loosing colors and cohesion

[Mudbeaver]

This is my refugium , i bought $307 worth of algae all parameters are fine, these two macro algae;

Halymenia ; Dragon's breath

Ulva , sea letuce

Both pictures were taken when the algaes wrere healthy, now they've become like tissue paper, almost transparent and have disapeared nothing to shoot really. i still have healthy ones, thats my mystery , why some and not all at the same time.


Are both loosing cohesion and color. Both are in my opinion being given a shalack by my pods, who are just going crazy over them , because non of the other red algae have lost their colors , so that eliminates trace elements , the same for my other green algaes . Any other explanation you might have. that i don't see. Thanks for your time.​

 

[tektite]

Both can be eaten by pods, especially large pods like amphipods. They can do some real damage to the macros. For a macro tank, its best to have a couple fish who eat pods, to keep them from destroying the macroalgae.

Multiple kinds of macroalgae growing together can be tricky. They sometimes like different conditions, flow, light amount or color, nutrient levels. Sometimes its just not possible to keep them all happy all the time.

What are your tank parameters? Light, flow, temperature, alkalinity, nitrate and phosphate levels? How long have you had the macros in your tank?

 

[Mudbeaver]

I also found this article, i'm missing iodine to maintain that particular algae, and its doing exactly whats described in the article.

http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=2102

I have to find out whats eating the Ulva, literaly. It need hight nitrates and phosphates to grow with hight lights. Since its only localy and not general i can only assume its the pods doing it lol. But since i have a refugium i could let my parameters drift a bit and let the algae consume and become part of the filtering or absorbing machenism, instead of my GFO. And reducing the % of the waterchanges. Thats why i have a 75G refugium for my 150G reef for softies, i don't have , and won't have sps so my water's can and will be a bit mudier. Just rambling, sorry. I made my system for softies i have an intergrated custom made external wavebox . You have a wavebox not for SPS to sway in the wave but for softies and LPS to sway in the waves. So if i leave my parameters drift a bit the macro's should be fine. I'm keeping my water too clean. Do i make sense ? :reading:

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[Mudbeaver]

Two products

Two products

Well i found these 2 products that are specific to macro's , helpfull to corals as well in some fashion but one is design for macroalgae.


This one contains, Manganese, not Magnesium as i had to tell the clerk 25 times and still couldn't spell it....Probably left high school too fast... Manganese for algae ( Mn) on the periodic table a transition metal, Magnesium for corals, (Mg) an Alki earth metal,

Well my research has brought me to these two components, their were others but over dosing is not a good idea. I've contacted the seller of my macroalgae and they're sending their parameters at which they keep their stocks to help me keep mine. Imagine that having water too clean lol.




And iodine and iodide for your red macroalgaes before they loose their bright red colors.

 

[tektite]

With a lot of macroalgae in the system, its quite easy for the water to get stripped of nutrients I have to dose nitrate and phosphate in my macro tank!

As far as what's eating the ulva, the answer is most likely amphipods. If there's a lot of them, they can eat it faster than it can grow, so keep an eye on their population numbers.

 

[Mudbeaver]

With a lot of macroalgae in the system, its quite easy for the water to get stripped of nutrients I have to dose nitrate and phosphate in my macro tank!

As far as what's eating the ulva, the answer is most likely amphipods. If there's a lot of them, they can eat it faster than it can grow, so keep an eye on their population numbers.

Which product do you dose, Kent or another, whats the name i'll order some. all i see is iron ,potassium and others but, no nitrates nor phosphates.