125g 2 in 1 Seagrass Reef

It arrived strangely purple, but wasn’t sure what that meant. Now I know. I’d like to try again in spring.

Is the Ulva dying? That’s too bad, do you have any idea as to why?
 
Yes, it's shrinking away to nothingness. There's a little left, but not much. Besides the snails' destruction, I think I couldn't get them enough ammonia. I wasn't willing to dump a bunch of it in, and with all the greedy Caulerpa, it probably would have taken a lot. Then it comes down to choosing between one plant and the rest of the tank ecosystem.
 
Are you getting your parameters going in the direction that your corals like? I really hope you're able to pull off the coral-plant combo, like Dawn is doing. I know you are keeping some challenging corals too, so I'm very interested in your progress. I'm guessing it's a bit early to know, with the new sand addition. How about the new gorgonians? Getting polyp extension?
 
I’m seeing lots of progress! The Magnifica anemone is looking better than it has for months, which is great to see, as it’s probably the most difficult animal in the tank. The Acropora are coloring up, and they should start growing again soon. Looks like everything is finally normal again, although I did lose several frags. The gorgonians are extending their polyps, more on the yellow one and less on the red.

Not sure about the seagrass yet.

I bought an ICP test and the results came back normal, although there’s no telling what some of the levels were at before the series of large water changes.

I’m excited to start seeing some coral growth again!
 
That's awesome news! You and Dawn are on the leading edge, showing you can do both, in one tank. In contrast, what I'm doing is easy by comparison. Overfeed for phosphate, a spoonful of common ammonia for Nitrogen, and a basic CO2 setup. Just about the opposite of reef keeping. Well not the opposite. Just 'fatter' in comparison.
 
Well, I wouldn't give myself that much credit...reef keeping isn't really that complicated. Feed the fish, add some 2 part solution, do water changes; not too different from your tank:dance:
 
Yeah but you've got numbers to hit (and keep stable), to simulate reef conditions, that are more challenging to do in a closed system. Plus you're keeping plants, which like higher numbers. So its a balancing act. That's tricky!

I'm modeling an inshore estuary environment, which often has quite variable conditions, with frequent runoff events, blooms, salinity variations, etcetera. So I don't really have to maintain stability and I can pretty much wing it. I consider that a big dif!

So give yourself some credit. Your tank is frickin' cool!

Did your stylophora make it? That is my favorite coral, and one I'd like to keep someday.
 
True, a plant tank is much more forgiving.

The stylo did make it, with some dead patches. It's a fast growing coral, so it should heal in no time (that's about 2 weeks in reef tank time).
 
Oh, are you thinking of adding some to your tank? How about a piece of Stylo for some dove snails sometime? Maybe by the time the weather is warm enough it’ll be fraggable.
 
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I'd love to add Stylophora at some point, but I don't think I'll be ready anytime soon. But I'd send you some snails for a future frag. Definitely when the weather warms up!
 
You ask the best questions, The Purple12!

So, my next dream tank might look something like yours, where I would combine a few corals with seagrass. I would want to start over completely from scratch. I'd need a sump and all other manner of reef stuff, to achieve the pristine reef conditions required. I'd abandon macro algae altogether, since they need higher nutrients. In my research I have read that seagrasses outcompete macros in reef-like conditions by needing fewer nutrients. So I'd optimize conditions for corals, while sneaking some dirt in for the grasses. I think they could get a large majority of their needs just from dirt, buried deep enough not to bother the corals.

When would I be ready to do this? Who knows! That reminds me, I need to start playing the lottery on a regular basis.
 
Do it!! That sounds great. Are you thinking seagrass bed with a few rocks and corals scattered in, or half reef half seagrass like I'm doing?

I don't believe the notion that corals need pristine water is entirely true. Sure, coral reefs are pristine, but the corals feast on zooplankton every night. In reef tanks they don't get that, so I believe some extra nutrients help. It makes sense, as a lot of times people running 0 n and p can't grow corals. Seems like 2-10 ppm nitrate and .03-.1 phosphate are average levels to shoot for.

There's a guy named Richard Ross who was growing SPS corals well at a phosphate of 2 ppm! That's something I'd like to mess around with sometime in the future, see if there's a major difference in growth between low nutrients and higher nutrients. Or maybe I'll just get another hair algae plague.
 
I was thinking like a patch reef/bommie, similar to what I have now.

I agree that you don't have to go super low nutrients, but there's an optimal range, and I'd want to be in there, just as I have tried to do for my grasses. I've read some stuff that reminds me of 'overdriving' plants in freshwater setups, with corals. So I think you can go higher nutrient, as long as you go higher light and other elements. I don't remember the specifics, but that's the gist of it.
 
I have missed some great discussion! Michael, I agree with ThePurple about not necessarily needing pristine water conditions for coral. I am finding a lot of coral to be rather forgiving of higher nutrients and a few of those are SPS. LOL, my system is never under 30 ppm in nitrates and phosphates could probably be a bit higher in my tank. I think the caulerpa is sucking it all up. Many LPS, softies and NPS coral actually do best in higher nutrients.

Michael, your future tank (after you hit the lottery) sounds fascinating! I look forward to it after you have accomplished all you set out to do with this tank.
 
That's one of the reasons I'm keeping an eye you guys' tanks! As I said, I'm going the easy route, keeping plants only. I hope to evolve and learned the skills you two are already using. So I watch and listen and learn.

Good point about accomplishing what I set out to do with this tank. It makes me wonder, how close am I to my goals? I'd say I've hit my goal of seagrass density and lushness. I really need to thin the herd! I haven't reached the place I want to be with the red macros yet, but I'm not far off. I'm not satisfied with the back wall, though it is thoroughly covered in Caulerpa. I'd prefer it to have something else growing on it. I've pretty much eliminated Turtle Weed and Ulva Intestinalis from my choices. At this point, I'm not sure what I'd like there. Maybe some photosynthetic sponge, flower anemones, and a little Fern Caulerpa? I really ought to figure that out!

I plan to rip out most of the caulerpa off the wall, when I introduce the grammas. That way they can find all the hidey-holes. It will come back, but maybe then I can decide what I ultimately want.
 
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