Growing macroalgae

[Limpc]

Hi,

Bought a couple of times those macroalgae in LFS, but all the time became botak liverock. Only for my NO3, rest of parameter are within limits.

Could anyone shed some light ?

Limpc

[hongqixian]

What kind?

Turtleweed (fluffy) is delicate

Grape caulerpa is fine but don't break the stalks too much, smaller pieces have stunted growth,

same for feather,

Halimeda does lousily with high nitrate and phosphate,

Most of them will 'go sexual' if there is a drastic temp change from their previous water or salinity.

[Limpc]

Hi Hong,

Thanks for reply. I tried the grape and feather.

What then is critical for the survival of these ?

Limpc

[hongqixian]

Well, I like to keep the algae I buy clean and dirt free by rinsing them. Might let them photosynthesize better.

Acclimate them with the water and temp. and test the original tank water's salinity. Don't break the stems. Keep in a place with average current and give a lot of lighting.

Well, that should be t but I'm no expert!

Maybe you could try 24/7 lighting and see if it works but you shouldn't need to.

[wedgee]

Me having trouble with all sortsa macroalgae too, the purple and green grape, and the 'banana' type dat sticks individually from rocks...seems that they always turn transparent and then become empty shells within a week or two! Even worse, my green grape algae started to grow these 'antenna' or root-like stuff pointing upwards...wah sad sia...

Only kinda algae i DONT have any problems with are those pesky hair algae and diatoms...SH*T!

[Morgan]

Hi guys,

If macro algae like caulerpa does not grow well (provided that the lighting is good) in your tank then your water quailty maybe a problem. These normally grow like crazy under good condition covering corals....

Sometime you wish that they do not grow in the tank

Thinning have to be carried out very frequently to prevent them from going asexual.

Fluctuation of salinity is one reason that can cause the whole culture to crash. But then they will grow out again from the LR.

[wedgee]

Well, i'm quite fazed out at the moment, cause the algae are all going haywire (good ones dying, bad ones growing like crazy), YET my corals are all doing fine and dandy!!! Bubble, Hammer, Finger, Anemone, Polyps... All thats bad abt my water is the dreaded Nitrate, which is quite high...

[TTBoy]

Sigh...having the same problem with the high nitrate. What is the effect of long term exposure to high nitrate? A slow death? Saw some equipment called denitrator, anyone tried using them and does it really work?

[hongqixian]

Yes, the corals will suffer. Snails die off first, tubeworms keep losing their crowns and cannot properly grow back nice ones, corals like mushrooms cannot open fully and become stunted looking or bleached and hair algae becomes rampant. I believe that perhaps macros do not do well in excessively high nitrates.

[loonz]

WEdgee,

Read that your tank is only about a month old from another post. A month may be too soon to say that the corals are fine. I hate to disappoint you but I have been through it myself, corals disintegrate slowly....their growth is hardly visible on a daily basis. Wait a few months, and see if the corals are still ok.

[wedgee]

You're scaring me, Loonz... Issit really that hard to keep corals? My bubble seems to be growing alot since it was put into my tank leh, and one of the mushroom also split into 2 smaller pieces... Hope i can make it thru the tough spot like u once faced, cause i dont think i have the strength or budget to fix up another when my current one self-destructs...

Btw, any sure-tell way to know yr tank is doing ok? Other than water tests?

[Tanzy]

I don't think bubble coral grows that fast. It's the bubble polyps changing in size only. High nitrate screws with the zooxanthellae population in the corals and reduces the amount of energy the coral can obtains from the zooxanthellae.

[robe]

Your algae may not be growing well even with high nitrate and phosphate as it probably lacks iron. Algae needs iron for growth as well as iodine.