Looking for advice on macroalgae/algwe

[Reefer-begginer]

So I am curious about something.

For algae within the tank ( as im doing a FoWLR ) what would be the benefit of having green algae/coraline if i know im not going to be able to do corals ( as most of the fish im getting for the tank are angels/butterflys )?.

As well, for macros, would there be a point in doing them in a FoWLR tank if I wanted them in the display rather than the sump to do the Triton Method ( overskim + lots of macros ). As the only fish I have in their that I believe would eat the macros would be the foxface/naso/sailfin tang ( i want to do naso and sailfin tang once my tank is all clear of ich, after doing the Empty tank for 90 days ( as thats when I know for sure there is no disease or parasites in the tank ).

As im unsure of what macros would be good for the tank i would also want someone that could give proper advice on the implementation and upkeep on macros?

[Tired]

Coraline looks nice. That's about the only benefit it has, if you don't want it as a conditions monitor. Algae in general can help to outcompete pest algae, and provides food for your copepods and snacks for herbivorous fish.

 

Macros can be nice and decorative, so there's that. Faster-growing species are good nutrient export. You can look at reefcleaners.com and live-plants.com for some of the species easily available, with basic care listed for each one. As a general rule, macros need nitrates and phosphates (like coral, but slightly moreso), and many need magnesium. Some like iron. Overskimming may starve them unless you deliberately fertilize. Calcified ones need, well, calcium. Most aren't too fussy about flow. Lighting varies a lot depending on species, but many of the easier ones can do well in a decent range of lighting intensities. 

 

Halimeda and codium are nice, slow-growing varieties unlikely to go sexual (release tons of spores), that are tough and unpalatable to herbivores. Gracilaria is tang snacks, good to grow in your sump to feed them but no good for a display. Fire fern is calcified and not tasty to tangs. Caulerpa as a group is fast-growing, many of them potentially becoming invasive, but a lot of those are also tasty for tangs. Blue hypnea is very pretty but will be DEVOURED, don't even bother. Red bubble caulerpa (not actually caulerpa) might be worth a shot. 

[Reefer-begginer]

So would a tang/rabbitfish eat caulerpa if i was to try to grow it in the display?

[Tired]

Depends on the caulerpa, but probably. That's what they do. Caulerpa is basically a nice salad. 

 

You could get a hang-on 'fuge, those can be packed with a nice amount of macroalgae. 

[Reefer-begginer]

I have a lif on my 125g so I can't really do that