs in refugiums and culture systems IMHO and caulerpa as much as I like it definately is NOT for those who want low maintenance... it is a high maintenance algae for sure!.

sargassum and sea grass ime need a lot more light than what you have.

is this going to be a reef?

how deep is your substrate?

when you vacuumed your gravel you may have made the nitrates higher by killing off the anaerobic bacteria at the bottom.

Cheto may float around and hide in rocks and whatnot but it does not attach to rocks like caulerpa. caulerpa will sink roots into rock and can be difficult to get rid of once established in rockwork. I have also had caulerpa grow over zoos.

sargassum and sea grass ime need a lot more light than what you have.

Thanks - Maybe I could figure out how to build an external refugium NEXT to the DT.

is this going to be a reef?

One day - after I spend about $1200 on new lights - OR a new tank with new lights.

how deep is your substrate?

Only about 2 ½ - 3 inches.

when you vacuumed your gravel you may have made the nitrates higher by killing off the anaerobic bacteria at the bottom.

I doubt it only because I made sure to do small areas each week, specifically to avoid getting rid of it all.

you might want to look around this web page, I think its great

Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation Home Page (http://www.garf.org/)

Caulerpa may grow slow and easy to take care of in your tank. Ohh but when you get your new light LOOK OUT!! It will most likely explode and dominate every thing in the tank. I recommend not to try it at first or at least until you decide if that is something you might want. Because this might happen.

(((by the way I tried to do this and succeeded...................... until i failed.)))
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj75/bobbyecosystems/100_0308.jpg

I would also add more sand 3-4 inches has been fine in many of the tanks I have set up. I might also invest in a little more live rock.

How much and what are you feeding your tank?

At this point your dealing with 80ppm No3
What are your phosphate readings?
If you plan on getting a new light I would wait until No3 and Po4 are 0 to avoid a large algae bloom.

I do plan to add more live rock - I'm just pacing myself. I added a 35-lb (cured) piece just 4 days ago or so... Wouldn't want to cause a spike.

I am feeding 2 - 3 times a day of a mixture of flakes, Spectrum marine pellets, frozen brine shrimp, and freeze-dried vitamin enriched brine shrimp. My cardinals will only eat the brine shrimp... everything else seems less picky. For the spectrum pellets, since they sink quickly, I drop in a few pellets at a time over the course of a couple minutes. Everything else, I drop in an amount that takes the fish about 2 minutes to eat. If I feed them the third time, it's usually about an hour before the lights go out and a scarce amount of food.

I don't have a phosphate test kit, but at least I have ChemiPure Elite in my canister filter, which claims it will lower phosphates for less algae growth, and my tank has MUCH less algae than it used to. The hair algae used to be so long on one of the rocks that the sebae clown used to snuggle up inside of it like it was his anemone... Then I switched to the ChemiPure media and added 15 more (previously only had 4) small hermit crabs, and I'm not sure how much each contributed to the decrease of the algae.

you might want to look around this web page, I think its great

Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation Home Page (http://www.garf.org/)

Thanks - I looked a little bit - sleepy time now. I'll leave it open for next time. The people around me think I'm crazy, obsessing over all this new fish information day and night.

I have been in the hoby for about 2 years and I am still obsessing!

I have been in this hobby for 61 years. There have been countless changes in methodology, equipment, aquarium materials, availability of species, technology, and more. You name it, it has changed. It's forever evolving and it will continue to evolve. We are still learning how to keep delicate critters, from an alien world to us, and keeping them successfully in cubicles in our homes. Critters of such beauty as to inspire awe in the hearts and minds of anyone that looks upon our creation. I'm sure you have had a friend gaze into your reef and say, "That's alive?", "That's real coral?" or something similar.

What's not to obsess about? What's not to get excited about? After this long, I'm still like a kid in a candy store when I go to MACNA, IMAC, a frag swap and even a well kept, well stocked LFS.

This is a fascinating hobby and reefing is actually in it's infancy. Twenty years ago, when I set up my first reef tank with LR, few commoners were keeping coral alive. Now anyone willing to put time, effort and money into it can grow real, live corals from around the world.

70 years old (young?) and still obsessing.

Dick

I love reading all this info. I have also been keeping saltwater for about 16 years and things certainly have changed. My husband calls us all geeks!
Now back to the nitrate issue, are you using RO water? I know where I live, the nitrate leves can really fluctuate from season to season.
Also, some people have said that the liverock itself can become saturated with the high nitrates, thus taking many, many WC to get levels under control. In this case, your tank has had extreme levels at one point, and at 80, still are quite high which would take a long time to level out if indeed the rocks are "holding" the extra nitrates.
There is a great article on one of these forums on how to "cook" your live rock. NOT REALLY COOKING! More like a great way to cure/clean.

Also, some people have said that the liverock itself can become saturated with the high nitrates

Oh no! I was counting on all that nitrate being trapped in my crushed coral sandbed. :eek:

I don't know what your budget is, but this might be a good option for your Macro growing needs,

Linky (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~aquafuge~action~view~idProdu ct~CR1721~idCategory~FIRFEB~category~CPR_AquaFuge_ 2_Hang_on_Refugium__Small_Saltwater_Aquarium_Suppl ies_Refugiums_Hang_On_Back_External~vendor~.html)

You could put a nice clump of Chateo in there with some live rock rubble. You'd have to get a light of some sort and some stands to put it on, but my guess is you could make a rig for that. It's not too tough. PetsMart has a nice little 13 Watt light that's like 8-9 bucks plus 10 bucks for a small bulb.

Thanks for the idea. I guess I should update this thread now and say that I've bought a new aquarium that has room underneath for a bonafide fuge. :D Haven't gotten one yet, but at least I know I have options now.

Maiden's Hair, it literally looks like really fine blades of grass, it's beautiful. I had it in my DT for about 3 months, but it had a rare crab that came in on it, that fed on it. Unfortunately he hate it all! LOL. I love it though, it's really nice to look at with some nice water flow.

http://www.aquacon.com/images/MaidensHr.jpg