Macroalgae suggestions please.

[DrHank]

I have a 110 FOWLR that is a relatively new tank. Livestock includes a Kole Tang, Coral Beauty, Bi-colored Blenny, two Damsels (which will hopefully soon be gone), and a Dwarf Fuzzy. I would like to grow some attractive Macroalgae in the tank to compete for nutrients with the hair algae which is under control (barely). I'm open for suggestions on what might work with my persent stock. I am also planning on a Copperband and lastly probably a Magestic Angel. OK, so I love omnivores. Your suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Samala]

Well.. you could use a Caulerpa like C. prolifera, which doesnt seem to be as aggressive as other species, to compete with the hair algae. It will still pull down quite a lot of nitrogen from the tank however, and you will need to do maintenance on it weekly or biweekly to ensure that it stays at a manageable and maintainable biomass.

Other good candidates, which are not as strong in the growing department (and therefore may not completely out-compete the HA) would be the calcerous macros: Halimeda, Udotea come to mind. Red algae like Halymenia, Botryocladia and Gracilaria may also work, but seem to be highly palatable to grazers (and potentially the angel later on, perhaps even the damsels now). Sargassum may also be possible.. but again.. not the fastest grower.

Any one else have suggestions on a fast growing green that wont totally invade?

>Sarah

 

[piercho]

No fish you list is likely to graze tough and/or chemically defended macroalgae like Caulerpa, Sargassum, Dictyota, Halimeda, or the "bubble" alga group, IMO. Well, the Majestic I'm not too sure what it will graze. The Coral Beauty may take on soft siphonous algae like Caulerpa. I think small/medium angels go for algae films and sometimes filamentous algae and tend to leave the chunky stuff alone. The Kole is more of a rasper than a chewer, also going after detrital films and algae films. Some of the algae I listed need fairly bright light, though. It's likely that your rock already has some algae as incidentals, these generally start popping up weeks to months after starting the tank. Otherwise check the stickied thread at the top of the forum for plant sources.

 

[DrHank]

I think that I do see the begining of some Halimeda on one of the rocks. I've had the rock only about a month however it came from a tank that had been running for a couple of years locally. The hair algae came along for the ride and although I was running filtered water it wasn't DI. I just got my DI up and running and I think with proper husbandry I can get the results I want. Anything in the reds that wouldn't be too tantalizing. I love the appearance of red grapes but fear that my fish may feel the same way. I'm a real beginner when it comes to Macros however, anything has to be better than the artificials my wife would like to have in the tank (yuck).