Any macros that don't get out of hand?

[Zer0]

Like the title says, are there any? And when i mean out of hand i mean, are there any that are sort of short, and can be trimmed easily? Ones that don't spread all over the place... Is seagrass a good candidate?

[Amphiprion1]

Like the title says, are there any? And when i mean out of hand i mean, are there any that are sort of short, and can be trimmed easily? Ones that don't spread all over the place... Is seagrass a good candidate?

 

Seagrass is a true flowering plant, not alga, but in general, it isn't quite as invasive. Of course, that all depends on the growing conditions and the species involved. Of particular note is my experience with Halophila decipiens, which is prolific to say the least. It covered the entirety of an 18"x18" area in a matter of a few months. Very thickly, too. However, my tank conditions were a bit different than most, which facilitated the rapid growth--this includes a higher (more normal?) temperature of around 82-84 degrees, sometimes a bit higher and very high light (250w 10K metal halide about 5" from the surface). The tank was also very heavily fed to provide ideal conditions for infauna, which help nutrient diffusion through bioturbation, as well as physical macroelements for growth. Heavy pruning also sparks growth as it does in other plants, which I think also played a large part. In short, though, seagrasses are a good choice, but just about anything can become a weed if given the appropriate conditions.

 

As far as algae go, Sargassum grows a bit slower than most and isn't quite as invasive as many. Halymenia and some other true red algae also aren't quite as bad. One big downside to brown algae, like Sargassum, is that the amount of phytochemicals they produce is on the high side (more than most, anyway), making them a bit more noxious than average. Cool nonetheless, though.

[keydiver]

halmenia, blue scroll, red grape, nemastoma, and codium. All very pretty, very easy to trim, and none have multiple holdfasts that cling to your rock, so they're easy to remove if needed

[skeeters]

flame algae, fire fern, money plant, mermaids fan. reefcleaners.org

[keydiver]

flame algae, fire fern, money plant, mermaids fan. reefcleaners.org

 

+1 to reefcleaners.org, he'll hook you up

[Zer0]

+1 to reefcleaners.org, he'll hook you up

 

Well actually i was thinking more along the lines of plants that i could put in the sand, and kind of line them up. Make it look like a wall, and keep it clean.