Reef By Steele
10K Club member
Back when I started my first Saltwater aquarium in 1991, I had no clue and very little information. I had done freshwater for a long time, but never a planted tank. When I started my first reef, I got some feather Caulerpa and loved how it added extra color and motion to my tank, little did I know that it would thrive and take over the tank nearly choking out my corals and covering all of my rock. I spent a lot of time pruning (ripping out) bunches of it to keep it in check. Later I got a trio of yellow tangs, and they really loved it. Within a week they had decimated the Caulerpa leaving nothing behind. Refugiums were just coming into popularity but I didn't understand them.
Now 34 years later, while still having no clue, I have learned so much and have a much better understanding of how everything we can add to our tanks works together. While macroalgae can add color, movement and structure to our aquariums, it also has a utilitarian purpose as well. Nutrient export is a wonderful byproduct of the introduction of macroalgae into an aquarium. This benefit can be achieved whether it is added to the DT or placed in a refugium with a sufficient light source and flow.
One of the cool features of macroalgae is that every saltwater tank can benefit from it. While protein skimmers are such a great piece of equipment and really help with water quality, not everyone can utilize one as many state that hang-on units just don't perform to the level that in sump units work. That being said, macroalgae can be used in any tank from Nanno to Monster, AIO to fully plumbed DT with fuge. Even tanks with herbivores such as tangs can have and sustain macros, even in the DT, with proper selection. How is this possible, there are certain species that just don't hold the same appeal to the tangs as my Caulerpa did back in that first reef. Hayi Gracilaria (Pom Pom) is one such option. While they may initially pick at it, most times they leave it alone.
In the DT there are many choices that can be both utilitarian and visually appealing. The Pom Pom mentioned previously makes cool roundish red balls. Our thick Ogo Gracilaria is another red option that grows at a reasonable rate, while being a branching variety. This makes a great home for seahorses also. Caulerpa Racemosa grows as green grape like clumps and can be very beautiful as well. Caution should be exercised with this as like my feather Caulerpa it can grow aggressively and overwhelm your tank without harvest.
In the refugium, every variety listed above does well also. Some reasonable flow and either a specific refugium light or many choose to just add a generic grow light and the addition of a starter macroalgae. Any of the macros we offer are great selections for a refugium and they are fast growing and hardy varieties. Cheatomorpha is by far the most widely recognized and frequently used variety. While fast growing and fairly easy to maintain, its wiry appearance and tendency to intertwine in rocks and other structure makes it less desirable in a DT but awesome in the fuge. We recently came a cross wild Chaetomorpha, which is cool as it has muscles and other life in it. Since it is ocean harvested we have isolated it in a fishless system for 6 weeks prior to adding to the site. While all three Gracilaria we have in stock are fast growing and excellent choices, I find the fine Ogo to grow the fastest, making it a great choice.
So how does macroalgae remove nutrients from the tank. All of these varieties use nutrients and photosynthesis for growth. What I didn't understand at first, is that while it consumes nutrients it doesn't remove them. In the event that the macroalgae were to die, the nutrients would be returned to the tank as it decays. For this reason, we must harvest a portion of the macroalgae routinely to fully remove the nutrients from our system. Pulling it out and disposing of it is the general method, but there are other options as well. For aquarists with herbivores, you also gain a free and sustainable food source for those fish. Rabbitfish and tangs love getting a supply of fresh algae for dinner. While this does return some nutrients back into the system as the fish digest and expel, this addition is not higher than feeding them nori or other algae based foods, and considerably less than algae pellets and wafers that may not all be consumed. So harvesting and feeding a portion of the harvest will still net you positive results along with happy fish.
As always, here at www.reefbysteele.com we are dedicated to our customers and fellow reefers and are more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
Happy reefing!
