Rock-Loving, High Flow Macro

[Random Aquarist]

What kinds of macroalgae live on rock and can stand high water flow? Anything besides caulerpa? I want this in my display, so if that helps...

 

[graveyardworm]

Halimeda would possibly be a good choice.

 

[Random Aquarist]

Would Turtle Grass be one of these macroalgaes?

 

[piercho]

Halimedas that are prostrate and easily controlled like brittle Halimeda would be a good choice. Sargassum, which is easy to control, will work if you keep the main frond fairly short. Acanthophora loves high flow and tends to grow from a single holdfast, however it spreads readily by fragmentation. Those are the common algae I have experience with.

I don't know the requirements of Turtle grass. I've put it in high flow conditions in my tank but it gradually faded.

 

[Samala]

Turtle grass and turtle weed are two different 'beasts'. Turtle grass is a seagrass and will not form a holdfast to rock structures. It puts down roots into sand. Turtle weed (Chlorodesmis typically) will holdfast to rock and seems to like high flow once its attached.

>Sarah

 

[Random Aquarist]

I'm talking about Turtle Weed aka Chlorodesmis fastigiata. Where did you learn that they enjoy high flow?

 

[piercho]

Sorry Sarah, I meant turtle weed. I put a rock covered with it in the sump directly under (9" below) a 250W 6500K, directly in a 11 GPM outflow with lots of entrained air. Acanthophora was growing great guns at the time in the same place but the turtle weed faded. It faded slowly, but faded nonetheless, with the fronds turning clear and no spread to other areas of the tank.

Acanthophora has been a reliable export weed in my system but as I said, liable to spread and will turn up in the places with the most light and current like on powerheads. Not the best weed for casual cultivation because of this habit so I would not recommend it unless the types of coral you will grow can tolerate it. That is, the coral are not fine-branching stonies like Acropora. But it really does love current. Sargassum is a nice weed but will want a moderate amount of nutrients and bright light. The best-behaved candidate that is easy to find and grows in a wide variety of current, nutrient, and lighting conditions IMO is brittle Halimeda. It stays prostrate, is easily harvested, and is highly resistant to grazing.

 

[Random Aquarist]

I'm not planning on any corals as of now. Just the anemone. What are some macros that will enjoy the high flow and grow turf-like, like turtle weed?

 

[piercho]

I'm not sure we are all using consistent terms for "high flow" and "turf algae". I call turfs the short, generally small, but very fast growing algae forming mat communities in upper surge zones exposed to extreme wave action. Refer to Adey, "Dynamic Aquaria". Most algae should be OK with an anemone because the anemone is not very vulnerable to overgrowth/encrouchment. Neomeris is a short, stalky, calcified green algae. Several Halimeda can spread quickly across rock and through sand and will send up vertical fronds. Look up H. tuna and H. incrassata. Dictyota, the "Y-branch" brown algae, is generally hardy and prostrate. It spreads laterally and some specie are quite beautiful and even irredescent. Some specie of Codium are prostrate and are upper surge zone plants, others are more bush-like but will still take all the flow you can throw at them.

 

[Random Aquarist]

Turtle Weed/Plant

Anemone

I think turtle weed'll be okay. I'll keep my flow to medium.