algae from the beach

[boxfish]

can be used for nitrate export?

[ryz]

thats Ulva fasciata.. commonly known as sea lettuce... grows rather slowly.. I've tried... but some of your fishes might eat them tho

I used to pick them from east coast beach when I was still sailing.

[boxfish]

ha...sea lettuce...

thought anything green is algae

do you find them useful for nitrate export? or as fish food?

[ryz]

haha it is a type of macro algae.

find that it grows rather slowly and rather messy to use for nutrient export. Maybe u can try it out lah. might grow fast in your tank... everytank is different...

[terryansimon]

ulva is known to remove PO4 as well.

and its more stable in NO3 removal than Racemosa, or any other type of algae, as the tendancy to crash is not as high as other macroalgae.

overall, Ulva is good for people with low NO3 tanks who want to keep it that way and also want a natural way to export PO4 in a limited quantity.

[Vili_Shark]

It's a pretty good algae , but you should use it in a fuge to protect it from fish.

There are better algae though, but Ulva's good.

[Guinness]

my tangs seem to like

The bits u see at the beach..... seldom will grow because they are usually the bits which have been broken off from the main colony. However, sometimes you might come across like a BIG bundle in the sea..... those have higher chance.

[Vili_Shark]

About Ulva,

If you take a good piece which is not rotting it will grow and grow fast.

It will also start taking over your tank ( even in cases you're putting in the fuge), use this algae only in case you have fish like Tangs that will graze on whatever growing in the tank, while the Ulva in the fuge will lower your nutrient levels.

A better solution is the chaetomorpha this is the ultimate algae for the fuge.

I also like the Gracilleria, which is good do not require lots of light and when you have too much in your fuge just throw it in for the Tangs they love it.

[AlfaRomeo]

Vili, got a pic of the Gracilleria? maybe i will go around the beaches tomorrow looking for the stuff

[boxfish]

Thanks for the info!

but will it still grow as in the state shown in the picture? or should there be any roots...

thrown some in the tank but YT no "hue"

[ryz]

yes... I've tried also but my fishes dun like.. never even nip at it... some claim that their fishes like it though.

[terryansimon]

I know Cookiemunster's tangs go crazy when he throws the ulva in.

[KingFish]

thats Ulva fasciata.. commonly known as sea lettuce... grows rather slowly.. I've tried... but some of your fishes might eat them tho

I used to pick them from east coast beach when I was still sailing.

Actually its Ulva reticulata.

Not that it makes much difference but I feel Ulva makes great macroalgae.

Logically, a variety of macroalgae should be kept to maintain a certain level of balance in its use as a nutrient export, maintain pH and breeding grounds for variety of pods (sorry Dr. Ron, just so they understand...).

Use a mix of fast growing algae for nutrient export, and slow growing but stable algae. That way, even if there is a crash, at least there is something left to buff.

Think of it as a form of hedging; diversifying the risks, etc.