Raindog3030
Active Member
This is one of those things that has baffled me since rejoining the hobby earlier this year. Why doesn't macro algae seem to do well in the display, despite all corals thriving?
More specifically, does a lack of red/white light deprive the macro algae of the spectrum it requires to thrive? When I started my current 20 gallon long build (build thread link in signature) I emulated my last build from 10 years ago, down to everything shy of the lighting.
10+ years ago, I decided it would be good idea to keep a chunk of chaetomorpha in my display. Pod hotel, nutrient exporter, and one more interesting thing to look at...this thing thrived for many years! This was a fairly new concept back then, when reef mud was starting to show up on shelves at the LFS and the first HOB refugiums came out.
Of course, I was poor in my college years, so a compact fluorescent light was the best thing I could get!
Now, let's fast forward to the present, where I can afford cool things I want, and now I have a pair of Kessil A360WEs hanging over this little 20 gallon long. Same thing, threw a ball of chaeto in the back where there was some good flow, but several months have passed...and no growth? The chaeto isn't dying, its very dark green actually, but there have been to visible signs of growth!
Another interesting thing to mention, is I have recently received a plug with some lettuce algae on it, and it is growing rampantly! Did I just get a bum piece of chaeto? Or am I not giving enough white light running a max color of 40% from the Kessils? I thought maybe not enough nutrients, but we feed reef roids and a cornucopia of frozen stuff as well.
All of my water parameters are well within acceptable levels, and consistently at that!
What are you experiences with macro algae in the display with live corals?
More specifically, does a lack of red/white light deprive the macro algae of the spectrum it requires to thrive? When I started my current 20 gallon long build (build thread link in signature) I emulated my last build from 10 years ago, down to everything shy of the lighting.
10+ years ago, I decided it would be good idea to keep a chunk of chaetomorpha in my display. Pod hotel, nutrient exporter, and one more interesting thing to look at...this thing thrived for many years! This was a fairly new concept back then, when reef mud was starting to show up on shelves at the LFS and the first HOB refugiums came out.
Of course, I was poor in my college years, so a compact fluorescent light was the best thing I could get!
Now, let's fast forward to the present, where I can afford cool things I want, and now I have a pair of Kessil A360WEs hanging over this little 20 gallon long. Same thing, threw a ball of chaeto in the back where there was some good flow, but several months have passed...and no growth? The chaeto isn't dying, its very dark green actually, but there have been to visible signs of growth!
Another interesting thing to mention, is I have recently received a plug with some lettuce algae on it, and it is growing rampantly! Did I just get a bum piece of chaeto? Or am I not giving enough white light running a max color of 40% from the Kessils? I thought maybe not enough nutrients, but we feed reef roids and a cornucopia of frozen stuff as well.
All of my water parameters are well within acceptable levels, and consistently at that!
What are you experiences with macro algae in the display with live corals?
