Macro algae for fuge

[Aggie05]

Are there any types that are better than others? My LFS store has a few types, but I would prefer to have just Caluerpa, would this be ok and will it benefit my tank as much as having a variety?

[tinyreef]

bump

 

i personally like the c. racemosa. it's fast growing and relatively easy to harvest. it's pretty common and cheap.

 

the c. prolifera is also fast (not as fast as the grape tho) but i find if you don't have enough snails the leaves tend to get overgrown with microalgae anyway, which end up smothering the macro. they're also more difficult to harvest imo (i.e. export waste/nutrients).

 

c. taxifolia is also fast growing but can be noxious : and is a bit more 'touchy' ime. they are also a little more difficult to harvest imo as they seem to prefer substrate versus rock (in terms of speed of growth ime), altho it will grow on both.

 

chaetomorpha is the spaghetti ball macroalgae (: kinda looks micro to me in a way tho). it seems to have gotten very good reviews. i'm going to try it next but i'm not sure about the harvesting aspects for it. but it does seem more conducive to a refugium use than a nutrient export use (i.e. pod growth and habitat).

 

there are more algae available but those are typically the most common available. i've been looking into certain red algae, especially gelidium but haven't found much application in aquaria. :| hth

[Aggie05]

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Reefs1]

Just set up my 18 " fuge with chaetomorpha which came highly recomended from my LFS, and so far I love it. No Problems. I hear mixed reviews on Caulerpa. chaetomorpha seems easy to keep and harvest.