Feeding macro algae grow out tank

[Alex240]

Hey guys

I am growing out some gracilaria in a biocube by itself. I will used tank water to fill the tank but them what sorts of ferts or additives do you recommend to grow this stuff.

I was thinking kent iron and manganese, and maybe kent trace essential. I assume I should keep calcium and magnesium at normal levels. What can I add if the nitrates get to zero?

 

[saltwater sam]

A fish lol

 

[Alex240]

My fish are in my 600 gallon. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2466044

I am growing the algae strictly for tang food. Vinegar dosing keeps my nutrients low in the display.

 

[saltwater sam]

If you're looking for a source of nitrogenous nutrients a fish will do it for you.

 

[Alex240]

Oh, are you suggesting I keep a couple damsels in the biocube or similar? I hadn't thought about that....

 

[saltwater sam]

Yep! Just one or two little ones will do the trick. Iodine is a good supplement for the red macros as well.

 

[Betta132]

Get a waspfish if it's the 29g. If not, a goby or a small species of damsel is your best bet.
Maybe you should just get a few eeny-weeny gobies, the kind that can't be kept with big fish.

 

[phobos2deimos]

I do recommend dosing iron - the kent stuff is good and not expensive. Iron deficiency typically manifests as pale/translucent leaves and weak structure. Dry ferts will be cheaper long term, but a biocube probably will be cheap regardless.
You could dose pure KNO3 as a potassium and nitrate source. Right now I use stump remover of the 99+% pure KNO3 variety. Check out greenleafaquatics for more legitimate fert sources.

 

[chrisjako]

I do recommend dosing iron - the kent stuff is good and not expensive. Iron deficiency typically manifests as pale/translucent leaves and weak structure. Dry ferts will be cheaper long term, but a biocube probably will be cheap regardless.
You could dose pure KNO3 as a potassium and nitrate source. Right now I use stump remover of the 99+% pure KNO3 variety. Check out greenleafaquatics for more legitimate fert sources.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm trying to setup an algae grow out tank for my tangs

So dosing with just KNO3 and iron will do for it?

on the link you provided i see a section about setting up a 500ml bottle to dose 1ml per 10 gallons daily

K2SO4 "“ 29.3 grams
KNO3 "“ 32.6 grams
KH2PO4 "“ 2.9 grams
MgSO4 "“ 20.2 grams

I actually have some KNO3 and KH2PO4 - should i bother with the other 2 ingredients? Are they suitable for saltwater algae? I added some before and it killed my culture - had no clue as to the amounts though I'm going to try again with a proper solution based on this above

 

[phobos2deimos]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm trying to setup an algae grow out tank for my tangs

So dosing with just KNO3 and iron will do for it?

on the link you provided i see a section about setting up a 500ml bottle to dose 1ml per 10 gallons daily

K2SO4 "“ 29.3 grams
KNO3 "“ 32.6 grams
KH2PO4 "“ 2.9 grams
MgSO4 "“ 20.2 grams

I actually have some KNO3 and KH2PO4 - should i bother with the other 2 ingredients? Are they suitable for saltwater algae? I added some before and it killed my culture - had no clue as to the amounts though I'm going to try again with a proper solution based on this above

Hmm, been a while since I've had to think about this stuff. I def recommend dosing Iron if you see the signs of needing it. Nitrate, Potassium, perhaps, if you test and find your levels below target (I tried for 20ppm of NO3). Phosphate you may also need to dose (I tried for .4-.8 ppm IIRC). Mag isn't a bad idea depending on the algae. My brother OD'd my tank though when I started to dose that (dumped the ENTIRE jug in, thinking it was ATO water) and I never got around to dosing it again.