bitts Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) The Marine Planted Tank & Macro Algae Thread. this thread is intended as both a refrence giude to those looking for information on planted marine tanks, display based refugiums, or simply the use of specific types of macro algae. and as a place to exchange ideas on how to best utilize macro algae in a marine tank. other topics open for debate are refugium methodology & design within the above guide lines. availability & procurment of heathy specimens. the macro trade thread livestock for the marine planted tank The FAQ's For Red, brown, & Green Macro Algae &Giude to Marine Planted Tank Aqua Scaping The Substrate Reference Thread & Macro Algae Refence ThreadSeagrass Lighting The major factor in differentiation of the macro algaes is the color. Caused by the amount & type of chlorophyll present. This is then influenced by accessory pigments. This combination present determines. Not only the color, but the ability to survive & compete with other fauna at a given depth. As depth increases, the amount & type of light becomes increasingly diminished. With wavelengths at the blue end of the spectrum being the one's to penetrate the deepest. With the algae responding by shifting to either a red or brown form. Types of Chlorophyll (well this is where the guy that was naming them proves to have no imagination, at least they had fun naming the quarks.) They brake down as chlorophyll A, B, C D & F. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll Accessory Pigments Such as phycoerythrin are not as efficient in photosynthesis as chlorophyll. But in lower orders may be the only light capturing protein present (Bactria). While in higher orders, they extend the range of wavelengths over which light can drive photosynthesis (our macro's). The differentiation in red from green or brown macros, would be the presence of chlorophyll's A, C & D. Also of note is that only marine based red algae & bacteria possess chlorophyll d. where as green algae possess chlorophyll's A & B. Of the three types of algae in relation to our tanks red macros are actually the most plentiful. By now you either geeking out with me or wondering what the hell this has to do with our tanks. One of the most often asked ? so far is what type of bulb should i be using . Hopefully by understanding the algae & how it is colored. lighting it will become easier. Calvin Cycle Assimilation of Nitrogen & Ammonium One thing to consider is the uptake of ammonium by the micro or macro algae & how this will affect the cycles within the system over all. Especially when added early in the systems development. A large benefit of having macros comes from this uptake. Reducing the bioload that must be supported by the nitrifying bacteria. This does not mean the macro's will not use nitrates just that they can prefer to utilize the ammonium first. With the uptake rate depending on type, & so in answer to the original question of how the macro will effect the cycles. Their presence will result in lowering the load on the bacterial population in the beginning of a cycle. Thus it will allow for the bacteria to have time to full populate the available media. While reducing the size of the cycle. When the macros are added early in the systems development. Then when the system has had time to fully develop the presences of macros will allow for that much more of a bioload to be supported. The most important thing to understand about the assimilation of nitrogen in both forms is that it is the dominate force in the nitrogen cycle & that ammonium is proffered due to its assimilation needing less energy. members tanks got2envy's 40g icy's seahorse & macro tank & pt II needreefunds SbCaes To all who have found this thread or the sand bed thread to have been use full. Feel free to utilize it on other boards as needed. Make sure to link back to this thread & add a link to the boards it is now posted on. Feel free to cut & past as you see fit. I would add that in return. Any useful knowledge from said boards kindly be added back to this thread. I believe that macro tanks as a sub genre of the hobby are still in there infancy. Therefore any gain in knowledge needs to be shared & disseminated as quickly as possible. I can only give permission for my posts though. Please PM individual board members to use their knowledge. Edited March 16, 2011 by bitts Quote Link to comment
bitts Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) types macro algae stunning but i dont know the name. photo is from organism post in the trade thread. botryoladia (red grape cauerpa) chaetomorpha (cheato, use this instead of caulerpa) caulerpa (plage inducing nastyness, may be baned in your area) Chlorodesmis (aka turtleweed or maiden's hair) Dictyota (red) gracilaria gelidium (red kelp or red hair) halimeda (cactus, baby's bows, money plant. changes color at night) Halymenia sp. (aka Dragon's Breath, Flame) neomeris (fuzzy tip) nemastoma nitophyllum (red dictyota) ochtodes penicillus dumentosus (neptune's shaving brush) udotea (mermaid's tea cup or fan algae) ulva (sea lettuce) grasses zostera (eel grass) syringodium (manatee grass) thalassia (turtle grass) halophila (paddle weed or midrib grass) Halodule as to caulerpa I <3 Caulerpas and I think they have been given a bad rep. they are some of the more beautiful algaes and easy to take care of...also easy to prune and control. Racemosa and Taxilfolia can be a PITA but if u have a tank that is just for macros why worry...I however would not add it to a reef as it would easily eventually overgrow and block the light and choke corals out.Prolifera is very easy to control. JMO from weets A type of Chaetomorpha. Forms low, dense mats on rock and makes an excellent mini habitat for different types of microfauna. Reminds me of Putting Green! Cryptonemia Crenulata Flamingo Feather Algae Green Macro is Ulva, Blue Macro is Blue Ochtodes, still working on ID for pink one. Bryothamnion Triquetrum from got2envy red feather...I dunno know the scientific name..sowwy botryoladia (red grape cauerpa) Bryothamnion Triquetrum...I think Ulva got this purple macro from NR member Bird...looks alot like Ochtodes Caulerpa Prolifera Taitan macro red spot macro from organism flame algae or dragons breath algae I dunno what this is...got it from LAreefs Caulerpa Racemosa (green grape) short codium Caulerpa Taxilfolia (feather algae) organisms blue scroll organisms red spot will get more Edited September 11, 2010 by bitts Quote Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) Livestock of Marine Planted Tanks(Finished product coming soon) Common fish in Marine Planted Tanks Seahorses- Seahorses are very common in marine planted tanks. The algae gives them food to eat. (Seahorsedreams) (D3monic) Pipefish- Many pipefish are very well suited for marine planted tanks for the same reasons as seahorses. (D3monic) (D3monic) (D3monic) Pipehorse- Not very common but some are in the aquarium trade. Blennies- Notes newb question. are all blennys herbivores? and will destroy a macro tank? They do need greens in their diet, or they'll lose their bright coloration. I have a tailspot blenny in the tank with the macros I got from you and got2envy. He has shown absolutely no interest in munching on them. Hey how ya doin? some macros are just not very appetizing to some omnivores...most blennies would rather pick at LPS lol and if they are well fed most won't try and eat algae...except mabe a lawnmower blenny, they love GHA and bryopsis I had a bi color blenny that loved to nip my fungia plate It all depends on the blenny. Some will decimate a macro tank or some will do great in one. Gobies- Gobies are very well suited to Marine Planted tanks. My thoughts on the genus Amblygobius- This genus of gobies are very, very hard to care for. They usually perish soon after you put them into your reef tank. However in a marine planted tank, they do a lot better. They need lots and lots of pods to stay alive because it's very hard to get them to eat prepared foods. If you are interested in getting a goby of the genus Amblygobius, I recommend adding John's Reef Pods from Reef Cleaners. Get a few of these pouches and put them in your refugium or display tank at night so they can hopefully breed and form large colonies. This will help your Amblygobius sp. do well. The genus Amblygobius includes gobies like the Hector's Goby, the Raisnford's Goby, and the Orangemarked Goby. (Dhaut) (animalmaster6 "The Best" ) Filefish- many species of juvenile filefish take shelter in macro algaes. Other filefish spend their entire lives in them. They are very well suited to marine Planted Tanks. (Got2Envy) (Pookstreet) Eels- Many species of eels are found in Marine Planted tanks. Some include Snowflake Eels, snake eels, and garden eels. (Zook) Anthias- Various anthias can be found in Marine Planted tanks. Anglers and Frogfish- Anglers and frogfish are very common in Marine Planted tanks. Many species blend in to various macro algaes. (Weeber) Jawfish- Jawfish are found in Marine Planted tanks with Deep Sandbeds. Scorpionfish, Lionfish, Waspfish, Etc.- These scorpionfishes are very common in Marine Planted Tanks. They usually blend in with various macros. (Seahorsedreams) Notes newb question. are all blennys herbivores? and will destroy a macro tank? They do need greens in their diet, or they'll lose their bright coloration. I have a tailspot blenny in the tank with the macros I got from you and got2envy. He has shown absolutely no interest in munching on them. Hey how ya doin? some macros are just not very appetizing to some omnivores...most blennies would rather pick at LPS lol and if they are well fed most won't try and eat algae...except mabe a lawnmower blenny, they love GHA and bryopsis I had a bi color blenny that loved to nip my fungia plate *Animalmaster6* Edited August 6, 2010 by animalmaster6 Quote Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) Halymenia sp. (aka Dragon's Breath, Flame) Medium light, very high flow. Edited April 21, 2010 by DHaut Quote Link to comment
jeremai Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 you forgot probably the best normal-form seagrass for nano reefs, Halodule spp. Quote Link to comment
johnmaloney Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 there was a member by the username of basille that was on here that was starting a list much like yours. very nice guy, I am sure you would be able to get him to agree to use the pictures and the info he had in his thread. Would make for a good combination, I think at last count he had 150 something species...it was pages long... Quote Link to comment
got2envy Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 I will try and get some better pix of my algaes to add Quote Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Added a livestock list under the 1st post. I will definetly add pictures and many more livestock. Quote Link to comment
Guest TheBlueLorax Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) He hee Subcribed to this Edited April 21, 2010 by TheBlueLorax Quote Link to comment
Markushka Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Very cool thread bitts, well done! Sticky worthy IMO. Quote Link to comment
bitts Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 nice addition animalmaster6. Quote Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Awesome thanks D! Quote Link to comment
bitts Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 are the pdf's usefull, or should they not be added? Quote Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 nice addition animalmaster6. Thanks Bitts. I plan on adding Inverts and a lot more pics and information of fish. Quote Link to comment
bitts Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) one of the best examples that i know of. im sorry i cant remeber whos it is though. edit found the thread. http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic91680-4-1.aspx#bm91708 http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...ight=pledosophy Edited April 27, 2010 by bitts 1 Quote Link to comment
bitts Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) What is the deal with the alleopathy argument? It just seems to keep popping up. Okay so it does exist to some extent, but multiple types of algae are easily grown together, and alleopathy has no noticeable effects in an aquarium. My holding tanks are covered from head to toe with over 35 species of macro, and they have no problems. there are also a ton of tanks out there now with many different species of algae living together. The ocean is like this too. Sure they will compete for food and space, but you want them to compete for food and you control the space so why worry about it? Additionally the chemicals in algae that are fish deterrents only make them taste bad to fish. They do not harm fish or corals. They are not toxins, they will not harm livestock. Certainly corals are worse at this than macro algae. I am sure you can find one example of a tank with different kinds of coral in it on this website. No rule saying your refugium has to be boring. You can spice it up, and it will still filter. Here is my philosophy on macro algae for refugiums: You want both consistent nutrient uptake and pulse nutrient uptake: Here is what I mean by those terms: (They use similar terminology in phycology by the idea is exactly the same) Consistent Macros- Macro that need nutrient at a high level, all the time. They filter out nutrients quickly and are effective at dealing with established nutrient problems. Pulse Macros - Can handle periods of low nutrient levels well, and are long lived plants Pulse, grows quickly with consistent - somewhere in the middle, a spectrum below would have worked better but I am lazy. Red Mangroves - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Black Mangrove - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Botryocladia (Red Grape) - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Cactus Caulerpa - consistent Caulerpa Mexicana - consistent Caulerpa Prolifera - consistent Chaeto - consistent Christmas Tree - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Codium - pulse Dictyota ciliolata - consistent Fauchea - pulse Fern Caulerpa - consistent Fire Fern - pulse Flame Algae - pulse Grape Caulerpa - consistent Green Gracilaria - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Halimeda (Monile) - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Halimeda scabra (Money Plant) - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Halymenia - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Halymenia duchassaignii - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Laurencia - pulse Liagora - pulse Manatee Grass - consistent Mermaid's Wine Glass - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Mermaid's Fan - pulse Mermaid's Shot Glass - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Oar Grass - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Pencil Cap - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Pink Galaxy - pulse Red Gracilaria - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Red Titan Algae - pulse Sargassum - pulse Saw Blade Caulerpa - consistent Scroll Algae - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Shaving Brush - pulse, grows quickly with consistent Spatula Algae - pulse Spider Algae - consistent Suction Cup Caulerpa - consistent Ulva - pulse, grows quickly with consistent The most ideal refugiums offer a combination of all 3. The slower filtering algae is there for when your tank stops producing such high nutrient levels. Because they all compete for space, proper trimming of the consistent macros keeps them in check while the slower growers hedge your bet so to speak in case the faster growers die b/c of lack of nutrients. There is a long article about this at chuck's addiction that explains the idea better. It is here: http://www.chucksaddiction.com/algae.html On a side note: what is the deal with "Red Kelp" - Kelp is a cold water brown macro algae that grows to 80 feet or so. Fauchea, the family of algae usually sold under this name, top out at around 12 inches usually and are red. Anyway, thought I would add that .02 as well. Hopefully it will stick. My LFS sells all algae as "kelp", Caulerpa, chaeto etc... they are all kelp to her. it would seem that i need to add some algae to the list. fromjakesaw's besides microalgae what can go in a refugium thread. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=170029 Edited April 21, 2010 by bitts Quote Link to comment
Noonan Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Great post! How come there are no caulerpas listed? I've always really enjoyed macro algae. When I was younger I always had seahorse tanks and they were always planted. I'm in the process of building a 40 Breeder and I am definitely going to have a bunch of macros in the 'fuge- but its not going to be on display :/ Quote Link to comment
SbCaes Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 favorite thread of all time. (next to johns forum of course) Quote Link to comment
star27624 Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Awesome thread. I plan on having more macros once I upgrade my 3g to the 15g that is sitting in the floor atm. Quote Link to comment
bitts Posted April 22, 2010 Author Share Posted April 22, 2010 (edited) Display Refugiums while many of use have a fuge in the sump. most of us have over looked the potental of this space. considering the limited system volume in our nano's it only makes sence to utilize this area to its fullest and inrich our display thur a display fuge. in simplest trems a refugium is an area to shelter or add protection, for spesific livestock, within the system. within this premise are several posable benefits to system as a hole. that can still be achived while adding an atractve element to the setup. some of these benefits include micro organisim production, the culturing of and havesting of macro algee for nutrint export and or fresh vegetables for herbivore's, an area which can be biotopic for specific and specialized livestock. most importantly. realize that there is an almost infinite number of ways and purpose's for which to setup your fuge. be it for food culture, nutrient export, plankton generation (both zoo & phyto), nitrate reduction via a dsb (see sand bed info below), pick those most important to your needs. examples i did find these after hunting and from a thread i think on nr but ive had them a while. a standered false wall display fuge. the best part is its for a pico. found the thread hope you enjoy the link, its also one of the best biuld threads ive seen. Edited April 27, 2010 by bitts Quote Link to comment
bitts Posted April 22, 2010 Author Share Posted April 22, 2010 (edited) you forgot probably the best normal-form seagrass for nano reefs, Halodule spp. added. thanks. there was a member by the username of basille that was on here that was starting a list much like yours. very nice guy, I am sure you would be able to get him to agree to use the pictures and the info he had in his thread. Would make for a good combination, I think at last count he had 150 something species...it was pages long... hope i found some of what you you were pointing me towards. if not lmk. I will try and get some better pix of my algaes to add i'll add them as soon as you have them. your pics are always great. Great post! How come there are no caulerpas listed? I've always really enjoyed macro algae. When I was younger I always had seahorse tanks and they were always planted. I'm in the process of building a 40 Breeder and I am definitely going to have a bunch of macros in the 'fuge- but its not going to be on display :/ the reason for this is that the only info i have on caulerpa is that its extreamly evil & can be a rather vile little bugger that will nuke the tank just as soon as be usefull. simply because some things in life just want to watch the would burn. think heath ledger as the joker. well really its i just dont have any good info about it, and figured i'd wait for some one to post something usefull about it. favorite thread of all time. (next to johns forum of course) thanks. wondering if you have a linky to his forum, if its not already linked. Halymenia sp. (aka Dragon's Breath, Flame) Medium light, very high flow. hey d thanks for the additions. Edited April 26, 2010 by bitts Quote Link to comment
got2envy Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 I <3 Caulerpas and I think they have been given a bad rep. they are some of the more beautiful algaes and easy to take care of...also easy to prune and control. Racemosa and Taxilfolia can be a PITA but if u have a tank that is just for macros why worry...I however would not add it to a reef as it would easily eventually overgrow and block the light and choke corals out. Prolifera is very easy to control. JMO Quote Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I should finish the Fish part of the livestock guide by tomorrow. Quote Link to comment
SbCaes Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 I should finish the Fish part of the livestock guide by tomorrow. you are one of my heros. Quote Link to comment
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