OMG....Help with macro!!

Smiley1

Smiley1

Member
So..... last night I was doing some reading and saw a link to Reef Cleaners website. I checked it out and was amazed at the awesome prices and shipping. Then I saw some of the macros. I noticed a ton of em were on the "Illegal in California" list. One of which is one that I got with some live rock that I bought in Cali at the LFS... I have a ton of it. I had my wife (phd in plant biology) check it out and she freaked. She did some research and told me I better get that *bleep* out of my tank and destroy it. We already have a plan on how to dispose of the "stuff" but need a replacement before I can remove it.

So heres the problem:

I have it planted on one end of my tank. The water flow circles around the tank and picks up the bugs from the plants and takes them across the top. What can I plant in the end to replace the "illegal" stuff I have? The sand bed is about 3" on the end where I want to plant it. It gets about 2.5 watts per gallon of light atm but will increase to 5 watts after Christmas. I was thinking about getting Codium as well as some Chaeto with Pods but wanted to get your opinions first.
 

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Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Does the law state that it is illegal to "posses caulerpa" or "sell it"?

My favorite macro algae is chaeto althoug it is not as "shapely" as others. It only grows in a ball-like manner.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Woodstock said:
My favorite macro algae is chaeto althoug it is not as "shapely" as others. It only grows in a ball-like manner.
Click to expand...

Ditto that! I LOVE Chaeto! It's not the BEST nutrient exporter but by golly it's safe and does a GREAT job! I LOVE CHAETO!!
 
BigJay

BigJay

Well-Known Member
There are lots of display tank macros that are less invasive then calupera. Reefcleaners will say if a macro is invasive or not.
In order to give you a recomendation on what to replace it with I'd need to know if your wanting to farm it for food for algae grazers in the tank? Are you just wanting it for pod production? Is nutrient export an important factor? Do you just want it for aesthetic purposes?
What I would do is try to think of as much information as you can , along with some of those answers and email reefcleaners and ask them what they recomend you do. John (owner of reefcleaners.org) will not steer you wrong.
 
Smiley1

Smiley1

Member
BigJay said:
wanting to farm it for food for algae grazers in the tank?
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no - Not a big deal as I dont have any algae grazers in my tank as of yet.
BigJay said:
Are you just wanting it for pod production?
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yes
BigJay said:
Is nutrient export an important factor?
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yes - I have constant issues with phosphates but dont have problems with nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia.
BigJay said:
Do you just want it for aesthetic purposes?
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yes - Its in my display tank so I would like for it to look like a natural plant. I want it stationary. I dont care if it grows fast but would rather it didnt "spread" fast.
 
BigJay

BigJay

Well-Known Member
Really the best I have seen so far as pod production goes has to be chaeto. Its nettled growth pattern just really provides an ideal place. But its not something you'd want free floating around the tank. You need to contain it somehow. Lots of ideas out there on how to get that done. Its also a good grower so its going to probably be the best bet for nutrient export. Ulva and spider algae grow at a pretty phenomanal rate as well but they too have to be contained and I just recently pulled all the spider out of my tank.
For a natural looking extremely low chance of going sexual I really like the short codium. Its a steady grower and if nothing eats the hairs that grow on it like fur it should house some pod population. Being that its not a super rapid grower though means its nutrient export potential is much diminished compared to something like chaeto or ulva but given good lighting it will provide some nutrient uptake.
If your looking to stay in the same lines of something small shaving brush is another popular choice. Some of the species that are labeled shaving brush can bud underneath at a good rate. Not a rampant grower but make sure of what your buying before hand.
For a longer flowing algae the gracilarias are a good choice. Another moderate paced grower they tend to grow long and have a nice flow to them. Being semi rigid they will stand up on there own and still move with the flow of the tank. I've never seen a pod on either of the two species I have but thats not to say it doesn't happen.
Hope that helps some. Alot of the algaes out there can get out of hand quickly. Choose carefully. Again reefcleaners.org and John Maloney are a great resource on the danger factor of each macro. He doesn't charge for info so use it. :)
 
naperenterprise

naperenterprise

Active Member
Wow that is a pretty tight law over there... Its like having marijuana or something...

Chaetomorpha is generally placed in a refugium that is connected to a saltwater reef tank where It is usually balled up. This macro algae has many benefits to a reefkeeper but generally its sole purpose is to absorb nutrients such as nitrates. Chaeto as it is sometimes called has the ability to host a whole slew of organisms such as pods, mini stars, and worms. Chaeto is preferred by reef tanks owners over Caulerpa because unlike Caulerpa it does not go sexual. When Caulerpa goes sexual it releases most of its nutrients it has absorbed and it could cause a tank crash. Using Chaeto will help fight nuisance algae.
 
Smiley1

Smiley1

Member
I looked around the forums and saw a couple cheato retaining ideas. The clip idea and the glass jar got me thinking but I have some questions concerning Cheato. Does it require a lot of flow, some flow, or no flow? How much lighting does it need?

If I put it in a box, only the top will get the light. will this work or does it need to be spread out so it gets ample light coverage throughout the whole ball of green?
 
naperenterprise

naperenterprise

Active Member
I have chaeto in many different conditions.
1. I have the most in my refugium that is supplied with light (nothing fancy, just a regular light bulb). In the fuge there is very light water flow, best for nitrate exporting.
2. I have some right in my DT in heavy current, its doing just as well, pods love having it in the DT (IMO) the have some safe spots from fish.
3. I even have some cheato inside glass bottles within my DT, I do this to simulate a pod hotel. Inside these bottles are zero flow, and again it seems to thrive. So from my perspective they do well in pretty much any environment.

Lighting isnt a problem.
Just use any light if your keeping it in the fuge.


Smiley1 said:
I looked around the forums and saw a couple cheato retaining ideas. The clip idea and the glass jar got me thinking but I have some questions concerning Cheato. Does it require a lot of flow, some flow, or no flow? How much lighting does it need?

If I put it in a box, only the top will get the light. will this work or does it need to be spread out so it gets ample light coverage throughout the whole ball of green?
Click to expand...
 
Smiley1

Smiley1

Member
no fuge as of yet... if you look closely at the picture you will see a 55g under my 55DT. In that bottom 55 is filled with wooden blocks, stuffed animals, some books, and whatever else Jordan decides needs to be in there. Once I figure out how to keep her from using it as a toy box, it will become my sump. Im thinking sometime after Christmas it will happen. Until then, I am putting the macro in my display on the end that I dont have any LR. Hence the reason why I would like a macro that I can plant there.
 
BigJay

BigJay

Well-Known Member
As said chaeto needs very little light to thrive. I build the glass pod hotels and I have one at 30" 's under T5's. Even with phosban running, carbon, 10% water change per week,skimmer 24/7, 7 or so macro types growing in my tank, and a very stringent feeding regime, I still have to cull my chaeto every 10-14 days. By that information it seems chaetomorpha is very effecient at scavenging nutrients from the tank. Ulva appears to grow almost as fast and in a fuge type scenario it can actually house a large number of pods. Try using the two together and measure your results in the tank.
If you put it in a low flow area thats balled up just make sure at least some part of its is exposed to light and/or give it a turn once a week or so. Only time chaeto stinks is if you let it die and it starts to break up into little pieces and constantly floating around the tank. Under most conditions though that doesn't happen so that shouldn't be a real concern unless you stuck it in a box that allowed no light or water in.
 
framerguy

framerguy

Well-Known Member
Very interesting thread with some great information. John at Reefcleaner.org is extremely accessible either by PM or email and will go out of his way to help you decide what to do. Algae, marine plants and invert cleaners is all he does so he is VERY good at it.
 
J

johnmaloney

Well-Known Member
hard to out compete caulerpa. No macro other than byropsis, (and you don't want that), is more efficient at removing nutrients than caulerpa. But the good news is it can be easily killed. Now the bad news...it will hurt your tank to kill it. So you are left with a few options:

1. Kill it after a large pruning - works fast an effectively - may crash your tank
2. Get some sea hares or emerald crabs on it - tank will no longer be macro safe, neither animals is a "buy it and forget about it" cleaner.
3. Prune it, add chaeto, repeat pruning....This will be a long and hard fought battle going this way.

Never seen the California law, except that I can send caulerpa there. You may want to check it, it may have "knowingly" purchased language in there, or something else that says you have to have specific intent. Seems it would be too harsh if it was a general intent "crime". Just make sure you freeze the caulerpa before throwing it in the garbage.
 
Smiley1

Smiley1

Member
Well.... i got some cheato, and converted my emp 400 into a fuge. Trying to figure out a light that wont melt the plastic.
 
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