Macro algae in tank?

[somebody]

Hi all! =) Happy CNY to all of ya.... anyways,

as i don't have a sump to hold a refugium, i was thinking to but the macro algae directly into my tank instead. wld there by any side effects??

any idea what type of macro algae would look good in the tank and of course serve its purpose? =) haha... will be putting it in a corner of my already very small 2ft tank.... haha..

pls advice...

[Sapient]

I advised strongly against the idea. You will have a problem to remove it in the later stage unless you want to keep prunning them. They can grow tremendously fast , every week you might find yourself very busy.. of course there are advantage as well ... but since your tank is so small - you might as well reserved the space for the corals rather macroaglae...

Go with 1 pairs of nice fish (small)... and filled the rest with corals ... in that way your bioload will be totally under control..

[Lester]

I advised strongly against the idea. You will have a problem to remove it in the later stage unless you want to keep prunning them. They can grow tremendously fast , every week you might find yourself very busy.. of course there are advantage as well ... but since your tank is so small - you might as well reserved the space for the corals rather macroaglae...

Go with 1 pairs of nice fish (small)... and filled the rest with corals ... in that way your bioload will be totally under control..

yap i totally agree ....

the macro agale sure grow damned fast ...

[shiraz]

i've been trying to sell my tank since the middle of last year and i've got macroalgae in my main tank my sump is empty.. with MH, the caulerpa filled my whole tank (which is bare of corals, only a few damnsels) within 1 week! and it was the size of maybe 4 fists when i got it..

and oh ya my tank is 3ft.. a 3ft tank with macroalgae!

[somebody]

woahz!! thanks... what about floating a basket then keeping the macro algae in it.. haha.. will that work??

hehe.. thinking of keeping more than a couple of fishes, hehe...

[Lester]

hmmmm.........

wouldn't that be not aweful in the main tank wif the a basket in it ???

[somebody]

yep, actually that would look pretty awful... but what to do.. hehe.. small tank mah... and want more fish... hehe.

any other methods? =)

[Lester]

hmmm /.... maybe u can get one overflow pipe to a little sump..

can have more fish n also hide ur macro aglae away in the slump

if interested i can intro the maker to you

as for the sump.. can try ur luck for those selling 2nd

cheers

[tineng]

float a basket for the alage and get tangs.....the yellow tang and kole eye are very good algae eater....i never manage to grow them in tank because the tangs eat them up quite fast......

if you don't want tangs, you can also go for slower growing alages....like the red bamboo.....have one i my office tank for 2 months already.....still does not over grow my tank, gives a nice touch to the tank with its red color.....

[somebody]

actually, i AM thinking of getting a yellow tang! haha.. but the thing is the the basket would be pretty unsightly. you got pics? =) hehe.

does the red bamboo export nutrient as effectively??

thanks man!!

[Clownfish]

if u realli like macroalgae, u can try having a 4 ft n above marine planted tank!

imagine having all kinds of macro algae in ur tank with tangs!

[Lester]

wa............ it seems more like freshwater planted than marine tank liao hehe

[somebody]

no no no nooooo.... i want a fish with reef, macroalgae is wanted simply for its nutrient export qualities, but of course would rather get nice looking ones. haha

so how? anyone got good examples of macroalgae in floated baskets? or slow growing macroalgae that looks good and WORKS good. haa

[Clownfish]

no no no nooooo.... i want a fish with reef, macroalgae is wanted simply for its nutrient export qualities, but of course would rather get nice looking ones. haha

so how? anyone got good examples of macroalgae in floated baskets? or slow growing macroalgae that looks good and WORKS good. haa

act, i suspect a small floating basket of macro wont do much to nutrient export... tink it this way, light only reaches those parts of the algae nearer to the surface of the water... if ur 2 ft tank is only 2 ft by 1 ft, u wont hav much area to let it float... a larger area = unsightly and blocks ur lights from reachin the other corals...

therefore, to hav an effective nutrient export macroalgae system that can double up as a refuguim, u can try some DIY plumbing to a sump, alternatively, u can DIY a simple above main tank refuguim or buy those hangon acrylic refugium.... these shld serve u better in nutrient export, easier pruning, refugium, pH, oxygen stabiliser (when u do alternate lighting)....

if u wan macros for beautifying ur tank, then u might try red bamboo n turtle weeds...

[loonz]

hey i've watched this algae grow from a tiny spot on the liverock until now - more than a year...it has sprung up in other parts of the tank but hasnt required any pruning...maybe its about time...can't identify it though, havent seen it at any LFS so far..i believe it does serves its purpose of exporting nutrients...at nite when the lights are out...these bush-like algae get covered with worms crawling all over...

[somebody]

COVERED WITH WORMS!??!?!?!? haha...

[Lester]

hehe... that u can save money on fish food liao ...