Why so much confusion over Caulerpa???

[PowermanKW]

I sort of don't like a big ball of cheato floating around in the fuges I've seen. They need to tumble. Collect detrius. Don't want the inside of the ball to start dying. An old salt said I should use caulerpa.

But I keep reading, and there is a ton of conflicting info. Light caulerpa 24/7, don't light 24/7. Light chaeto 24/7, no use a reverse phot period. Slow flow, fast flow. Damn near no flow. For both types. Old salts will say they have used caulerpa for 30 years wiht no problems, other say it is green death if you look at it wrong.

Anthony Calfo could be considered a good source, he does not seem to care for it. I have some grape and some blade type caulerpa now on a reverse period with about 40 gph in a 15g fuge w/ a 39 watt CF flood. I have always had low NO3/P4 so I didn't know how much growth I could support. It isn't growing well now. Grape is loosing. Not sure which direction to take.

 

[snorvich]

Personally, I would NEVER use Caulerpa. It could go asexual, and if it inadvertently gets in your display tank, it is a BIG problem.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I grow Caulerpa racemosa in my refugium. I've done 24/7 and 12 on/12 off. In my tank, it is more efficient than is Chaetomorpha.

But I agree that once it gets into the main tank, it can be a problem. It is already in my main tank, and I have to manually prune it.

 

[blennymower]

I have had caulerpa for nearly a year and I can't say anything bad about it. But I will switch to chaetomorpha since there is no danger of it sexually reproducing and releasing compounds back into the water like caulerpa does, as I've been told.

 

[PowermanKW]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14798192#post14798192 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
I grow Caulerpa racemosa in my refugium. I've done 24/7 and 12 on/12 off. In my tank, it is more efficient than is Chaetomorpha.

But I agree that once it gets into the main tank, it can be a problem. It is already in my main tank, and I have to manually prune it.

And do you have fish that eat it, or is that hit and miss. I have 2 tangs a just figured they would eat it.

The old timer said 24/7 is what will stress it to dying or releasing. What was your experience with both lighting periods?

 

[Mopar Reefer]

I run caulerpa in my DT and light it for 10 hrs and have never had a problem with it. Also, my tang and coral beauty snip at it but I do prune it back every few weeks as was said earlier, but that stuff helped me win my battle with GHA, its the best!

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14798168#post14798168 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snorvich
Personally, I would NEVER use Caulerpa. It could go asexual, and if it inadvertently gets in your display tank, it is a BIG problem.

Apparently it can also be pretty noxious stuff even if it isnt going sexual, releasing compounds that slow coral growth, etc.

 

[PowermanKW]

Some say that, old timers say they never had a problem. I don't know. Right now, I only have softies and LPS so I didn't pay much attention to that. But obviously, I would not want to introduce an unknown inhibitors and not realize my system's full potential.

 

[wetWolger]

I have ran feather and razor caluerpa in my fuge for a long time now. 24/7 light, fast flow....has NEVER had it go sexual. I think people just like to hate what they don't use. IME the caluerpa ended up out competing the cheato in my fuge, and is growing faster than cheato ever was. I recommend it, and don't let people scare you away from it. I have never tried it without 24/7 lighting, but as I said above, I have NEVER had it go sexual.

Little tip, it does like to attach a root system to rocks and stuff. My fuge is lined with rubble live rock. And I use scissors when I want to remove some, as to not harm the root system and allow it to maintain a strong hold in the fuge.

 

[PowermanKW]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14798784#post14798784 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jent46bow
I have ran feather and razor caluerpa in my fuge for a long time now. 24/7 light, fast flow....has NEVER had it go sexual. I think people just like to hate what they don't use. IME the caluerpa ended up out competing the cheato in my fuge, and is growing faster than cheato ever was. I recommend it, and don't let people scare you away from it. I have never tried it without 24/7 lighting, but as I said above, I have NEVER had it go sexual.

Little tip, it does like to attach a root system to rocks and stuff. My fuge is lined with rubble live rock. And I use scissors when I want to remove some, as to not harm the root system and allow it to maintain a strong hold in the fuge.

My fuge is 7 weeks, and a couple of clumps of grape died off. But like I said, my NO3/PO4 was already very low before the fuge. I increased my feeding to 4 cubes a day and other stuff. Don't know if the other is out competing, or there isn't enough nutrients.

Here is a pic about a week ago.

 

[noahm]

As with lots of things in this hobby, you just have to weigh things. Some people hear that there is a risk and they wont have anything to do with it. Other people have sea apples and box fish in there tanks and could care less. I know of a few people here who have had it go sexual multiple times and had no long term problems (ran some carbon, got the dead out etc.) Some people have a hard time getting chaeto to grow.

Like most things in your tank, keep and eye on it. Trim it back as you should with ANY macro to remove the nutrient sink and you should be fine. If it starts to go sexual cut it way back and run carbon.

I like it and even liked it in my DT except my urchin liked it to death. It does well in my sump w/chaeto.

Just don't let there be too large of a biomass compared to your system size I think is the main precaution to take IMO

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Get some Chaetomorpha. My Tangs actually eat the stuff.

 

[wetWolger]

I think it should also be noted that different algaes like different types of fuges. I choose to do a very high flow fuge for various reasons. And because of that cheato just can't hold on. Calurpa has roots, and can stand the high water currents.

 

[Anemonebuff]

I used caulerpa years back and through my own neglegence it got into the main tank. It did go sexual once because of the way I pruned it. I do think that it would work fine in a sump. As others said it is very invasive when it gets into the tank, as I prune out th razorblade caulerpa that was introduced into my tank seven years ago.

 

[wetWolger]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14799491#post14799491 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Anemonebuff
It did go sexual once because of the way I pruned it.

What about the way you pruned it do you think made it go sexual?

 

[Anemonebuff]

I pulled a few pieces off without pinching it, large pieces, and apparently it was traumatic to the plant and that night it went sexual. I found after that, that you should prune small pieces regularly, and makes sure you pinch the runner tight.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The old timer said 24/7 is what will stress it to dying or releasing. What was your experience with both lighting periods?

I've never had the normal form of the Caulerpa racemosa sporulate in more than 13 years. Many of those years were lit 24/7, so I think 24/7 is not such a trigger.

I used to have some tangs (yellow and hippo) that ate it, but the same species now with different individuals do not. Some tangs are known to eat it, but they are big and generally only well suited to really big tanks.

 

[Anemonebuff]

I haven't found a tang that will touch it.

24/7 worked for me as well. They go sexual at night.

 

[bubbly]

I had grape caulerpa in my fuge before I went to chaeto (the grape caulerpa came with the tank when I bought it from a fellow reefer).

The stuff will get in your display and you will never get it out -- I am still trying.

Chaeto is not the prettiest stuff, but neither is the caulerpa when it is trying to take over your main tank. Chaeto is also very hardy stuff, the inside of a ball will not die out -- I have seen this stuff buried in sand for months, when it comes out it is still green -- chaeto is super hardy.

As for detritus in the chaeto, you can use that to help grow pods to feed your mandarin, or you can just shake it out in some other water if you want.

There are other plants you can use in the fuge other than chaeto and caulerpa -- you can use Gracilaria -- I saw an article that rated it comparable to Chaeto in terms of growth / nutrient removal.

Sure Caulerpa is faster-growing than chaeto, but you will not appreciate that when you are fighting it in your DT and it is growing around/through your favorite corals and sticking its runners into them so you have to disturb everything when you are trying to get it out.

Speed of growth isn't everything now that we know much more about carbon dosing. In another thread Randy was even considering ripping out his fuges and just going to carbon dosing, which some people have done.

I had my caulerpa under 24/7 lighting, and never had an issue with it sporulating -- the problem is I am still trying to get it out of the tank, and you can clean a rock of it so well you think it's entirely gone, and it will STILL grow back.

 

[luther1200]

Does anybody have any factual info on whiether cheato ot caulerpa is better at nutrient export. A marine biologist told me that cheato was better. He said caulerpa grows fast, but it is similar to a weed on land. It grows faster because it needs less to grow. For example you would expect to find a weed in a parking lot, but not a rosebush. That doesn't mean the weed is extracting nutrients better, it just means it needs much less to grow.


But I have never read anything that has said this. I would like to know for sure if anybody has any reliable info to back it up.

I personaly use both in my fuge. I have had caulerpa for over 2 yrs with no problems.