Wanting to set up a macroalgae nano tank

[gibs]

Hi guys little bit about me I have had sever tanks for the past few years and have even documented a few on here. After my last tank cracked, broke and flooded my apartment I got out of the hobby for a bit, but of course that didn't last long and 3 months later here I am.

So I had a fluval spec v given to me for fathers day and should be here in a few days. This is perfect because I wanted a small nano while still in my apartment for at least the next 6 months. I have seen some macro tanks and love the idea so I think that is the direction I am going to go.

I am going to lay out what I want to do and will order everything over the next few days but would like any input or suggestions you guys have. In fact I have a few questions lol

Tank: Fluval spec v

Pump: leaving it stock but there are some good options for replacement. For algae tank would anyone suggest going ahead and upgrading?

Lighting: Coral compulsion PAR 30 bulb. I really like the 20k look but is this ok for macro algae? Will also be ordering their gooseneck clip on lamp fixture for bulb.


Stocking:

Algae: I like the look of dragons breath but anyone have any better ideas? I would like at least 3 different species one red one green any suggestions for a 3rd?

Fish: I have read and seen sever reports of citron gobies thriving in these pico tanks so I believe thats what I will go with. Just one.

Maybe a cleaner shrimp or a pompom crab and a snail? going to keep it very light.

Depending on how it grows out and live rock I pick out I may add some mushrooms or a leather or a patch of zoas but it will be my last thing.

Again any ideas or suggestions are welcome and thanks for looking!

 

[kakalakasha]

Hi guys little bit about me I have had sever tanks for the past few years and have even documented a few on here. After my last tank cracked, broke and flooded my apartment I got out of the hobby for a bit, but of course that didn't last long and 3 months later here I am.

So I had a fluval spec v given to me for fathers day and should be here in a few days. This is perfect because I wanted a small nano while still in my apartment for at least the next 6 months. I have seen some macro tanks and love the idea so I think that is the direction I am going to go.

I am going to lay out what I want to do and will order everything over the next few days but would like any input or suggestions you guys have. In fact I have a few questions lol

Tank: Fluval spec v

Pump: leaving it stock but there are some good options for replacement. For algae tank would anyone suggest going ahead and upgrading?

Lighting: Coral compulsion PAR 30 bulb. I really like the 20k look but is this ok for macro algae? Will also be ordering their gooseneck clip on lamp fixture for bulb.


Stocking:

Algae: I like the look of dragons breath but anyone have any better ideas? I would like at least 3 different species one red one green any suggestions for a 3rd?

Fish: I have read and seen sever reports of citron gobies thriving in these pico tanks so I believe thats what I will go with. Just one.

Maybe a cleaner shrimp or a pompom crab and a snail? going to keep it very light.

Depending on how it grows out and live rock I pick out I may add some mushrooms or a leather or a patch of zoas but it will be my last thing.

Again any ideas or suggestions are welcome and thanks for looking!

For lighting, 20K will be fine. It will give the tank more of an actinic color, which most reefers prefer. Algaes do prefer more white/yellow light though, something like a 10k bulb will lead to better growth where as a 6k bulb will have your algae EXPLODING in growth. But 6k is a very unnatractive yellow color. Personally, I had a 10k 150W MH bulb over my macro tank but a couple VHO actinic tubes for my viewing pleasure. But for a nano, any color PAR bulb will be fine, just pick the one that's most aesthetically pleasing.

If you're looking for a cople different color options of algae I can list a few options for ya.

Red: Dragons Breath (My favorite, tends to have orange tips under strong lightining), Red Titan (pretty similar to dragons breath but a little different growth pattern), any species of Graciliara (although some are green and some are yellow), Red Grape (cool as it has little grape like growths and grows up and down sort of like a shrub).

Blue/purple: Blue Ochtodes are EXTREMELY nice. Tend to grow in a sort of mat and is a great place for pods to hide out in your tank

Green: Codium (My personal favorite, very different from most other algaes), any species of Caulerpa (pretty cool as you can bury the "roots" in the sand it it will grow sort of like seagrass), and as mentioned earlier, there are some green Graciliara species

As for livestock, a citron goby sounds wonderful. It would love the constant supply of pods and the many places to perch and swim around in. You could definitely pick up some shrimp, smaller ones are better. Maybe something like a sexy shrimp or even a couple peppermint shrimp, but a small cleaner could be fine! I had a pompom crab in my macro tank and he was wonderful. You could really pull off any of these things!

 

[gibs]

Kakalakasha Thanks!

I really appreciate all the advice. I had already made a few decisions before I read your reply but it's funny because you hit it nail on the head LOL!

Red Really liking the redgrape dragons breath and the flame algae but leaning towards the redgrape.

Blue the Blue ochtodes is awesome and certainly going in the tank

Green I like the codium and the calupera prolifera but really havent decided. I may just do two red

Will add a picture once it's cleared but got some rock and sand today and got the tank started cycling.

......and the wait begins :bum:

 

[enchelycore808]

I've been running a fluval sea led on my macro tank. Looks about 14000k maybe? Gt really good growth with it. I find a lot of my red plants like the higher spectrums a bit better and my greens grew faster in the lower spectrums (6500k). Just an observation on my tank. Might wanna avoid caulerpa taxifolia and racemosa. That stuff just ran over all my othe macros plus it's hard to get it out because it gets tangled up in the other macros. I'm thinking I'm gonna redo the tank and use all reds just to see what it'll look like.

 

[kakalakasha]

Kakalakasha Thanks!

I really appreciate all the advice. I had already made a few decisions before I read your reply but it's funny because you hit it nail on the head LOL!

Red Really liking the redgrape dragons breath and the flame algae but leaning towards the redgrape.

Blue the Blue ochtodes is awesome and certainly going in the tank

Green I like the codium and the calupera prolifera but really havent decided. I may just do two red

Will add a picture once it's cleared but got some rock and sand today and got the tank started cycling.

......and the wait begins :bum:

You're on your way! People really underestimate macro algae tanks. The amount of color and life in these tanks is unbelivable. And they also require much less maintenance, if set up properly.

In my 40 breeder macro I had NEVER seen that many pods before in my life. I added a target mandarin and he was fat and happy as can be and barely made a dent in the population.

The cool thing about the caulerpa species is that you can grow it in the sand and reserve rock space for the dragons breath/codium/ochtodes.
Any species of caulerpa can become invasive in your tank. It LITERALLY grows like a weed. There was a point where I was trimming my Caulerpa every 3 days to make sure that it wouldn't encroach on any other algaes. The best thing about growing Caulerpa in the sand is that when you remove it, you can just pull it out along with the few grains of sand its attched to. When Caulerpa gets on the rocks, it will grow into the holes and pores in the rock and every time you remove it, it will grow back.

I'm wishing you the best of luck and I can't wait to see some pictures of the tank!

 

[gibs]

Well here it is! Not super happy with the rock work atm but cycle is started.

Using caribsea pink fiji live sand.

The light is a coral compulsion par 30 18k bulb. Really like the color but as you can tell I need to change the optics. Think I am going to need the 120 degree optics but they only got the 90 in stock :-( Got them ordered and we will see how big a difference that makes!

Also hate the flow of the stock pump so I ordered a mini 606 from amazon for 15$, lots of people have made the switch to that pump on this tank and it's supposed to be a pretty easy and good upgrade.

 

[rick12]

Following along. Looks great. I am curious about what supplements are required for such a system to keep macro healthy?

 

[kakalakasha]

Well here it is! Not super happy with the rock work atm but cycle is started.

Using caribsea pink fiji live sand.

The light is a coral compulsion par 30 18k bulb. Really like the color but as you can tell I need to change the optics. Think I am going to need the 120 degree optics but they only got the 90 in stock :-( Got them ordered and we will see how big a difference that makes!

Also hate the flow of the stock pump so I ordered a mini 606 from amazon for 15$, lots of people have made the switch to that pump on this tank and it's supposed to be a pretty easy and good upgrade.

Tank looks great, although the pictures are small, it's not too hard to see! Sounds like youre taking the right steps

Following along. Looks great. I am curious about what supplements are required for such a system to keep macro healthy?

A macro system really requires no supplements.... If you have no fish or clean up crew, you might wanna dose food to add nutrients for the macros to feed on. :hammer:
Water changes every once in awhile are necessary, but not nearly as important as in a reef tank.

 

[saltwater sam]

Ha! A new macro addict! Once you begin there is no escape! I can't wait to see how it turns out