Planted saltwater tank

[chris_s9181]

whata the best way to approach the part of the hobby? Do you hace alot od plants to choose from

 

[homer1475]

No where near the same as a FW planted.

There are many varieties of macro algae to choose from. Many of the more delicate species also uptake calcium and alkalinity the same as corals do.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Macro algae tanks are very challenging and someone that would like to follow this route needs a good understanding of aquarium nutrition, a knowledge of pest algaes is also important as it’s much harder to try and eradicate pest algaes from a planted tank only in comparison to a reef tank, the variety is immensely large in the US and there’s always the option to hunt for new species in live rock at most LFS.

edit:
Parameters should be keept different from a reef tank also I normally recommend 0.1 to 0.2 phosphates and a minimum of 5 to 10 nitrates.
A artificial source of nitrogen and phosphorus is also a essential item to have at hand to control nutrients and encourage macro algaes growth.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Macro algae tank would be easy. It's basically a display refugium.
No problem.
D

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, as far as actual plants go (not macroalgae), your choices are severely limited. There are like four species of marine grass in the hobby (one of which is coldwater), and you can do mangroves too (there’s like three species of mangrove, you typically see red and black mangroves in the hobby). That’s about it.

You might be able to find some other plants that could work if made a little “beach” area in the tank, but those sorts of plants are generally pretty difficult to keep as I understand it (too much water/salt and they die, too little water/salt and they die - given where they grow, it’s a very delicate balance).

From the macroalgae side of things, there’s a decent number of options (including some “pest/invasive” algae species that are quite pretty). It’s definitely a bit different than running a reef tank, though, and - if I remember correctly - it can be fairly difficult to maintain long term. A few people keep them, though, and they’re quite nice looking tanks when kept tidy.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I've tried the bottle brushes and small trees. I may try again later.
D