Macros that wont crash?

StacyMarie

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Hello!!

I currently have a biocube 32 that I would really like to do macro algae in. I currently just have rock and some artificial decor.

However I am nervous about macro algae crashing? I know that caulerpa is the one known for going sexual, but I can't find a straightforward answer anywhere if there are others that do that.

I would like to liven up my tank, but I also love how simple its been (I currently just have two clowns and a filefish) so I really dont want to add anything thats going to be a risk. I'm okay if it dies I just don't want to add something that could potentially crash and hurt my fish.

Any advice on easy to keep macros or corals (gorgonians) would be much appreciated. This is my first saltwater tank (started in January)

Thank you all!!
 

Kactai

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Macros are fun and pretty low risk. Most available to the hobby are relatively safe.
 

Nemo&Friends

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I started macro algae a little over a year ago, in a 40G. I had some difficulties at the beginning but they finally took off and I am happy with it. So far none have gone sexual. There are many different types of caulerpa, and they probably vary in their behavior and the frequency that they go sexual. As I am planing to feed my tang and my rabbit fish from my bigger tank with it , I do not mind too much if the macro grows big. I have tried a few times already, and they love it. Other than clouding the water for a little while, I understood that it will not hurt your fish when the macro go sexual. You may want to verify that though.
Gulf Coast ecosystem has a good website about macro algae.
 

JoJosReef

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I've had caulerpa go sexual, but my red grape (Botrycladia), pom pom (Gracilaria hayi), and codium have grown really well, look great and no signs of going sexual. I had galaxaura, which was great and beautiful until it got smothered by ulva. Blue hypnea never took off in my tank and just broke into pieces floating around.

Is definitely recommend Botrycladia and codium.
 

AydenLincoln

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I have around a dozen of macros in my one tank! I can tell you right now it’s extremely rare for them to go sexual and crash a tank especially when trimmed back and taken care of! Here is what I have!
Pom Pom/Red Bush (Gracilaria hayi)
Red Ogo (Gracilara parvispora)
Tubular Thicket (Galaxuara sp.)
Blue Hypnea (Hypnea pannosa)
Dragon’s Breath (Halymenia durvillei)
Grape Caulerpa (Caulerpa racemosa)
Sea Lettuce (Ulva)
Red Grape (Botryocladia)
Palm Tree (Caulerpa Paspaloides)
Sea Grass (Caulerpa prolifera)
Orange Galaxy (Augophyllum wysorii)
Purple Fauchea (Fauchea sp.)
Purple Wire (Chondria sp.)
 

Subsea

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Hello!!

I currently have a biocube 32 that I would really like to do macro algae in. I currently just have rock and some artificial decor.

However I am nervous about macro algae crashing? I know that caulerpa is the one known for going sexual, but I can't find a straightforward answer anywhere if there are others that do that.

I would like to liven up my tank, but I also love how simple its been (I currently just have two clowns and a filefish) so I really dont want to add anything thats going to be a risk. I'm okay if it dies I just don't want to add something that could potentially crash and hurt my fish.

Any advice on easy to keep macros or corals (gorgonians) would be much appreciated. This is my first saltwater tank (started in January)

Thank you all!!
Welcome to r2r. Under the right conditions, any macro can go sexual. However, that does not mean your tank will crash. As in all things, how much seaweed crashed and what is the BOD (biological oxygen demand) of your system and how many fish.
 

Subsea

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Hello!!

I currently have a biocube 32 that I would really like to do macro algae in. I currently just have rock and some artificial decor.

However I am nervous about macro algae crashing? I know that caulerpa is the one known for going sexual, but I can't find a straightforward answer anywhere if there are others that do that.

I would like to liven up my tank, but I also love how simple its been (I currently just have two clowns and a filefish) so I really dont want to add anything thats going to be a risk. I'm okay if it dies I just don't want to add something that could potentially crash and hurt my fish.

Any advice on easy to keep macros or corals (gorgonians) would be much appreciated. This is my first saltwater tank (started in January)

Thank you
Going sexual is a survival technique that for various reasons enviromental stresses trigger seaweed to spread spores into the water column., thus going sexual. In general, when faster growing seaweeds exhaust nutrients in the water, yet have high light intensify driving them to grow fast: they go sexual.

Russ Kronwetter is diver owner of Gulf Coast EcoSystems and he wrote a handy on line seaweed reference guide at his website:



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Subsea

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Note the translucent white stems which is all that is left from volly ball size clump of Caulerpa Paspoidies. Note the numerous ornamental sponges in this tank. The clump dissolved down to 1 stem. One hour ago, I removed much Caulerpa Prolifera which had outstripped Paspoidies for available nutrients. I removed 80% of Prolifera from this tank and may remove all of it, because of the aggressive nature of Prolifera‘s holdfast.
 

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vlangel

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I keep my nutrients on the high side, (nitrates 30 ppm, phosphates .5 ppm) and am having very good luck with codium, red grape caulerpa, caulerpa cupressoides, red moss ball, red titan, cheato, opuntia and ulva. I keep the ulva trimmed back a lot as it will hog all the nutrients for itself and strip the water column so the other macroalgae that does not take up the nutrients as fast tend to starve. My tank also has about 5 different gorg species and they work well with macroalgae.
IMG_20230310_164951298.jpg
 

JoJosReef

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I keep my nutrients on the high side, (nitrates 30 ppm, phosphates .5 ppm) and am having very good luck with codium, red grape caulerpa, caulerpa cupressoides, red moss ball, red titan, cheato, opuntia and ulva. I keep the ulva trimmed back a lot as it will hog all the nutrients for itself and strip the water column so the other macroalgae that does not take up the nutrients as fast tend to starve. My tank also has about 5 different gorg species and they work well with macroalgae.
IMG_20230310_164951298.jpg
Which one is your red titan? Where do you get it these days? Never seen it for sale.
 

vlangel

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Jojosreef, The red titan grows in a plating fashion. In my tank it is dead center growing under the gorgonian and also on a front rock in the lower right corner. I got it years ago and believe it to be a halimeda or halimenia variety. Its stiff and calcareous but very easy to grow. It's my oldest macroalgae. If you PM me with your address and are willing to pay shipping, I can mail you a generous portion once the weather warms a bit.
 

JoJosReef

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Jojosreef, The red titan grows in a plating fashion. In my tank it is dead center growing under the gorgonian and also on a front rock in the lower right corner. I got it years ago and believe it to be a halimeda or halimenia variety. Its stiff and calcareous but very easy to grow. It's my oldest macroalgae. If you PM me with your address and are willing to pay shipping, I can mail you a generous portion once the weather warms a bit.
Thanks, that's an amazing offer--I will keep note and get back to you in a few months when it's warmer and my tank transfer is finished! I first saw red titan on the ReefCleaners Out-of-Season page, but John told me he never gets it. It's a stunning macro.

Love your tank. Gorgonians and macros make such a great visual display. What is the flat purple thing (macro? coral? sponge?) under your sinularia?
 

vlangel

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Thanks, that's an amazing offer--I will keep note and get back to you in a few months when it's warmer and my tank transfer is finished! I first saw red titan on the ReefCleaners Out-of-Season page, but John told me he never gets it. It's a stunning macro.

Love your tank. Gorgonians and macros make such a great visual display. What is the flat purple thing (macro? coral? sponge?) under your sinularia?
Yes, the flat plating purple is a photosynthetic sponge. It is a stunning vibrant purple but I learned the hard way that one must diligently keep it where one wants it and aggressively remove it where it is not wanted.
Thank you for the kind compliment.
 

vlangel

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Beautiful tank. Curious what are you dosing, how much, and how often?
Hi goody, I am not sure if you mean my tank but if you do,,,thank you for the kind words.

Once a week after I do my 5 gallon water change, I add a capful of Seachem Stability and Coral Vite for trace minerals. My water change brute can gets a capful of 2 part, alkalinity and calcium and a capful of iron. Occasionally I will add a capful of magnesium. That brute can lasts me for a month or so since it holds multiple water changes. Other than that, feeding my 11 fish and giving the coral reef roids twice a week is all I do.
 

macrouk

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One thing I wanted to add re caulerpas goign sexual is that I’ve found some species tend to go sexual in larger proportions than others. For example racemosa and serrulata I’ve found go sexual more readily than other caulerpa AND it tends to be most of the population of the tank that goes sexual at once - compared to taxifolia or prolifera which for me has less chance of going sexual and if/when it does it tends to be a couple ‘blades’ rather than the whole lot.
 

damsels are not mean

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I have never had one go sexual, but from what I understand the danger is overstated.

First off, if you prune, it supposedly doesn't happen. And display algaes tend to get pruned a lot.

Second, it happens to a single specimen not to a whole tank or even all members of a genus or species at once. The horror stories of tank crashes caused by caulerpa were people growing a huge biomass of caulerpa in their sump and never touching it. Unless you let a single string of caulerpa grow until it fill the tank, you won't crash your tank with it going sexual.

On top of all that, it's very rare. I have had a few different species of macros and never did they go sexual for me. The only times they died were due to neglect. But that was slow.
 

The_Macro_Lady

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I’ve had a major caulerpa meltdown at one point. Literally happened in minutes of the lights going on. I had to go to work so I figured all was a lost cause and would come home to a disaster. Luckily by the time I made it home it was completely cleared up. No other losses and all other tank mates were fine. These photos were taken about a week apart. That Caulerpa in the back was the culprit. I had moved a power head down about 1”, which was enough to aggravate it. That same species went sexual several more times until it finally all melted away.
 

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