Samala and other SW plant experts!

[Rhinecanthus]

I am currently planning a SW planted tank...a refugium, if you will.

Tank will have a small footprint, but be about 20" tall.

Has a built-in canopy.

SO

I am asking those of you who are experts on SW plants and macro what I can use to make this an awesome looking tank...diverse but lively. Hoping to avoid difficult to keep plants and stuff that wont go sexual and possibly infiltrate my tank.

Also looking for something that grows quickly so that it can act as a refugium

Thanks so much!

BTW...flow will be about 10x turn over per hour. I dont have a plan for lighting yet...was waiting to hear more on what I can do with the tank.

 

[bloopbloop]

I have some plastic, green, wirey stuff for it if you like. wds21921 or Samala will have to post what it is called though.

It's free, if you want it!

 

[Samala]

Lots of questions, first:

Will this tank be hooked inline to another system?

Are you willing to go DSB/mud enriched substrate to support seagrasses?

What inhabitants would you like in the tank long term?

Growth rate of macros are fairly relative.. I have seagrass that outgrows Caulerpa on any given day, but you have to be willing to feed the plants to get this kind of growth. Likewise I could show you how to manage nutrients in a contained system that will prevent Caulerpas from sporulating, ever. (Well, knock on wood, we are going on sixteen months of Caulerpa prolifera with absolutely no sexual events, or events with other Caulerpas I've added to the pool since then.)

The tried and true macros that are good refugium inhabitants that have a very low probability of sporulating include calcerous greens (Halimeda, Penicillus, Udotea, Avrainvillea, etc), fleshy reds (Gracilaria, Rhodymenia, Halymenia, Botryocladia, etc) and some of the browns (Padina, Sargassum in particular) and non-calcerous greens like Ulva/Enteromorpha, Chaetomorpha. Growth rates for all of these are going to vary considerably based on available nutrients, light, etc.

So million dollar question: Is the goal of this setup to be pretty? Or is the goal to grow a lot of macro to either A) provide food for herbivores in other systems or B) decrease nutrients in a potential inline system?

PS: You will probably get feedback from others if you post, or cross post this thread, to the macro forum. More perspective on the setup is always good.

>Sarah

 

[Rhinecanthus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7215032#post7215032 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Samala
Lots of questions, first:

Will this tank be hooked inline to another system?

Are you willing to go DSB/mud enriched substrate to support seagrasses?

What inhabitants would you like in the tank long term?

Growth rate of macros are fairly relative.. I have seagrass that outgrows Caulerpa on any given day, but you have to be willing to feed the plants to get this kind of growth. Likewise I could show you how to manage nutrients in a contained system that will prevent Caulerpas from sporulating, ever. (Well, knock on wood, we are going on sixteen months of Caulerpa prolifera with absolutely no sexual events, or events with other Caulerpas I've added to the pool since then.)

The tried and true macros that are good refugium inhabitants that have a very low probability of sporulating include calcerous greens (Halimeda, Penicillus, Udotea, Avrainvillea, etc), fleshy reds (Gracilaria, Rhodymenia, Halymenia, Botryocladia, etc) and some of the browns (Padina, Sargassum in particular) and non-calcerous greens like Ulva/Enteromorpha, Chaetomorpha. Growth rates for all of these are going to vary considerably based on available nutrients, light, etc.

So million dollar question: Is the goal of this setup to be pretty? Or is the goal to grow a lot of macro to either A) provide food for herbivores in other systems or B) decrease nutrients in a potential inline system?

PS: You will probably get feedback from others if you post, or cross post this thread, to the macro forum. More perspective on the setup is always good.

>Sarah

OK!

So, this tank will be hooked inline to another system. It will be part of a 60g total volume system made up of 3 tanks and a sump.

I am definately willing to do a DSB or fuge mud if it means better growth and a more interesting biotype.

Inhabitants in this tank? I thought about seahorses but I really dont have the desire to have a high maintenance animal like that at this time...I want to keep the entire setup fairly easy to deal with.

Flow to this tank will be provided with a Mag 2 pump and will be around 10x turnover. I can get a large pump if necessary.

Lighting is my main question. Over my fuge now I have a spiral compact fluorescent bulb from Home Depot. My cheato grows great.

Purpose of the tank is really to aid in nutrient export for the tank, but the idea of making it a "display" refugium is because I am fascinated by the life in the refugium and dont want to sit on the floor to watch it all.

I do not plan on growing any macro for feed...whatever is grown will be pruned and given away.

I would like this fuge to grow pods and other critters that can help sustain my system, but livestock is very light. 2 clownfish, dottyback and a cleaner shrimp for the entire 60g.

SO..

Summary!

1. Plumbed inline
2. What lighting?
3. What flow?
4. What plants?
5. What substrate?


Thanks!

 

[Rhinecanthus]

Another note...I wouldnt mind maybe having a couple small eviota gobies in this tank as well!

 

[wds21921]

What Bloop has is Chaetomorph. You may not want that since it will fight with others for nutrients and minerals etc.

I've also got some nice Halimeda growing as well as another algae I don't know the name of that looks like a candy cane, white base green top.

My margarites are currently dining on a selection of hair algae pasta with buttered italian bread.

 

[wds21921]

Rhinecanthus for your lighting I would go with no less than PC type lighting. The spiral Flour. your using now is what I use in my sump for my chaeto., also from Home Depot.
It's enough to keep that particular species going but you'll have better results from the others with at least a minimum of PC lighting.

Substrate, you may want to go with sand for stability of the plants base/roots. I'm not a big proponent of DSB's though. Sarah can give you all the best advice on this one because it's her forte.

 

[Samala]

Rhine I am so sorry I forgot all about this thread! Arghhhh..

Here's some thoughts for you:

Since this is going to be a 'pretty' fuge, and not specifically to grow up any important food items, I have quite a few suggestions. I think seagrass is out because it will be too challenging to maintain as a satellite tank, plus the light load you'll need will be pretty high for a fuge.

1. Plumbed inline
2. What lighting?

I would pick up a simple PC setup (coralife perhaps) that has 6700K or 10,000K flavor lights. Something that doesnt put out too much heat and will give you 3wpg or so of light will grow macros very well. A few NO flourescents would also be just fine (maybe a double strip setup, or something you might DIY yourself).

3. What flow?

Most macros are highly indifferent to flow rate. Something in the line of 5-10x turnover, but not fast enough flow to rip the plants apart (of course, lol) should be fine. If you want to use the 'fuge as a settling chamber you can dial down the flow without much detriment to the plants really. The only plant I can think of that really needs high/fast flow is Chaetomorpha, to constantly disrupt biofilms and detritus that will otherwise form on the alga cells and inhibit photosynthesis (and therefor growth).

4. What plants?

I think any of the red algae would be great: Halymenia, Botryocladia, Gracilaria, red kelps, red graps, etc. Also, Halimeda would be pretty here. If you go with a shallow substrate of an inch or so you can place Udotea, Penicillus and sand bed loving Caulerpas (if you want them) like C. prolifera or C. serrulata as well. Browns like Sargassum and Padina would also be pretty and give the tank some different shapes. Ulva (sea lettuce) is also a really fast nutrient absorbing macro. And, of course, the ubiquitous Chaetomorpha would be a good pod haven.

5. What substrate?

Some people swear by miracle mud, I havent used it. Most macroalgae get their nutrients from the water column, not the soil so I wouldnt stress over substrate here. Use enough sand to keep the plants in place, a little LR to serve as holdfast points, and away you go. The one thing I would suggest to consider is iron dosing, you can read up on this in the macro forum and also Randy Holmes Farley's article, I think in Advanced Aquarist.

If I can be of any further help make a post to the macro forum or myspace or email me. I'd love to help if I can.

>Sarah

 

[Samala]

Rhine I just realized that some of that was the same as the earlier post.. :lol: I guess that means I really believe that those plant species I gave are going to do the job.

>Sarah