Not to sidetrack this thread, but can anyone explain why I have so much trouble growing macro algae in my refugium?
My nitrate levels are pretty high - around 25 but the stuff just slowly withers away. Anyone dose iron to help grow their macro?
Jeff - I'm not sure why you are having a hard time growing macro algae. You have enough nutrients and the lights you are using have been used successfully by many people and there have been many postings of people's experiences with these bulbs. (Most notably by melevsreef). How are your other basic parameters like ph and alk? I have had great success using the 27K and the 51K bulbs when growing chaeto. Never tried the 65K but I'm sure that they would work well too if not better. Personally I would not add any iron. There should be plenty available in the water column to support a small amount of macro. I think that iron would only be necessary to add in order to sustain large amounts of macro.
Joseph also mentioned that his macro died back after prodibio, which I've also been using for about 6 weeks.
What is confusing me though is that my nitrate level hasn't dropped any since using prodibio.
About 4 weeks into using the prodibio my macro completely stopped growing and eventually started to receed. Now it is almost all dead. I expected this after reading of similar experiences by other people. The bio-digest is a bacteria and will require some time to colonize in your tank. IMO I don't think that 6 weeks is enough time to form a definitive conclusion. Prodibio is not a cure-all solution. For me it was just one part of the puzzle in a multi-pronged attack to get my nitrates under control. Along with using prodibio I have also been doing larger and more frequent water changes and have been more aggressive about siphoning off detrious as well as cleaning my skimmer more frequently to keep it running at its peak. So it is hard to measure exactly what the results are from dosing the prodibio, but I would not say that it has been bad for the tank in any way. I am not an expert on prodibio nor do I claim to be one. I haven't read anything bad about it but I also have not researched it as much as other people. If you have links to people posting bad experiences then please post them as I would like to read about it.
I heard Rob mention something about dosing it againt another chemical was a no no.
If I'm not mistaken, then I think that you are talking about the thread where someone was dosing prodibio and adding red slime remover at the same time. Red slime remover is an antibiotic and will kill the bacteria in prodibio as well as the cyanobacteria.
But anyways....To get Edge's thread back on topic....
I used to have a problem with Gelidiopsis, which is somewhat (not really) similar to graciliara, but since adding a tang to the tank it has almost all disappeared. If you are looking for algae to grow and feed to your tang then graciliara is supposedly one of the better choices as it is often referred to as "tang heaven". Other types of red macro include Halymenia, Nitophyllum, Botryocladia, and Sargassum. I would check locally first to see what all is available from the local stores or other nfmas members and if you are still having problems locating some then here are a few alternatives for you to try -
http://www.****************/
http://www.marineflora.com/macroalgae.html
http://www.fugeluv.com/macroalgae.html
http://www.ipsf.com/
FYI - FloridaPets has been a sponsor of NFMAS for a few years now and will give you a discount if you tell them that you are a NFMAS member.
PM me if you find a source and I will do the same from my end.
