Lighting and coral for "seagrass" tank

[Biotoper]

I recently started up a 20H SW tank, which I'm planning on building into a "seagrass" biotope, composed of some LR, macroalgae, and plastic Vallisneria to stand in for seagrass. Currently I've got 2" sand and ~15lb Florida LR, which has some small corals (Porites and Turbinaria I think) that seem to be doing well with my current low 30W NO lighting, 10 Astraes, and 3 blue-legged hermits. I have an Aquaclear 500 HOB with LR rubble and chaeto. Over the next couple months, I'm planning on getting various macros, adding a pair of perculas, upgrading my lighting, and trying some easy corals. So I have a few questions:

 

1. What's the best choice of lighting for me, given what I plan to keep and affordability? Apart from my hitchhiker Porites, I don't plan on trying anything particularly light-demanding like Acros or clams, but I would like to keep some softies, sand-dwelling LPS, and macros of course. I'm thinking one of 2x65 PC hoods like Coralife would be good, affordable choice. I've researched MH and T5HO a bit, but they seem a lot more complicated, as well as pricey.

 

2. Given the lighting choice after question #1, and my tank setup of no-skimmer/lots of macro, what would be good choices for corals? Discosoma and/or Zoos should be fine. I really would like to keep some Xenia or Anthelia, getting them to grow up the backglass. And I would like some LPS that will take advantage of the large (for a nano) sand zone. A Heliofungia would be really cool, especially if my perculas hosted it, but I've read varying opinions on its care requirements, from easy to very difficult. Candy Cane Caulastrea looks cool, easy, and fast-growing.

 

Ok, thanks for reading the long post and providing any advice, Ryan

[cpllongjk]

You have a number of options,

 

your best bulb for just SEAGRASS! is always natural light. Natural sunlight is 5500K so get bulb thats 6700K, it will look a bit yellow at first, if you dont like the yellow look get a 10,000K bulb.

 

Good luck

[Daemonfly]

I always thought seagrasses needed a lot deeper sand than 2"

[Caesar777]

Yeah, me too.

[Daemonfly]

Here's a decent thread over at RC that you might want to take a look at: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=676328

[Biotoper]

Sorry for the confusion - I should have titled it lagoon tank or something. I'm not planning on growing seagrass - rather lots of macros, plastic vallisneria, and not too much rock, so it will look like a seagrass tank without the need for a mature DSB.

 

So, if I do go with a 2x65 PC hood, should I keep the standard 10K+actinic set-up, if I want to grow macros and coral? Having an actinic will be nice for doing dawn/dusk, but if my corals (shrooms, Xenia, etc.) don't really need the actinic, it might be better to go 2x10K. Or should I mix a warmer daylight like 8.8K with actinic? Not that many people purposefully grow macros in their main tank, so I haven't been able to find much info.

[qualudethunder]

I would say to stick with the 10k lights and actinic if you wish. 65k lights would be better for a planted tank(and maybe for the coral too), BUT macro grows fast under 65k. The 10k would help slow things down a bit... and just maybe... you will be able to keep up with the pruning to keep the macros off of your coral. Also try to stick with 2 or 3 macros. More than that and they will outcompete each other until only 2 or 3 are left anyways. Once your tank fills in with macro I don't really see any coral doing super well unless you have a nice area that is kept macro free. Stick with low light corals if your going to try it as they will be shaded by macro. I would say to stay away from zoas or anything "touchy". Anything that is easily overtaken by things like cyano blooms should be avoided. Shrooms may be your best bet as they don't seem to mind being up against things, and they can slime cyano and other nasties off.

Just from my own experience...

Hope that helps...

[Biotoper]

Thanks for the advice. Shrooms sound good. I think I will start off with no corals, just upgrade my light and try a few macros and see how often I have to prune. Maybe I'll stay away from the faster-growing Caulerpa or at least stick with a species like C. paspaloides that supposedly stays on the sand and won't grow over rock (and thus coral).

 

By "touchy" do you mean that zoas don't like anything touching them? You seem to imply that my tank setup will be prone to cyano blooms, and thus stay away from corals like LPS that can be overtaken by it - can you explain? Maybe reduced flow from the macro? I thought the macros should outcompete cyano/hair algae?

 

Thanks, Ryan

[qualudethunder]

Good idea to start off with no corals and work them in where you see fit once the tank is a little more mature.

I would say that once you get the tank to look the way you want, you will have to prune about every other day depending on the macros you end up going with. Just stay away from the grape caulerpa and most caulerpas for that matter. I did have a whole bunch of grape or bubble go sexual in my tank and it was messy. Paspaloides is probably a better choice because it supposedly tends to not go sexual and like you said it is easier to control. Sargassum is a good one. Its easy to prune and you can even get some types that are free floating. Plus brown algaes seem less likely to go sexual.

I also feel that if you stick with one or two macros it will make your setup look more natural.

By touchy I mean more sensative... things that like to close up from the slightest little problem. Things that can't handle not so perfect situations. If a colony of zoas keep getting tapped by a branch of macro flowing in the current they will probably stay closed... that kind of thing.

Actually cyanobacteria can overtake macro and kill it. I think the problem is that it takes such a small amount of nutrients/phosphates to live on that it really does not have much competition. I have had it pop up now and again and simply have to remove it manually sometimes. Its not a super big deal so don't let it get to you. I don't know what the answer is for cyano, wish I did. It can occur for so many reasons, and yet when you remove the "reason"(phosphates/nutrients/old bulbs/too much light/not enough flow) it seems like it is too late or just does not effect it.

Ok I'm babbling now but anyways...

So the thing is with cyano is that you are in essence creating a perfect environment for it to grow with a fully stocked macro tank. You figure your going to want it to be somewhat higher in nutrients for the macros and a lot of light. If not they will die off(or in some cases like my tank go sexual). At the same time cyano is not an algae so I don't think the macro really will outcompete it so to speak.

Remember I am speaking from my experiences. Understand that every tank is different in so many ways that you will have to just go with the flow and act accordingly. I just wanted to give you a heads up on some issues that could occur.

Speaking of flow... do not slack on the flow just because it is a planted tank. This is not a refugium where you are trying to prolong the water time in the fuge in order for the macro to suck up the nutrients before going back into the main tank. I think one of the keys would be a strong current that moves through the tank, not turbulant hot spots. But do not be afraid to experiment with different types of flow(and you will be doing a lot of experimenting too).

I would say that planted tanks are some of the coolest tanks out there when done right. They do seem more like a science project than a typical tank but thats what I like about them.

Check out this jumbo feather caulerpa! I would like to experiment with this! Could be really cool... could be scary heh heh.. I got the pic from floridapets.com

[Biotoper]

Thanks qualude for all the advice. My flow right now is about 20x from a ac500 at about 50% and a maxi404. It's pretty turbulent in the center. I'll probably get another small PH.

 

Some of the brown and red algae are cool. I'd like to get some semi-calcareous - Halimeda maybe, Codium looks cool. So many choices, and so little info around, as everyone prefers boring sterile stony tanks, except seahorsers.

[Caesar777]

I love the giant feather... Most people who have it want to sell it for a fortune, though. Too bad it doesn't grow around here...Cold *^%*$ Pacific Northwest...

[qualudethunder]

Cool keep the project updated. That Codium does look pretty nice. You may even want to look into a calcium additive if your going with halemidas. I agree it is very tuff to find a nice variety of macros for sale. I have found some cool sites for buying them, but they are always "out of stock". I think it is because macros are seasonal maybe? Not sure. Sucks though.

[Caesar777]

Definitely need good calcium level and stability for Halimeda. It's touchy, or it can be sometimes.

 

Look for the red bubble macro. SOOO pretty, and not invasive, easy to control. (Doesn't take root with runners like Caulerpa.)

[Biotoper]

Botryocladia - very cool.

 

Thanx for the heads-up on calcium - I was planning on starting kalkwasser top-off, since I have some small LPS/SPS hitchikers that I want to keep growing, as well as my coralline. I need to get a Ca test kit first though.

[KMG]

If you want to do corals later on, Montipora digitata is often found in seagrass beds. You can find really nice frags online for a pretty good price, and it isn't very difficult to maintain, in my (limited) experience. Adult Banggai cardinals often shelter among the branches of M. digitata as well, according to an article I found.

[Mr. Fosi]

Wow, a 3.5 year old thread but the OP was active in Feb. Do you think he'll actually respond?

[KMG]

*shrug* It was late, I didn't notice that particular detail. Que sera, sera.