Red Gracilaria dying off?

[mrscheider]

Hello eveyone,

I recently added Red Gracilaria Algae to my refugium a week ago. I noticed that parts of the plant are turning white... well, actually, clear. I think this is obviously a sign that it is dying. Most of the plants showing these signs are kind of floating about, not in the mud like the others which remain healthy looking. Do these plants NEED to be in the mud in order to grow? I know some plants can freely float in the water and do fine
Also, Will these dying plant parts foul my water? Should I remove them? How do dying plants affect water chemistry?
Thanks in advance!

Michael

 

[richlic]

I know they need good light and good water movement, and they are okay free-floating. I lost a batch in about a month from it slowly disappearing because I had slow flow. My water quality stayed okay, but maybe because I do 5% changes, 2X weekly as a rule.

 

[billsreef]

Gracilarias are interesting. They can grow attached, or in free floating clumps. They are also nutrient hogs, need high levels of nutrient inputs and I also find iron additions help.

 

[mpdharley]

I was also having a problem with my gracilarias dieing off. it turned out that my skimmer was taking out all of the nutrients (I had good water flow and lighting). I'm in the process of adding a 70g fuge to my 125 reef. Once it is up and running I don't plan on running my skimmer 24/7.