why my caulerpa doesnt grow

[ozadars]

Hi there,
I have some caulerpa in my main tank and it stopped growing after the going sexual a few months ago. Is this because i dont have nitrate and phosphate in my tank? Or is this because of something else?
I also put some ulva (i guess its ulva ) in my tank. Last time i tried ulva, they all died but i wish this time it will work...

Thanks

 

[eoffrey]

What's ur lighting??

what species of Caulerpa?

what are your phos , nitrate levels?

are there any livestock specimens that are herbivores that consider the species of Caulerpa a meal or a snack from time to time and nible and eat it?

 

[eoffrey]

What's ur lighting??

what species of Caulerpa?

what are your phos , nitrate levels?

are there any livestock specimens that are herbivores that consider the species of Caulerpa a meal or a snack from time to time and nible and eat it?

 

[eoffrey]

What's ur lighting??

what species of Caulerpa?

what are your phos , nitrate levels?

are there any livestock specimens that are herbivores that consider the species of Caulerpa a meal or a snack from time to time and nible and eat it?

 

[eoffrey]

What's ur lighting??

what species of Caulerpa?

what are your phos , nitrate levels?

are there any livestock specimens that are herbivores that consider the species of Caulerpa a meal or a snack from time to time and nible and eat it?

where did u get it from........and how newly introduced into the system is it?

 

[ozadars]

thanks for nice 4 replies rocco

its a grape caulerpa.
i have 250W Mh and 36W NO bulbs over my 65gal
there isnt herbivores that can eat my caulerpa
its not new maybe 3-4 months old, i got it from a local reefer.
my nitrate should be around 10 ppm but havent checked the phos levels

 

[friogatto]

I was running 24 hr lighting on my refugium that was just packed with grape caulerpra until I had to shut the lights off for about an hour.
The whole thing went sexual. I yanked everything out I could .
That was about a month ago. The only thing growing is my halmieda and a couple strands of grape and razor.
I think it just takes time for your tank to recover.
I did a few 15% water changes (helped)
The last couple days I have noticed the grape and razor coming back.
I am sure there is a chemical given off by the caulerpra that prevents it from growing back right away.

 

[eoffrey]

Personally, the best species of Caulerpa to work with in main tanks or sumps/fuges......is prolifera........


great looking......nice growth......and usually doesn't propose any problems.

I keep it in many tanks.

how old are ur bulbs?

 

[ozadars]

when i bought my MH, the old owner gave me two bulbs. He said he used one of them and he hasnt used the other one. I think he used the old bulb for about a year 6 hours a day but i am still using his old bulb for about 6 months. Do you think i should change it with the new one?

 

[eoffrey]

absolutely............


it's my own little pet peeve, to run bulbs no longer than 6-6.5 months without changing.....

that's just me.

 

[ozadars]

i see, i will change the bulbs this weekend. I think i should also add some actinics. I have 2 10K bulbs; one of them is 250W MH and the other one is 18W NO bulb on the other hand i just have 18W actinic NO bulbs

 

[Cappy]

What is your iron situation? Calurpa likes iron to grow.

 

[ozadars]

i dont test my iron levels as this test isnt even available in Turkey but i think this comes with my Reef Crystal salt too, right? sure in small amounts but i have never added iron and my caulerpa was growing very well before going seual

 

[Foster]

I was running 24 hr lighting on my refugium that was just packed with grape caulerpra until I had to shut the lights off for about an hour.
The whole thing went sexual. I yanked everything out I could .
That was about a month ago. The only thing growing is my halmieda and a couple strands of grape and razor.
I think it just takes time for your tank to recover.
I did a few 15% water changes (helped)
The last couple days I have noticed the grape and razor coming back.
I am sure there is a chemical given off by the caulerpra that prevents it from growing back right away.

Went sexual??? What does that mean?

 

[ozadars]

i think when a plant goes sexual, it leaves its spores to the water