Anyone out there growing Seagrasses?

[cro117]

i just purchased my seagrass recently, one is going to die do to shipping, but the rest look good so far. i had some questions about inverts with macro tanks. i've had issues with too many hermits in the past- 200+ in a 50 gal. sometimes they would discover a macro for the first time i guess, and the next day it was gone.

anyway, i was wondering about sea urchins and conchs. will the urchins feed on the seagrass? and will a conch clean the substrate too well?

and by seagrass i mean macros too, or both, or also.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Sounds good, nawilson89. One tip would be to not add fish until the grasses are well established. An exception would be fish like mollies, that can get by on algae alone. What you don't want is fish that require feeding. Seagrasses need pristine water conditions, much like corals.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm not a fan of any hermits. IMO, you can't beat cerith snails for seagrasses and macros. They reproduce in your tank, and the tiny ones are great for cleaning algae off grasses and macros.

Urchins will eat basically any and all plant matter. They are best used temporarily, for an algae problem. I had one that was great for consuming algae, but it didn't touch cyanobacteria, so eventually, cyanobacteria took over - not good.

Small, fighting conchs are great. They constantly clean your sand bed, but don't harm sand bed critters.

 

[saltwater sam]

I also am not a fan of crabs. They are trouble makers and cause more problems than they solve.

 

[nawilson89]

Sounds good, nawilson89. One tip would be to not add fish until the grasses are well established. An exception would be fish like mollies, that can get by on algae alone. What you don't want is fish that require feeding. Seagrasses need pristine water conditions, much like corals.

I'm prepared to run a Hang on Back filter if need be. I'm also looking at dosing the tank with Kent Marine Lugol's Solution and Iron and Magnesium.

I've been taking some time to read your build (it's ALOT to read, but by God is it good). I'm looking at running Co2 also...

 

[nawilson89]

I also am not a fan of crabs. They are trouble makers and cause more problems than they solve.

I've never had problems with hermits. I actually prefer my tanks with hermits rather than without. For this one though I want to branch out to Porcelain crabs. Hermits are a must have for me as I adore them, but I am weighing not having them if they do tend to munch on Macro and sea grass.

One thing I wanted to touch on just realizing that as I sit here. Another thing I would have in my build is a pistol shrimp/ goby. Now these guys are burrowers and the bottom part of my substrate will be mineral mud. Would that pose any issue?

Also does the mud being in the aquarium give any discoloration to the water? I'm thinking to my Freshwater Planted tanks that have a distinct tea color.

 

[cro117]

i'm just partial to hermits, but there's only a dozen or so left in the tank after a pistol shrimp had free reign for a few months. i already have quite a few cerith, so maybe i'll just consider adding a conch then.

the urchin i was just going to add because im getting some banggais, and i thought they might appreciate it, but maybe i'll try making a fake one

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm new to dosing, so I can't recommend a strategy. I would not suggest dosing anything until you know something is limiting growth. Having said that, let us know of your successes!

One of my favorite strategies is to do nothing-except observe and think. Watch the tank over time and note trends. Doing this has prevented me from making some costly mistakes. Letting Mother Nature do her thing is often the best choice.

 

[nawilson89]

I'm new to dosing, so I can't recommend a strategy. I would not suggest dosing anything until you know something is limiting growth. Having said that, let us know of your successes!

One of my favorite strategies is to do nothing-except observe and think. Watch the tank over time and note trends. Doing this has prevented me from making some costly mistakes. Letting Mother Nature do her thing is often the best choice.

Awesome advice. Thanks!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

One more thing about hermit crabs, and I'll lay off.

The problem with keeping hermits and snails, is that eventually, the crabs kill all the snails, and you're left with a lesser algae eater, that cannot clean seagrass blades, end to end, and cannot clean every nook and cranny of a complex macro algae. Having to remove algae off every blade of grass, manually gets old quick!

 

[nawilson89]

One more thing about hermit crabs, and I'll lay off.

The problem with keeping hermits and snails, is that eventually, the crabs kill all the snails, and you're left with a lesser algae eater, that cannot clean seagrass blades, end to end, and cannot clean every nook and cranny of a complex macro algae. Having to remove algae off every blade of grass, manually gets old quick!

xD thanks for that. I've never had a problem with all my snails being killed off by my crabs. I had nassarius doing their thing and cerith doing there's with no problem. Turbo snails would be lost at times, but that's because they couldnt right themselves and begged for death.

I've started my own thread in this subforum. if you can check it out and give input please do!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

A Quick Caveat

A Quick Caveat

I am thrilled this thread is gaining momentum!

I just want to point out that I am no expert. I have only kept seagrasses for a year. I've only been dosing for a month or so. I've still got a lot to learn! I'm happy to give advice, just remember I could be wrong!

The key is for all of us Seagrassers to share our experience, good and bad, pass and fail, so we can all learn from each other, mmkay?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Show us some pics!

Show us some pics!

If you've got seagrasses or macroalgaes, post pics. Let's see what you've got! Besides being a good reason to clean your glass, it's also great for recording your plants' progress. We should all post more pics, so get clickin'! They don't have to be great, just yours"¦

 

[Michael Hoaster]

 

[GriffinMarsh]

Ok I need to join this thread and start asking some questions, and then I'm going to revise the question of seagrasses. I was just asked on another thread if I would be adding seagrasses to my tank build. To answer the question yes, but Im thinking of eelgrass, turtle grass, and some immersed growing grasses.

Is there anybody growing seagrasses, that can grow eventually immersed?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

There are no emergent seagrasses. You have to go upriver into brackish water for emergent species. It's certainly doable, but limits what you can do on the saltier end. My tank was at 25ppt earlier in its life, but now I have an anemone and I'm up to 30ppt. Mangroves would work.

I'd love to hear more of what you're vision is for this tank. This thread is the perfect place to bat ideas around. Then maybe start a build thread. Lay it out, Griffin, sounds very cool!

 

[GriffinMarsh]

Alright now I hooked. Been doing little personal research, and am thinking Ive narrowed down a few species that might work well for my situation. Lets see if anybody has worked with some of these species and can provide more information. I don't remember seeing anything earlier in detail but Michael did post some critical information on lighting earlier so here is my plan:

Aquarium Overview 180gal tank, 13" water level with 2-3inches of oolite/Fiji pink blend sand, lit with 2 BMLED 36" 6500/10000k (looks very pink red), 2x 48" Current Marine LED, 1x 250w 14000K MH. Should be plenty of light for plants and coral.

Species Why or maybe Why Not for my Setup

Halophile ovalis If I can track down this seagrass I would love it, reasons why I believe that this would be one of the best additions for my situation is its similar growth to caulerpa, and its small plant size. Will work in the "meadow" portion of the aquarium with its smaller rhizome root base.

Zostera japonica: like Z. marina, it looks like a thin blade seagrass, but unlike Z. marina it stays fairly small. This would be ideal to to the low water level in the aquarium. It should also act as a nice accent between the H. ovals. Temperature is one concern with this small plant. Might not like a warmer water climate.

Thalassia testudinum Our beloved turtle grass. Could be an option only if I can produce a deep sand bed somewhere inside the aquarium, if not, I won't attempt it.

Halodule wrightii same reasons before as both Z. japonica with temperature and T. testudinum with sand. But it could be a cool locally harvested variety.

Other species out of the genra presented might be worth investigating further. All the seagrasses will only occupy the back half of the aquarium, a section 24x13x30" area. So keeping a smaller species would be better than attempting a large one that could shade out other sea grasses. If I can find 3 smaller varieties I would be happy. Anybody with information on locating some of these species would be great.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I've not found a better selection of seagrasses than at floridapets.com. I'm not seeing the logic behind putting smaller seagrasses in the back. Can you explain?

 

[GriffinMarsh]

So the front of the tank is reserved for corals mostly with some macro algae. The back and overflow section is for mangroves and seagrasses. Also "smaller" being a relative term just for the amount of water inside the tank. I don't want the perspective off due to large varieties of sea grass.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

OK.

Why the shallow water? For the mangroves? Stand alone or connected to another tank? It looks like you're doing a patch reef with seagrass, mangroves and macro algae. Sounds cool! Sounds like your plan is coming together. Can't wait to see it come alive!