red garcilaria question

[jiffy]

i recently bought some from my local fragger and its bright red and very nice but its a small piece... then bought a larger chunk at my LFS and it was more of a darker red and some pices were/are turning greenish/yellow.. i know they suck up nitrates and phosphates but after it does will it die off or continue to grow?

also what are the lighting conditions for this plant? i recently upgrade from my 28g nano cube MH hood to the new LED hood... is this enough light for this plant?

 

[sportzfish]

I would like to know as well, could not keep it in my refugium. In my main tank, my purple tang ended up eating it all.

 

[jiffy]

lol my sea hare was munching away on it, i had to throw him in another tank..

 

[Sasquatch]

beautiful stuff! cooler water temps, low to med lighting, good flow, lots of nutrients, if growing for food in separate tank chealated iron is good

 

[jiffy]

cooler water temps like 75 degrees or lower? so the lighting is ok, but i have 2 powerheads putting out 532 gph is that ok for flow? the calcium level is always pretty high (500 maybe a lil bit higher) mag level is pretty high too maybe 1500...

 

[Paul_N]

From wetwebmedia:

Growing Gracilaria


1. A separate tank - One with high nutrient levels. A tank dedicated to feeding just the Algae... but high Nutrient Levels a must. I add a silverside or formula 1 once a week.. but being careful to not overfeed the tank; over feeding may allow growth of diatoms and other competing micro
algaes.

2. Trace Minerals - I dose about 7-8 drops of both Chelated Iron and Magnesium daily and perform a small monthly water change to replenish calcium levels and other trace elements.

3. Cold water - best growth for Gracilaria in between 60 F - 70' F.

4. Strong Water Movement - I have a 800 GPH pump in the sump and it's return to the hex tank at a 12 " vertical spray bar which pushes & tumbles the Gracilaria around the tank in a circular motion (like a washing machine). At no time is any of the seaweed just sitting.... it's always tumbling.

5. Strong Lighting - I have a 125 Watt Fluorescent Blue Actinic bulb hanging directly above the water column. Gracilaria grows in deeper waters and does better with Actinic Lighting.
<again variable here... the commercial culture of Gracilaria ("Ogo" of food fame) is done so at the surface of the water. But the genus is adaptable and wide-ranging. I would suggest more/brighter daylight here to most aquarists>

 

[jiffy]

so with what i got would it be able to grow in m tank and if so should i place it high or low or what?

 

[Sasquatch]

with luck it may attach itself to the rock, with led's maybe lower down?

 

[akabryanhall]

I wish I could grow it, never had much luck unfortunately. Good luck with it. BTW thanks for the reference Paul!

 

[nixer]

i had it growing good till the cheato took it over and i lost it in my fuge. it really needs blue light.

 

[Paul_N]

I wish I could grow it, never had much luck unfortunately. Good luck with it. BTW thanks for the reference Paul!

Your welcome..:bigsmile: I never had any luck either. My tangs loved it and I was thinking free food but it would always die. I tried t5 lights(actinic) also and never helped. Maybe the key is the temp.