Looking for display tank macros

[lifeoffaith]

I am in Grand Rapids MI area and interested in picking up some macros for my display tank. I'm planning on doing a fully planted tank and then eventually taking the fish that are in there out, and adding seahorses. I want the tank 100% ready for seahorses before adding them. No gorgonians due to lack of high output lighting. Any algaes that require high lighting will not work either. I'm willing to drive a short ways from Grand Rapids, but would consider shipping as well, but would need heat packs in there due to cold weather here in MI. Thanks!

 

[ichthyogeek]

Umm... I'm not sure if you're looking for macro suggestions, or people in MI, but I can suggest a few!

Caulerpa prolifera: before I got off my seahorse binge (where I never got a seahorse because I realized I couldn't care for them as much as they needed), I had a full tank of Caulerpa prolifera. It never went sexual. It grew in a 29 gallon tank that had a light from a freshwater startup kit that had never been replaced (low light). It never grew on any live rock. When I took the tank down for movement, I saw copepods in the tank that I had never seen before, and that I attribute to the prolifera. It looks amazing, as the blades slightly resemble seagrass. I could extoll on this all day, but I'll just summarize it here: you should get it, as it's awesome.

Gracilaria macroalgae: I have a red bushy form in my tank that attaches to live rock. If a fragment lands on a hard surface, be prepared for it to grow, and spread, and grow some more. Not really recommended, but provides a nice contrast for the prolifera. It, and the prolifera, now grow in the same 29 gallon, but are now illuminated with 96 watts of T5 HO Oddysea lighting.

What type of lighting were you thinking of? Sandbed? Live rock?

 

[fermentedhiker]

also check out live-plants.com I just got some stuff from them and portion of Halimeda and Codium were huge.

 

[Betta132]

I definitely suggest C. prolifera. It's pretty, it looks like a plant, it doesn't go absolutely nuts like most caulerpa, and it grows just fast enough to export a decent bit of nutrients. It will need occasional pruning, but that just means sticking your hand in maybe once a month and tugging out a handful or two if it's gone further than you want.

Aquabid usually has a few different kinds of macroalgae up, and Ebay is a decent place to check.

 

[lifeoffaith]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm open to anything that looks cool for my display tank that I can also control by pruning. Slow growers would be preferred, but not absolutely necessary. I've found a few places on ebay that I may eventually order from, I was just hoping to avoid shipping in this cold weather we've had lately.