Crimson seaweed: What is your experience with red macroalgae?

[SauceyReef]

Where did you get the live rock? Good price?

Oh yes! I really lucked out with this stuff. I traded an Orange/Teel Lepto frag for like 10-15lbs. It was just old liverock rock traded from a few different reefers. Ended up in another local hobbyists garage in a bucket with a heater/wavemaker. I grabbed it, and not only is it beautifully shaped, but covered in good/bad corals, and algae! Super fun as I have never had such "live" liverock. This tank was setup less than a week ago.

I have another 5 gallon bowl setup next to it. Most of the visible red macro algae is in that one. I dont have an AI prime on it and cant manipulate the light, so its like near impossible to get a good photo. If you want to follow at all I included the link below.

Nano Build - 5 gallon Reef Bowl & Reef Vase - Build Thread (Lots of photos!)

I am very happy to announce I am finally starting the 5 gallon Reef Bowl & Reef Vase I have been planning for over a year! I have been extremely excited to start this build thread as lately I have been ordering everything. All the equipment is finally in, and I picked up the designated end table...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[1979fishgeek]

Love using fancy macro algae in my refugiums and in the past kept various predatory Frogfish species in with them.
My new tanks got a 5ft sump with a refugium measuring 36x17x18. It’s going to planted up like I’ve done in the past with various macro algae in a garden type display, the algae does a great job removing nutrients, supports pod populations and still looks pretty.

I prefer using LEDS lights designed for growing freshwater plants, as blue LED’s make the red macro algae look brown or dull and I can’t stand the pink/red spectrum lights as they wash out all colours.

 

[merrick]

More than 50% of the vote is never kept red microalgae and I’m one of them, so why would I want to try growing microalgae? What are the benefits, or pros and cons?

 

[JoJosReef]

More than 50% of the vote is never kept red microalgae and I’m one of them, so why would I want to try growing microalgae? What are the benefits, or pros and cons?

Pros: Look great in the display tank; suck up nitrates and phosphates; raise your endorphins and make you lose 20lb right away.

Cons: sometimes they go sexual and release lots of gametes and can alter chemistry of your water if that happens. So far I've never seen it with a red macro.

 

[mww00ds]

Last fall ( october-ish) I started a new 30 gallon bow front reef tank and bought some live rock form Gulf Live rock. When the rock showed up it had just 1 clump of Gracilaria on it and a lit or coralin. Jump forward to today and now I've got multiple species of red macro growing and thriving. This is the first time I've been able to get any macro to truly grow, probably cause I do the bare minimum for maintenance. Mostly just water changes weekly and what not. My lighting is the maxspect jump blue.

 

[mruggee]

i had some and loved it - i got turbo snails and it was gone in a few days. they still need to get the algae off my rocks. the bunch of slackers

 

[SauceyReef]

Pros: Look great in the display tank; suck up nitrates and phosphates; raise your endorphins and make you lose 20lb right away.

Cons: sometimes they go sexual and release lots of gametes and can alter chemistry of your water if that happens. So far I've never seen it with a red macro.

This happened to me with Caulerpa. Destroyed my tank. So I guess it can happen with any macro color? Never heard of it happening with chaeto, so I stick with that for now.

 

[Naso110]

Grows like crazy in my 26 seahorse jungle tank. Purple plating sponge does too. Doubles and has to be removed about every 6 weeks. Super high nutrients. 20 watt 6500k LED flood light.

 

[JoJosReef]

This happened to me with Caulerpa. Destroyed my tank. So I guess it can happen with any macro color? Never heard of it happening with chaeto, so I stick with that for now.

I also got some Caulerpa (racemosa, I think) that immediately went sexual within a day after introduction to my tank--maybe differences in tank parameters caused a stress response. I actually caught it in the act. Dirty little macro! Since I had it on a piece of rubble, immediately pulled it and ran carbon for a couple of days, but otherwise no damage done, and this was in a nano.

Going on a year with Botrycladia, Gracilaria hayi and codium with zero gone sexual events. Keeping them trimmed might be helping, and it's necessary anyways or they start stripping too many nutrients.

 

[JoJosReef]

Last fall ( october-ish) I started a new 30 gallon bow front reef tank and bought some live rock form Gulf Live rock. When the rock showed up it had just 1 clump of Gracilaria on it and a lit or coralin. Jump forward to today and now I've got multiple species of red macro growing and thriving. This is the first time I've been able to get any macro to truly grow, probably cause I do the bare minimum for maintenance. Mostly just water changes weekly and what not. My lighting is the maxspect jump blue.

Amazing!

Horrible picture, but 1 year after adding FL gulf rock, this fuzzy pink macro appeared:

 

[mww00ds]

Amazing!

Horrible picture, but 1 year after adding FL gulf rock, this fuzzy pink macro appeared:

Between the FL live rock and the Australian rock I've bought in the past. I only regret the Australian, it arrived bone white. If I ever need/ want more rock I'll be going with the FL rock. It arrived full of life and it's still looks amazing.

 

[vlangel]

I have 8 different macroalgae and 3 are red. Actually the reds have been the most successful in my tank and have never gone sexual. I have red titan, red moss ball and red grape caulerpa.

 

[CoralB]

In my tank it’s on the snack list

 

[radiata]

Red macro algae has done well in my refugium. That said, for years now I've had one algae taking over others, with almost no rhyme or reason. Had red Gracillaria algae, it got taken over by Chaeto, which has been taken over by Ulva.

 

[Leo_ian]

some mixed results, the usual red macro algae has been slow growing and then dies for me, but red bamboo has been pretty hardy for me

 

[zoomonster]

Had a variety of macro's, including gorgeous reds, that grew like weeds over the years. Then I got tangs... end of algae. Refugium I don't bother with much other than chaeto.

 

[Ocypode sinensis]

Looks like Eucheuma isiforme to me.

 

[Mr Fishface]

I am trying to keep red macros right now but I am having a hard time keeping the GHA off of them. Well, it's on everything but it keeps covering the red macros too.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

I voted other because they did both struggle and thrive. At the beginning it struggled and several died. But now my dragon breath is thriving and to my surprise a small red grape plant is now growing. I say surprise, because it had disappeared from my tank, but one day I saw a very small red stick on one of the rock. Now it has grown over 1 inch, and it is definitely grape algae, it is branching out and growing.

 

[Ocypode sinensis]

I am trying to keep red macros right now but I am having a hard time keeping the GHA off of them. Well, it's on everything but it keeps covering the red macros too.

I use a toothbrush to gently brush them off, usually gha grows on tissues that are not healthy/in necrosis.
Especially significant on my recently acquired Botryocladiam pyriformis (not sure, could be B. skottsbergii)