SaltyBuddha Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Showing off my macro display that I've had up for a little over a year. Had a recent crash but it is coming back strong. 9 red mangroves, two sponges, gorgonians, leathers, zoas, duncan and a frogspawn. 13 types of macros. Red Gracilaria Hayi Red Gracilaria Hypnea Pannosa (Blue) Red Grape Caulerpa Fire Fern Green Caulerpa Mexicana Caulerpa Prolifera Chaeto Shaving Brush Codium Carpeting Halimeda Ulva Mermaid's Fan 18 1 Quote Link to comment
Cpl_Wiggles Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 That's really impressive! How did you get into an algae dominant tank? Just a spin off freshwater? 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Cpl_Wiggles said: That's really impressive! How did you get into an algae dominant tank? Just a spin off freshwater? Started with a mixed reef 10 gallon that I still have. I saw how beautiful some of the macros are wanted wanted to give it a shot. This tank gave me a lot of inspiration. It is amazing. One day I would like to have a much bigger macro display. 4 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Oh wow, really beautiful tank! I'm very impressed. I started off with a similar macro-dominated style for my tank, but I'm nearing the 10-month mark now and I find that I have almost entirely transitioned into keeping soft corals instead. 😅 So kudos to you for your dedication. Don't ever let anyone tell you maintenance on macro setups is easy! 4 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 3 hours ago, billygoat said: Oh wow, really beautiful tank! I'm very impressed. I started off with a similar macro-dominated style for my tank, but I'm nearing the 10-month mark now and I find that I have almost entirely transitioned into keeping soft corals instead. 😅 So kudos to you for your dedication. Don't ever let anyone tell you maintenance on macro setups is easy! Thanks - I find most people like my macro tank over my mixed reef. The natural color of the tank and the contrast of the macros is stunning. Macro tanks are definitely a different kind of maintenance. More like a planted tank in that you have to dose things that you can't normally test for - potassium, iron, etc. I have to dose phosphates in the tank to keep the corals happy as well. 5 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 20 hours ago, SaltyBuddha said: Showing off my macro display that I've had up for a little over a year. Had a recent crash but it is coming back strong. 9 red mangroves, two sponges, gorgonians, leathers, zoas, duncan and a frogspawn. 13 types of macros. Red Gracilaria Hayi Red Gracilaria Hypnea Pannosa (Blue) Red Grape Caulerpa Fire Fern Green Caulerpa Mexicana Caulerpa Prolifera Chaeto Shaving Brush Codium Carpeting Halimeda Ulva Mermaid's Fan This may be controversial but I think it looks better after the crash. 😊 2 Quote Link to comment
MoJal Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Gorgeous! While I wait for my first tank to cycle, I've been daydreaming about putting a macro display next door and plumbing them together. Like a sidecar sump. 🤣 I'm still new, so IDK if that's doable, but I love the colors of macro algeas. 3 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 26 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: This may be controversial but I think it looks better after the crash. 😊 Honestly, me too! The red macros are looking great right now 11 minutes ago, MollyJane22 said: Gorgeous! While I wait for my first tank to cycle, I've been daydreaming about putting a macro display next door and plumbing them together. Like a sidecar sump. 🤣 I'm still new, so IDK if that's doable, but I love the colors of macro algeas. Totally is! I've been thinking about how to do that for a long time now. Eventually I want to set up a large macro display connected to a mixed reef. Maybe they can be connected to the same sump? There aren't a lot of really good examples out there though. I've tried searching on the web but come up short. 3 Quote Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Heyyyy. Nice seeing you over here. 😊 4 Quote Link to comment
OldManSea Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Both tanks are very nice. Really like that macro tank! 2 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 2 hours ago, Tigahboy said: Heyyyy. Nice seeing you over here. 😊 You stalking me now? 2 hours ago, OldManSea said: Both tanks are very nice. Really like that macro tank! Thanks, me too! 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Salty Grunt Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 On 10/15/2019 at 1:01 PM, SaltyBuddha said: Macro tanks are definitely a different kind of maintenance. More like a planted tank in that you have to dose things that you can't normally test for - potassium, iron, etc. I have to dose phosphates in the tank to keep the corals happy as well. Your macro tank is stunning. What is your maintenance routine? I'm hoping to build a similar look with 56 gallon tank when I restart it later this month. 2 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 I LOVE IT!! Macro tanks are my absolute favorite!!! I find them a bit trickier at times if keeping many different species of macro or some of the rare ones (some can be so picky about flow, lighting, nutrients, trace). They also are kind of needy with stuff to be dosed in my experience. I keep thinking about plumbing my red sea into my 80g for macro tank. The only reason I have not is it is a lot of plugs/power on my breaker. 3 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted December 8, 2019 Author Share Posted December 8, 2019 11 hours ago, Salty Grunt said: Your macro tank is stunning. What is your maintenance routine? I'm hoping to build a similar look with 56 gallon tank when I restart it later this month. Thank you. I do a 25% water change per week and dose phosphates, ChaetoGro for greens and Iron for reds. Once you figure out feeding and dosing of phosphates/micronutrients it is easy to control the macros. The hard part is keeping the macros and the coral happy. Definitely set it up and try it out. 10 hours ago, Tamberav said: I LOVE IT!! Macro tanks are my absolute favorite!!! I find them a bit trickier at times if keeping many different species of macro or some of the rare ones (some can be so picky about flow, lighting, nutrients, trace). They also are kind of needy with stuff to be dosed in my experience. I keep thinking about plumbing my red sea into my 80g for macro tank. The only reason I have not is it is a lot of plugs/power on my breaker. Thank you! They are definitely tricky. I use ChaetGro to dose micronutrients for the greens daily. Iron every week. Phytos, zooplankton, etc. Before ChaetGro my green macros struggled to thrive. I also find that they uptake phosphate faster than nitrates so I have to dose phosphate every couple days to keep the coral happy. Whenever I buy macros I put pieces in different parts of the tank. Usually at least one or two will acclimate and start to grow. Definitely worth it. I would kill to have an 80 gallon to fill with macros! 4 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 14 minutes ago, SaltyBuddha said: Thank you. I do a 25% water change per week and dose phosphates, ChaetoGro for greens and Iron for reds. Once you figure out feeding and dosing of phosphates/micronutrients it is easy to control the macros. The hard part is keeping the macros and the coral happy. Definitely set it up and try it out. Thank you! They are definitely tricky. I use ChaetGro to dose micronutrients for the greens daily. Iron every week. Phytos, zooplankton, etc. Before ChaetGro my green macros struggled to thrive. I also find that they uptake phosphate faster than nitrates so I have to dose phosphate every couple days to keep the coral happy. Whenever I buy macros I put pieces in different parts of the tank. Usually at least one or two will acclimate and start to grow. Definitely worth it. I would kill to have an 80 gallon to fill with macros! I had to do similar to what you are doing, I dosed cheatogro and PO4 and KZ 1234... even had to do water changes... just to try and get some more trace elements back in the tank. I was like... this is so much work... maybe I should be keeping something less demanding like Acros! I may set up my macro tank back up... but will just try tap water instead to add some elements that the tap carries and to make water changes easier on such a needy tank! Some people probably don't realize how much work a mixed macro tank can be. I will probably use a doser if I do it. This is my most fav tank of all time (macro ofc!): 2 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 On 12/7/2019 at 8:58 PM, Tamberav said: I had to do similar to what you are doing, I dosed cheatogro and PO4 and KZ 1234... even had to do water changes... just to try and get some more trace elements back in the tank. I was like... this is so much work... maybe I should be keeping something less demanding like Acros! I may set up my macro tank back up... but will just try tap water instead to add some elements that the tap carries and to make water changes easier on such a needy tank! Some people probably don't realize how much work a mixed macro tank can be. I will probably use a doser if I do it. This is my most fav tank of all time (macro ofc!): OMG that is the most amazing tank I have every seen! Where is a full tank shot of this thing? How big is that? So much diversity with invertebrates, nudibranches, corals, sponges, etc. Holy #$%! that is goals for me!!!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 5 minutes ago, SaltyBuddha said: OMG that is the most amazing tank I have every seen! Where is a full tank shot of this thing? How big is that? So much diversity with invertebrates, nudibranches, corals, sponges, etc. Holy #$%! that is goals for me!!!! 127 gallons, definitely the coolest tank I have ever seen. Makes coral tanks look like a snooze fest 😄 https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/waterbox-130-4-macroalgae-display.517365/ This is his prior tank that used to be SPS but he covered it to macro, also very beautiful: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/150g-rimless-macroalgae-tank.74027/ 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 2 hours ago, Tamberav said: 127 gallons, definitely the coolest tank I have ever seen. Makes coral tanks look like a snooze fest 😄 https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/waterbox-130-4-macroalgae-display.517365/ This is his prior tank that used to be SPS but he covered it to macro, also very beautiful: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/150g-rimless-macroalgae-tank.74027/ Thank you very much for sharing! This tank is amazing. Such a wide variation of livestock! 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 How is the macro algae display these days @SaltyBuddha? I'd love to see more ❤️ 2 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Christopher Marks said: How is the macro algae display these days @SaltyBuddha? I'd love to see more ❤️ Covered in cyano and dinos unfortunately 😑 I've started dosing two part to get ALK/CAL more stable and the nutrients were way too low. Dosing NO3 and PO4 so hopefully it all gets better in a few weeks 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 @Christopher Marks here is about one week after ID of the dinos. Probably had them for 3 weeks before I realized it was more than algae. Tank is back on track. Gotta say I was way more scared because of all the bad things I've heard of dinoflagellates. Since the first post I moved the macros out to the front and added another background LED on the top 6 Quote Link to comment
Crys Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Wow that is really beautiful. Where do you find all the different macros? The only thing I have been able to buy at my LFS id red dragons breath. I should add that I live pn the praries in Canada and we certinly don't have the selection of saltwater livestock that you do in the states. Do you have many fish? Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 14 hours ago, Crys said: Wow that is really beautiful. Where do you find all the different macros? The only thing I have been able to buy at my LFS id red dragons breath. I should add that I live pn the praries in Canada and we certinly don't have the selection of saltwater livestock that you do in the states. Do you have many fish? Thank you! Mainly online. Reefcleaners, live-plants.com, algaebarn, algaedepot, etc. I mainly use the first two though. Two fish. One clown and a starry blenny. I'm planning on adding more but not sure what to add just yet Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Still Beautiful! Dino loves to live on macro and being macro uses up nutrients...I have found dino to be more of a potential problem in my macro tanks. 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 3 hours ago, Tamberav said: Still Beautiful! Dino loves to live on macro and being macro uses up nutrients...I have found dino to be more of a potential problem in my macro tanks. Yeap I can definitely see why. My nutrients have always been at 0. It's really hard to get them up but my last PO4 reading was .02ppm and nitrates was up to 2ppm. I also was not aware that macros use bicarbonate (like FW plants use CO2) so I've started two part as well. Past time for that really. 1 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.