Am I Crazy?

[ladyshark]

I have a 125 g, very stable for 5+ years, 2 in sandbed, 100 lbs lr with sponge, with red coris wrasse, regal tang, zebra eel for now, no cuc

I would like to add macroalgae and low light coral, such as mushrooms,
ric, open brain, more sponge

One--am I crazy??

Two--could I have all of this so long as I avoid fish that eat the macro, and so long as I have the right lighting? Also, is temperature an issue with the macro?

What lighting would benefit macro and low light coral, and what macro could I add that would be ok with existing sandbed (argonite mix, no serious sand flurries, wrasse loves it)

Current lighting is combo of no and vho

I am a real newbie re the macoalgae--love to hear your thougts, even if you think I am crazy.......

 

[bugs713]

If you are crazy, then I am totally whacked!

I have Dragons Breath in all my SW tanks, along with fish that love to eat macro...
I keep dry nori/sheet algae on a clip daily to keep them away from the Dragons Breath and it works, but they do munch on it some.

Depending on which type of macro you want, beware if you have turbo snails as they seem to love some types and will consume it in a matter of hours. As for my fish, I have tangs, sturgeons and foxfaces and they all will munch on the DB macro, but not when they have nori or other dry sheet algae available.

Macro in the DT IMO, /IME looks beautiful AND is beneficial. It also provides a hide out for pods and fish.

 

[bugs713]

Oh yeah, as for lighting, I have grown DB under all types and it did well. I did find that under halide, the branching leaves were wider, while under LED they were slimmer and grow longer.

Very easy to grow!

Good luck!

 

[ladyshark]

Thanks for feedback. I think your macro adds a nice punch of color. Makes sense that keeping the fish occupied with nori would make a difference. Esp the garlic flavored kind. I agree that macro is beneficial for many reasons, not the least of which is to help keep nitrates down, along with adding color and beauty.

My plan is to add some mushrooms, rics, other low light coral, some macros (red mostly, I think) and stock with more carnivore fish than herbivores, so long as they don't eat the coral. I don't have a cuc, as the eel and wrasse would snack on them.

I currently added red Graciela which the tang is slowly digesting, but I added it for that purpose. Sounds like dragon's breath is not as alluring to tangs so long as you have an alternative?

My biggest concern was whether I could mix macro with coral in terms of lighting and temperature. I will need to make a slight upgrade in lighting for the coral, but sounds like that will work for the macros.

Again, thanks for the tips.

 

[pitmindi]

this is my 125 gallon tank. I don't like the look of rocks so I covered them with plants

 

[alexander_ktn]

Looks awesome, pitmindi! More colorful than many reef tanks.

 

[gnu]

Pitmindi, your tank is beautiful! If you find yourself with an overabundance of ochtodes, I'd be happy to take some off your hands...I'm having a hard time finding it.

 

[ladyshark]

THAT is GORGEOUS! Thanks for the ideas. This is much more fun to watch than brown rocks. (Looks like a lot of trimming is needed though, but easier than testing and dosing and chasing cyano)

 

[ladyshark]

Pitmindi, would you mind describing your lighting?

 

[lostmyz]

Bugz is whacked but his tank is awesome!