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The Marine Planted Tank & Macro Algae Thread


bitts

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topic's yet to cover

 

nusance algae

 

fertalizer

 

spacific water flow for types of & spacific algae

 

lighting & the lighting cycle

 

mud vs sand or both

 

 

 

 

any ideas come on lets here them.

Edited by bitts
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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't have any practical experience with it yet, but I'm getting ready to try out Leng Sy's Ecosystem Method: http://www.athiel.com/lib7/lengsy.htm

 

I really like the concepts behind it and have been interested in it for a while, have found some positive and interesting reviews on the web but nothing recent.

Apparently it's no longer the latest cool thing.

Will comment more on it when I have some practical experience with it under my belt.

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sorry guys will work more on the thread as soon as the moves over & i have time.

 

Bump for lighting and sand/mud topics :)

 

info on sand is in sig. seprate thread, sorry.

 

 

 

still havent been able to post some of the pics every ones sent me.

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anyone have any ideas as to if macro is affected by flow? thoughts?

 

DHaut has noted that his Halymenia grows really fast in high flow.

The plating/scrolling Blue Macro I got from organism doesn't like super high flow since it will break off in it.

Aside from that, I'm not totally sure.

You have any observations in that area?

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DHaut has noted that his Halymenia grows really fast in high flow.

The plating/scrolling Blue Macro I got from organism doesn't like super high flow since it will break off in it.

Aside from that, I'm not totally sure.

You have any observations in that area?

 

 

yep ive noticed different growth patterns from my macros. some like it some HATE it.

 

ie my green sea fern dies when it goes into a low flow mode. i personally have an inkling macro is more dependent on flow than a lot of us give it credit for. i tihnk it may be more important to growth and patterns than coral at large. id rate it right up there in terms of need next to sps.

 

but macro is a bit mroe forgiving in low flow and can do well. but it seems to do better attached with high flow ala the mp series of pumps which is BROAD pulsing flow rather than high laminar flow.

 

also ive noted that macros will attach faster and develop holdfasts with a bit of a pulse type flow /surge

 

and that helps the macro grow even faster once it has the foot hold on the rocks.

 

 

yep im aware im not making much sense right now, ill clean up this post later when i get some more rest lol.

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  • 4 weeks later...

so i've been able to add some of the pics that have been sent to me, sorry that it's taken so long.

 

thank you to all who have contributed.

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  • 3 weeks later...
meganistkrieg

Looking at setting up my new 20L as a macro tank... any advice on lighting, flow, or running sumpless would be greatly appreciated! :happydance:

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Sorry guys I've just gotten really busy lately & haven't had time to much research. There still tons to cover before were done. But I think that when I'm not posting new info the thread kinda just hibernates. It doesn't help that I'm stuck with the blackberry for internet at the moment.

 

With in the next month or so will be swithing to a display fuge on my 29 setup so that should help with things.

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Amphiprion1
Looking at setting up my new 20L as a macro tank... any advice on lighting, flow, or running sumpless would be greatly appreciated! :happydance:

 

For lighting, I would suggest T5 or LED. It would be more inefficient using a metal halide, due to the limited width of the tank. Flow will be dictated by the inhabitants. I still recommend reasonably brisk water motion. My main advice without a sump would be to make sure you drive photosynthesis in the tank, so be sure that lighting is reasonably strong in the above two choices. The sump isn't absolutely necessary, but it does provide extra water volume and a place to put equipment.

 

For reference, I just set up a 25g seagrass dominated tank that uses a single 250w 10K halide. The whole tank practically light-driven, running on photosynthesis and consequent algal export. No skimmer--only a return pump and a powerhead (Tunze 6025, modded to ~1400 gph). It has a sump, but that is only an extra place for algal growth, as well as a spot for ATO, a heater, and a small bag of carbon.

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meganistkrieg
For lighting, I would suggest T5 or LED. It would be more inefficient using a metal halide, due to the limited width of the tank. Flow will be dictated by the inhabitants. I still recommend reasonably brisk water motion. My main advice without a sump would be to make sure you drive photosynthesis in the tank, so be sure that lighting is reasonably strong in the above two choices. The sump isn't absolutely necessary, but it does provide extra water volume and a place to put equipment.

 

For reference, I just set up a 25g seagrass dominated tank that uses a single 250w 10K halide. The whole tank practically light-driven, running on photosynthesis and consequent algal export. No skimmer--only a return pump and a powerhead (Tunze 6025, modded to ~1400 gph). It has a sump, but that is only an extra place for algal growth, as well as a spot for ATO, a heater, and a small bag of carbon.

 

Great advice, thank you!!

 

I was leaning towards the Current USA Nova 30" 2x24 T5 but I'm not sure if that will be sufficient. My second option was one of the fishneedit T5 fixtures - likely the four-bulb 24" setup. What bulb combination would you recommend? I'm definitely interested in including seagrasses for a more "shallows"-like, less-reefy look - what substrate combination did you use for yours?

 

A sump would be great if only to stash the equipment, as you've said, but I'm working in pretty limited space and promised my boyfriend I'd keep this tank to a minimum... -_-

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After recent experience with my Macro Dominated Pico tank, I am becoming a big fan of a Mud based Refugium.

I am only running PC lighting over the tank, but I am seeing really awesome coloration in the Macros, and on my Electric Blue Scrolling Macro I am almost positive this is due to the Mud.

Here's my tank thread if you want to see more: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t=0&start=0

You mentioned being short on space for a Refugium.

The DIY Food Container Refugium I built for this tank takes very little space or $$, and works pretty well.

Here's my thread on how I built the Refugium: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=238317&hl=

I used a 1" bed of Fiji Mud in the Refugium and have been very happy with it.

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Amphiprion1
Great advice, thank you!!

 

I was leaning towards the Current USA Nova 30" 2x24 T5 but I'm not sure if that will be sufficient. My second option was one of the fishneedit T5 fixtures - likely the four-bulb 24" setup. What bulb combination would you recommend? I'm definitely interested in including seagrasses for a more "shallows"-like, less-reefy look - what substrate combination did you use for yours?

 

A sump would be great if only to stash the equipment, as you've said, but I'm working in pretty limited space and promised my boyfriend I'd keep this tank to a minimum... -_-

 

I'd go with the fishneedit fixture and stick with higher PAR lamps, like GE6500K, UVL Aquasun (a bit pinkish, unfortunately), Giesemann Midday, etc. Maybe substitute a single GE3000K in there to give it that slight sunlight appearance. As far as substrate, I used a combination of particularly old, established, dirty aragonitic sand, along with sludge found at the bottom of live rock holding tanks. Seems to work fairly well, IME.

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meganistkrieg
After recent experience with my Macro Dominated Pico tank, I am becoming a big fan of a Mud based Refugium.

I am only running PC lighting over the tank, but I am seeing really awesome coloration in the Macros, and on my Electric Blue Scrolling Macro I am almost positive this is due to the Mud.

Here's my tank thread if you want to see more: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t=0&start=0

You mentioned being short on space for a Refugium.

The DIY Food Container Refugium I built for this tank takes very little space or $$, and works pretty well.

Here's my thread on how I built the Refugium: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=238317&hl=

I used a 1" bed of Fiji Mud in the Refugium and have been very happy with it.

 

I've read through your tank thread but need to pick through it again - somehow I missed that you were running it with only PC lights! And the fuge is a really great idea - I've got half of those materials just lying about as it is. :lol: I wonder if it could double as a small sump as well since I'm trying to keep this tank really low-tech? At least the heater could fit in there, I figure, though I wouldn't want to melt the plastic. :huh: And I've already pencilled Fiji Mud into my list of materials for this tank after seeing the awesome results so many people have had with it.

 

Will make a note of your bulb recommendations if I do end up going that route, Amphiprion1 - as you said, I want to make sure that the light I provide is sufficient without being overkill. I need to strike a balance between efficiency in both light provided and nutrient export, which should in theory be a little easier considering the relatively shallow tank dimensions I'm working with in a 20L... time to hit the books!

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Amphiprion1
Will make a note of your bulb recommendations if I do end up going that route, Amphiprion1 - as you said, I want to make sure that the light I provide is sufficient without being overkill. I need to strike a balance between efficiency in both light provided and nutrient export, which should in theory be a little easier considering the relatively shallow tank dimensions I'm working with in a 20L... time to hit the books!

 

One last thing to consider is nutrient availability. Export is important, yes, but if a system's primary production reaches a certain amount, nutrients may become limiting--not usually in an issue in most tanks, but certainly a possibility in systems with lots of algal and plant growth. I noticed a lag in growth until I started feeding increasingly heavier amounts of food. So far, I've struck a reasonable balance between growth and low N/P concentrations. The latter is undetectable, but enough to drive reasonable amounts of growth. So far, this little system has proven to be capable of processing surprisingly large amounts of N and P.

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I keep my heater in my Refugium, works great for me.

My personal recommendation on a great 4 bulb T5HO combo for a Planted tank would be 2 ATI Blue+, 1 GE6500 and 1 UVL Indigo Sun.

Nice 14k look with plenty of warm tones and PAR for the Macros.

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meganistkrieg
One last thing to consider is nutrient availability. Export is important, yes, but if a system's primary production reaches a certain amount, nutrients may become limiting--not usually in an issue in most tanks, but certainly a possibility in systems with lots of algal and plant growth. I noticed a lag in growth until I started feeding increasingly heavier amounts of food. So far, I've struck a reasonable balance between growth and low N/P concentrations. The latter is undetectable, but enough to drive reasonable amounts of growth. So far, this little system has proven to be capable of processing surprisingly large amounts of N and P.

 

It seems like these setups (macro/seagrass heavy instead of coral heavy) are a bit more forgiving of these trial and error periods, which is bolstering. I'll definitely keep that in mind, though when you say feeding heavier amounts of food is there something specific that you're feeding into the substrate or column for the plants specifically, or do you mean food for the other critters that live there? Sorry if that's a silly question... :D

 

Do you have a tank thread or information posted anywhere? I'd love to follow along with what you've done.

 

I keep my heater in my Refugium, works great for me.

My personal recommendation on a great 4 bulb T5HO combo for a Planted tank would be 2 ATI Blue+, 1 GE6500 and 1 UVL Indigo Sun.

Nice 14k look with plenty of warm tones and PAR for the Macros.

 

Awesome! This is taking shape as we speak. I may hit you up down the road if I have any other questions, if that's okay... I'm having trouble finding loads of resources for establishing a tank like this!

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Here's a great tank thread that you should check out for a beautiful Macroalgae tank: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t=0&start=0

 

As regards nutrients, he found that he had to keep adding fish to put enough nutrients in the water for the plants to grow.

He had an insanely huge fish list for a 33long tank, but it worked.

 

Awesome! This is taking shape as we speak. I may hit you up down the road if I have any other questions, if that's okay... I'm having trouble finding loads of resources for establishing a tank like this!

 

Sure, not a problem at all.

It's looking like a really good possibility that I will soon be setting up a 58g Oceanic that will be very much Macro Dominated, so I'm researching this kind of stuff right now myself.

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Amphiprion1
It seems like these setups (macro/seagrass heavy instead of coral heavy) are a bit more forgiving of these trial and error periods, which is bolstering. I'll definitely keep that in mind, though when you say feeding heavier amounts of food is there something specific that you're feeding into the substrate or column for the plants specifically, or do you mean food for the other critters that live there? Sorry if that's a silly question... :D

 

Do you have a tank thread or information posted anywhere? I'd love to follow along with what you've done.

 

I do here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227075

It's not much to look at now, since it is difficult to look at at all, lol. The algae on the glass, which I've purposefully allowed to grow, is serving its purpose and keeping the rest of the tank absolutely algae free. Much of that function will be transferred to a turf scrubber once I can perfect a better design for this tank, thus allowing you to actually see into the tank.

 

As far as feeding goes, I feed the two clowns rather generously at 1 whole cube per day of some miscellaneous frozen foods, plus pelleted food. I also feed generous amounts of smaller planktonic foods--about 2 mL per day or so. The latter is actually aimed more at filter feeders, since the coral population is negligible. I'm enjoying the diversity that is popping up as a result of the abundance of food. If you aren't comfortable adding a lot of food, then slowly ramp up the amounts over time. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much a fully functioning, healthy tank can process. It is much more than what most will think. Sure, you may get some extra algae for a while, but eventually that subsides as the populations shift in numbers to accommodate the increase. As you may be able to tell, my methods are somewhat unorthodox, though :D. But you'll notice that, biologically speaking, it makes good sense.

 

As far as the lighting goes, I guess it depends on the color preferences. I don't like the bluer look of most tanks, so I tend to gravitate toward what I consider to be natural colored light for the given habitat I'm trying to emulate. Lower kelvin lamps tend to be a bit more efficient in terms of PAR/watt on average, as well, with some notable exceptions (like LEDs and some blue T5 lamps, like Blue +).

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