hotelbravo
Active member
how come you do not see a bunch of sea grass in reef tanks? is there a reason alot of reefers do not grow it??
where is all the sea grass?
- Thread starter hotelbravo
- Start date
Good question. I think there are a lot of reasons.
Most reef tanks are packed to the gills with live rock and corals, so there isn't room for seagrass. They don't grow particularly fast, so they aren't ideal for nutrient export. They aren't widely available. Information on their care isn't widely available either. Though they can coexist in aquariums, corals' and seagrasses' needs are somewhat different. For example, I'm trying to excellerate my seagrass's growth. I'm dosing the water column with nitrate and the substrate with ammonia. I'm fairly certain reef keepers wouldn't be too thrilled about that!
Until we have a better understanding of seagrasses, and there is more information available to us, it seems wise to keep them separately. In nature, you don't see seagrasses growing right on or around coral reefs. You can find small patch reefs in seagrass beds, so I think that would be the best way of combining them in an aquarium.
Most reef tanks are packed to the gills with live rock and corals, so there isn't room for seagrass. They don't grow particularly fast, so they aren't ideal for nutrient export. They aren't widely available. Information on their care isn't widely available either. Though they can coexist in aquariums, corals' and seagrasses' needs are somewhat different. For example, I'm trying to excellerate my seagrass's growth. I'm dosing the water column with nitrate and the substrate with ammonia. I'm fairly certain reef keepers wouldn't be too thrilled about that!
Until we have a better understanding of seagrasses, and there is more information available to us, it seems wise to keep them separately. In nature, you don't see seagrasses growing right on or around coral reefs. You can find small patch reefs in seagrass beds, so I think that would be the best way of combining them in an aquarium.
hotelbravo
Active member
Well in my new 180 I will be creating a few wide open areas and I wanted sea grass. I wont be having coral in the tank but will be having a few anemones. Im not looking to use the sea grass as a nutrient export because im growing 6 different kinds of macro in my sump.
Different zones and different environmental conditions.
That sounds like a great tank, hotelbravo! I have a condylactis anemone in my grass tank as well. Got a thread for it? This sounds like an awesome setup!
hotelbravo
Active member
No thread as of right now. Thanks for all the information!
BlueCat1949
New member
Seagrasses grow in a shallow nutrient rich waters and most require a deep sand bed with mud or enrichments added to fertilize through the roots ( unlike macros). They also require a light source closer to natural sunlight and not tons of blue spectrum light.
I suppose it could be done if you choose your corals carefully but basically the two ecosystems are vastly different.
Pic is my seagrass tank from 2007, 7 inch sand bed with 150 10,000k mh and two 6500k 96 watt pc bulbs. The tank is a 70 tall. Notice how yellow it looks compared to reef blue tanks.
"Im not looking to use the sea grass as a nutrient export because im growing 6 different kinds of macro in my sump."-hotelbravo
I used a similar strategy, with the macros right in the display. The problem is, the macros are greedy and will outcompete seagrasses for nutrients. If I were to do it over, I would wait on adding macros until after the grasses were well established. Then I'd add a macro when I added a fish.
Seagrasses are slow-growing, so I've been experimenting with various dosing schemes to accelerate growth. I've had success, but my caulerpa grew so fast, I had to prune it twice a week. So in effect, I was throwing away a lot of what I was dosing.
Anyway, something to think about as you plan your grass tank. Good luck and welcome to the party!
I used a similar strategy, with the macros right in the display. The problem is, the macros are greedy and will outcompete seagrasses for nutrients. If I were to do it over, I would wait on adding macros until after the grasses were well established. Then I'd add a macro when I added a fish.
Seagrasses are slow-growing, so I've been experimenting with various dosing schemes to accelerate growth. I've had success, but my caulerpa grew so fast, I had to prune it twice a week. So in effect, I was throwing away a lot of what I was dosing.
Anyway, something to think about as you plan your grass tank. Good luck and welcome to the party!
hotelbravo
Active member
is there any issue in going off shore a bit and collecting my own seagrass? I couldn't find much info in restrictions
In Florida, I think you can get a fishing license to collect seagrass that has washed up on the shore.
For Florida, go to: myfwc.com. I was just down there on a fishing trip, and took care of the license online before going.
For Florida, go to: myfwc.com. I was just down there on a fishing trip, and took care of the license online before going.
hotelbravo
Active member
i have my florida fishing license already but I don't go home to florida that often
