55 Gallon Macroalgae Reef

[Biotopes]

Aloha!

I am going to be setting up a 55 gallon Macroalgae reef pretty soon here, what would some good species to start with be? I want to do mainly green macroalgae, like maybe Ulva Sea Lettuce (not for food) taking over a main section of the tank. I also want to have some purple and red species to give contrast, I have heard for some species you need to dose calcium? Mangrove's will probably make their way into the tank one day. All the fish and inverts will be carnivorous, so I won't have to worry about the macroalgae getting munched on. There will probably be some soft coral too, like mushrooms and zoanthids, but the main focus of the tank will be macroalgae. Also, I am not fully understanding why it's such a bad thing when the (I'll call them plants for now on, to save time) plants "go sexual" ? I do understand though, that in order to control that you can either constantly prune it, keep lighting on most of the time, and dose nitrates and phosphates.

Lastly, are there any sites or people that offer free samples of green, red, purple or calcareous algae so I can try my hand at them before investing in a large amount?

Mahalo! (Thanks )

 

[Subsea]

Some fast growing macros will completely slime away and depending on the volumn of biomass could crash a tank. Lights on most of the time will not stop macro from going sexual. In times past, fast growing Caulerpa were illuminated 24/7 to prevent sexual events. You surmised correctly, that pruning and high nutrients are the correct formula. If you feed fish, you will be dosing nitrate and phosphate. The concept is to balance macro growth with food input. In my experience, Ulva will outgrow everything and require frequent prunning and removal as a nutrient export mechanism. With respect to a good candidate in red, I like Gracilaria Hayi. It grows as a compact bush. Under subdued lighting, it has a dark burgundy color. Also good candidates in red are Red Grapes and Dragons Breath.
Patrick

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

Hey Biotopes!
Your tank idea sounds very cool. There are sites that give away free algae. You still have to pay for shipping, but its a good way to see what will grow in your set up. Subsea says Ulva outgrows everything, but not for me. I have Caulerpa racemosa which is my strongest grower. I think reefs2go has the 1 penny deal for trying out macroalgaes and also I think reefcleaners does too. Try googling and see what comes up. Maybe ask for small samples at your LFS?

 

[Biotopes]

Thank you for the information Subsea, very helpful! I have heard of Reefs2go, but never used them! I'll check them out! Thanks a lot! I slightly changed the design of my tank, It's going to have a large, shelf-y pillar on the left side of the tank, and most of it will be dominated by macroalgae, is there anything that I need to do differently if I have live rock?

 

[noobofthereef]

I believe all types of caulerpa are illegal in California, so that would be out of the picture.

 

[Cu455]

I am not sure of the type of algae this is but it turned a cool purple.

Never really thought of it as a macro algae reef but here are pictures of mine. I added some more dragons breath and I think it looks good. I get more complements about the algae then I do about my coral.

I believe all types of caulerpa are illegal in California, so that would be out of the picture.

What don't you guys make illegal?

 

[Biotopes]

I am not sure of the type of algae this is but it turned a cool purple.

Never really thought of it as a macro algae reef but here are pictures of mine. I added some more dragons breath and I think it looks good. I get more complements about the algae then I do about my coral.

What don't you guys make illegal?

That looks amazing! I am hoping to add a lot more seagrass, so hopefully I can get a really cool look Caulerpa is illegal here, but I agree with the above quote! EVERYTHING is illegal here!

One thing I realized last night, is what can I have as a cleanup crew? I want animals that will be reef safe, won't eat my macroalgae, and will not attack eachother or my fish. There will be gobies too, so I am not sure what species I should choose. I have heard from several experienced aquarists that sea cucumbers are good, but if they die they poison the whole tank. Is it worth the risk? Some seem to think so.

 

[Cu455]

I have Tigertail cucumbers, blue legged hermit crabs, emerald crabs, tequila snails, turbo snails and spiral shelled snail ( I don't know the real name). If they do it my micro algae it is growing fast enough were I don't notice.

 

[Biotopes]

Ok, so I think I'll go with blue legged hermits and turbo snails, as I can get them at my LFS. Are the cucumbers hard to keep? I would keep them, but I am afraid of them dying and poisoning the whole tank!