Macroalgae care?

[AlmightyJoshaeus]

Well...any tips? I am considering making a (mostly) macroalgae ten gallon, and wanted some tips on doing so. I was assuming, from what I read of them, that macros can basically be treated like saltwater equivalents of plants (around 6500k lighting, need non-negligible nitrates, etc). However, I have a few questions about them. For instance;

- Would it be a good idea to omit a protein skimmer in such a tank, or should I include one anyway? (I'm unsure whether there would be enough nitrates for the algae with one, but am concerned that the nitrates would be too high without one)

- Do macroalgaes play nice with corals? (I am not planning on SPS corals in this tank for obvious reasons...I was more thinking soft or perhaps LPS corals)

- Would typical reef fish do well in a mostly macroalgae setup? Such fish as royal grammas, small clownfish, small damsels, etc? (Obviously not all in the same tank, but anyhow...)

- Finally, how would macroalgaes fare in a bare bottomed tank?

[Maniu]

Yes to all.

[AlmightyJoshaeus]

As in 'include the skimmer'? Or 'there would not be enough nitrates with a skimmer'?

[keydiver]

I would skip a skimmer, let the macros take care of that. I'd also recommend going with a small sandbed if you want to house any of the caulerpas, seagrasses, or anything with runners that needs to root down. For my macro tanks, I find that once they grow in a little bit I actually have to add nitrates and phosphates by dosing KNO3 and monopotassium phosphate because the macros are so effective at cleaning the water. They do great with softies and most any fish that you could put in a 10g reef would fare well in a macro setup.

[BulkRate]

Macros are a great addition to just about any community tank. The big exception to this is if you stock a lot of different hermit crabs - in that case you may find that one or more of them has a taste for the display-grade macro... making the hunt for attractive, non-invasive and non-delicious specimens a bit more of a challenge.

 

That said, my 9-gallon mandarin tank probably wouldn't be possible without them, both from a water quality and the fish's dietary point of view (even with frozen food training they do best when they can also forage).

 

Just watch for when the macroalgae starts growing really fast as a sign to step up the water changes to deal with any excess nutrients until they level off. Then prune the now-excess macroalgae to sell/trade for fun, profit &/or goodwill Throw your nitrate and phosphate test kits in the trash.

[TheElysia]

Hello, welcome to macroalgae-ing! Regarding your questions:

 

1. A skimmer can be used (it will not hurt anything if it is). However, a macroalgae tank doesn't need one as a source of primary filtration, although it can probably help clearing water surface scum. Long story short, no, a skimmer is not necessary, but it can help.

 

2. Macroalgae do not sting; they will not do the gut thing and eat their neighbors alive. However, most grow pretty fast, so they may overgrow surrounding corals. Remember to prune often (unless you're going for that wild look - I respect that).

 

3. Reef fish live naturally in an environment that contains fields of macroalgae and seagrass as well as corals and anemones. Honestly, I find the contrast between the "foresty" look of the macroalgae, juxtaposed with the flashiness of most reef fish, to be a lovely display. And all of the abovementioned fish should coexist happily, given a large enough tank.

 

4. Certain species of macroalgae live in nature with roots in a substrate, for example shaving brush plants, mermaid's fans, pencil caps, etc. These will probably not do well with a bare-bottom. However, most species that can survive with holdfasts to rocks, such as Halimeda, many red algae, Ulva, Caulerpa, etc. should be fine. I'd recommend looking up pictures of the species you intend to raise; if the pictures show the alga growing in nature attached to rock, it should be perfectly happy in a bare bottom display.

 

Sorry for being a little wordy, I hope those answers helped. Good luck keeping your algae!

[AlmightyJoshaeus]

I was more concerned with the corals trying to nail the macros, honestly...plus the possibility of the macros outcompeting the coral's own algae symboits.

 

Anyhow, thanks for the advice...when I get this tank set up, I'll probably be giving this topic another look through.

[Partagas]

 

- Do macroalgaes play nice with corals? (I am not planning on SPS corals in this tank for obvious reasons...I was more thinking soft or perhaps LPS corals)

 

M dragons breath tend to grow like crazy and it often can overshadow other corals, depriving them of light. Zoas dont like to be near dragon's cause of the constant rubbing of the leaves same with my anemone, it had not moved in almost a year when the dragons started to touch it, it immediately moved away . So now i have to isolate the dragon from the vicinity of other corals.

[ndrobey]

Be careful of the clean up crew, especially snails and emerald crabs. Many of these will eat the display plants.