Macroalgea FOWLR Aquarium?

[Liquidlar]

I really want to keep some moray eels but I dont really want them in a reef aquarium so FOWLR seems like the obvious option, problem is I feel like fowlr tanks tend to look pretty ugly. But then I remembered Macroalgea! They would add some life back to the tank I think. They should also go pretty well together right since they would uptake the excess nutrients from feeding and the waste from the moray and other predatory fish. Is there much more upkeep to keep macroalgea or will this be fine with the usual maintenance?

 

[Spare time]

You may benefit from dosing some trace mixture like chaetogro but other than that there isn't much upkeep to them. If you go with another trace element mixture, make sure you dose potassium. I believe my refugium is my major sink for potassium in my tank.

 

[vlangel]

I really want to keep some moray eels but I dont really want them in a reef aquarium so FOWLR seems like the obvious option, problem is I feel like fowlr tanks tend to look pretty ugly. But then I remembered Macroalgea! They would add some life back to the tank I think. They should also go pretty well together right since they would uptake the excess nutrients from feeding and the waste from the moray and other predatory fish. Is there much more upkeep to keep macroalgea or will this be fine with the usual maintenance?

I agree, macroalgae could really add to a FOWLR system and the nutrients given off from the high protein foods fed to an eel should fuel macroalgae nicely. In general they are fairly easy. I dose iron weekly and a little iodine occasionally.

The only other thing tricky about macroalgae is if you want to keep a lot of different varieties. Some will outstrip the water of nutrients faster than others. Then you can end up with just one specie of macroalgae. For that reason I keep my nutrients higher; nitrates 30 ppm and phosphates as high as .5 ppm. That should not be difficult in a predator tank. Oh yeah, and they should be pruned regularly, especially some varieties like caulerpa that will go sexual if they are not pruned enough.

Red macros do not need as much light as greens and gold's.

I get my macroalgae from Gulf Coast ecosystem or from other local aquarists.

 

[littlefishy]

Get some red dictyota if you can, it grows without ferts so much some consider it invasive. Also, what about a few easy gorgs thrown in for the purple/blue color?