Pros/Cons micro algae in a pico

[aeceac6413]

Hi everyone!

I started a 5 gl pico and am interested in adding Macro algae to help with the balance. Does anyone have tips or pointers? Is this even a good idea?

 

[lapin]

Generally tanks are either coral or macroalgae. Plants require more nutrition than corals. There is also the problem of plants giving off unwanted chemicals that can’t irritate coral.

 

[EnterName]

I'm not sure if you accidentally confused micro and macroalgae.

Microalgae requires a microscope to see until it becomes so abundant it discolors the water, substrate, or glass. Diatoms for example are microalgae, but they create a brown mucus which is visible to the naked eye once their population gets too large.

Macroalgae is algae you can see with the bare eyes, like Caulerpa, Chaetomorpha, Halymenia, Hypnea, etc.

Microalgae is something that will either be introduced "on its own" (you can't really stop it from establishing), or it will end up in the skimmer/filter and you won't be able sustain a stable population over time. A lot of products sold as "phytoplankton" fall into this category. Their main use is to provide a nutrient source for corals.

Macroalgae will help with reducing nutrients by binding nitrogen and phosphorus to organic matter which you can "harvest" every once in a while. This effectively removes these nutrients from the system. "Good" Macroalgae is algae which is easy to control and won't spread throughout your tank to places you don't want it to grow.

 

[aeceac6413]

I'm not sure if you accidentally confused micro and macroalgae.

Microalgae requires a microscope to see until it becomes so abundant it discolors the water, substrate, or glass. Diatoms for example are microalgae, but they create a brown mucus which is visible to the naked eye once their population gets too large.

Macroalgae is algae you can see with the bare eyes, like Caulerpa, Chaetomorpha, Halymenia, Hypnea, etc.

Microalgae is something that will either be introduced "on its own" (you can't really stop it from establishing), or it will end up in the skimmer/filter and you won't be able sustain a stable population over time. A lot of products sold as "phytoplankton" fall into this category. Their main use is to provide a nutrient source for corals.

Macroalgae will help with reducing nutrients by binding nitrogen and phosphorus to organic matter which you can "harvest" every once in a while. This effectively removes these nutrients from the system. "Good" Macroalgae is algae which is easy to control and won't spread throughout your tank to places you don't want it to grow.

Definitely meant MACRO- thanks!

 

[EnterName]

Definitely meant MACRO- thanks!

If your tank is still young and hasn't gone through the ugly phase yet (diatoms, green hair algae, etc.), you don't really need macroalgae right now and it probably won't grow very well anyway.

In case you decide for keeping a macroalgae tank, no one will be able to answer your question because the tank has to visually appeal to you and only you know what algae you like best.

If you want to have corals at some point you might want to choose macro algae that can be fully and easily removed without growing back all the time. In that case someone else has to chime in, because I'm not really a macro algae expert.

 

[LinZ]

Hi! I know this post is a little on the old side, but I came across it because I am also setting up a pico macro algae tank. I've done some research but am looking more into how to do water changes.

Right now, as it is new, I'm actually doing water changes using dirty water from my main tank, which should be nutrient rich, while I wait for my macro algae to grow out a bit. I plan to keep the livestock to:

2 pom pom crabs
1 candy cane pistol shrimp
1 flaming prawn goby
1 random collared sand anemone I got (Actinostella flosculifera)
1 koji wada pink nephthea (leather coral)
blue/green sympodium & a couple zoa hitchhikers

The macro algae I have for now:
green codium
atomic broccoli (a must if you intend to have any blue lighting)
caulerpa prolifera (worried this will grow too aggressively)
red "string of pearls"
some neat red spiky kind (my LFS guy didn't have a proper name for it)
pinecone/christmas tree calciferous macro algae (Rhipocephalus phoenix)

I also want to get blue hypnea.

How has your 5 gallon tank been going, and what did you decide to put in it? How are you handling water changes/nutrient import/export?

 

[Subsea]

Hi! I know this post is a little on the old side, but I came across it because I am also setting up a pico macro algae tank. I've done some research but am looking more into how to do water changes.

Right now, as it is new, I'm actually doing water changes using dirty water from my main tank, which should be nutrient rich, while I wait for my macro algae to grow out a bit. I plan to keep the livestock to:

2 pom pom crabs
1 candy cane pistol shrimp
1 flaming prawn goby
1 random collared sand anemone I got (Actinostella flosculifera)
1 koji wada pink nephthea (leather coral)
blue/green sympodium & a couple zoa hitchhikers

The macro algae I have for now:
green codium
atomic broccoli (a must if you intend to have any blue lighting)
caulerpa prolifera (worried this will grow too aggressively)
red "string of pearls"
some neat red spiky kind (my LFS guy didn't have a proper name for it)
pinecone/christmas tree calciferous macro algae (Rhipocephalus phoenix)

I also want to get blue hypnea.

How has your 5 gallon tank been going, and what did you decide to put in it? How are you handling water changes/nutrient import/export?

@LinZ
That’s a lot of livestock in a pico. I would leave Caulerpa Prolifera out, as it will outgrow everything else. Not sure about the leather with its tendency for chemical warfare.