High Nutrient Macro Algae/Sea Grass Reef

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

My favorite non-caulerpa green macro is Ulva. Grows fast, looks cool, can grow in a wide variety of lighting, and herbivores love it. And when the time comes, it's easily removed.

I need to get me some of that. I did not have success with it years ago but I think that is because I had it in a high flow display tank and did not know a way to anchor it. The refugium is a much lower flow and it could probably just lay on the sandbed or be wedged near some rock. I do like it's nice light green color in a tank.

I went down to check on Plank and Molly McGwire, the converted to saltwater molly and I saw a wonderful thing happening in the fuge. Watch this 30 second video:
https://youtu.be/Aop59miOCOk

[Michael Hoaster]

Tiny helpers! Very cool.

Ulva seems to be a high nutrient kinda plant. When it has enough light and nutrients, it grows faster than anything I've seen.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Tiny helpers! Very cool.

Ulva seems to be a high nutrient kinda plant. When it has enough light and nutrients, it grows faster than anything I've seen.

I was thrilled when I saw them cleaning the blades of seagrass!

[Michael Hoaster]

I was just looking at my thread and reread one of your posts, containing this little nugget:

"Ha ha, 'entropy' came to my mind when I was sprucing my tank up for my son's visit. He also has a marine tank and we both work feverishly on our aquariums to whip them into shape for a good showing when we visit each other. It's kind of cute actually."

I think this is priceless! I am sooooo jealous. I'm sure you know how lucky you are to have an aquarium buddy/competitor. I do the occasional showing to my friends, and it's pretty awesome, but they don't quite have the same understanding of what I'm doing. Having someone who understands all the intricacies of aquarium keeping makes the experience so much richer.

Lucky you!

[ThePurple12]

Hey, ever think about adding a few SPS? I can see something like a Monti cap looking nice in your tank!

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

I was just looking at my thread and reread one of your posts, containing this little nugget:

"Ha ha, 'entropy' came to my mind when I was sprucing my tank up for my son's visit. He also has a marine tank and we both work feverishly on our aquariums to whip them into shape for a good showing when we visit each other. It's kind of cute actually."

I think this is priceless! I am sooooo jealous. I'm sure you know how lucky you are to have an aquarium buddy/competitor. I do the occasional showing to my friends, and it's pretty awesome, but they don't quite have the same understanding of what I'm doing. Having someone who understands all the intricacies of aquarium keeping makes the experience so much richer.

Lucky you!

I definitely do know what a blessing it is! It was my idea to get him into fish tanks as a little boy and he has the same love of it as I do. It was actually him who got me to switch from a FOWLR tank to reef. We have really enjoyed the hobby together but the rest of the family groans when we start talking tank stuff, ha ha!

[Michael Hoaster]

I used the upcoming birth of my daughter as an excuse to try my first marine tank! I think she enjoyed it as a baby, but 26 years later, she thinks I'm the king of geeks.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

I used the upcoming birth of my daughter as an excuse to try my first marine tank! I think she enjoyed it as a baby, but 26 years later, she thinks I'm the king of geeks.

It's funny how some kids gravitate toward a hobby and others do not. My other 2 boys have no interest whatsoever in aquariums. I am also an avid gardener and the aquarist and one other son have followed in my footsteps in that as well.

[vlangel]

My 9 year old Coralife quad hot5 fixture has gone on the blink this past week. Bummer! 3 of the 4 bulbs are not coming on without constant tinkering and that is not acceptable.

I really considered switching to LEDs or a hybrid fixture but both of those options require more financial commitment than I am willing to do. Also my tank is a 30" which is an odd length and so when I located HOT5 bulbs, I bought ahead. I could not even find a hybrid fixture that could use 30" bulbs. All I saw were 24" or 36". So I am staying with what I have had good luck with and is within my budget.

[Michael Hoaster]

I agree, LEDs are impressive, but not THAT impressive. It seems the only ones worth having are insanely expensive. They also seem to encourage folks to become blue-obsessed, to get that fluorescence in their corals. I'm sorry but the black light look bears no resemblance to anything I've seen in Nature.

Please forgive my rant. I guess I've been needing to say that for awhile now…

By the way, I think a 24 inch fixture, centered over a 30 inch tank would be more than fine.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

I agree, LEDs are impressive, but not THAT impressive. It seems the only ones worth having are insanely expensive. They also seem to encourage folks to become blue-obsessed, to get that fluorescence in their corals. I'm sorry but the black light look bears no resemblance to anything I've seen in Nature.

Please forgive my rant. I guess I've been needing to say that for awhile now…

By the way, I think a 24 inch fixture, centered over a 30 inch tank would be more than fine.

Rant forgiven: especially since I agree with your sentiments on the subject of blue light completely, LOL.

Yes, I really considered going down to a 24" hybrid fixture. Then I realized that the one I was looking to buy for a bit more than the Coralife quad t5 did not come with the LEDs or t5 bulbs. That along with the fact that I have brand new 30" t5 bulbs already made it a no brainer for this thrifty reefer.

[Michael Hoaster]

I was confused. So you were able to find a new 30 inch fixture to use with your bulbs you pre-bought? That's the ticket!

Thanks for the rant forgiveness. I try to confine them to my own thread. Sometimes I can't stop myself!

[ThePurple12]

December 1st FTS?

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

I was confused. So you were able to find a new 30 inch fixture to use with your bulbs you pre-bought? That's the ticket!

Thanks for the rant forgiveness. I try to confine them to my own thread. Sometimes I can't stop myself!

Yes, I bought the bulbs ahead since I got a good deal, for the fixture I have. So that was definite incentive to stay with the same fixture.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by ThePurple12

December 1st FTS?

I do not have the new fixture yet. It won't come until next week.

[ThePurple12]

Oh duh

[vlangel]

I bought some Seachem Flourish iron and Excell to dose both iron and carbon to my tank. I am going to dose conservatively and see if my seagrass/macro algae improve over the next weeks and months. Prior to this I was only dosing strontium and Coral-vite after water changes and I am guessing now that I do not do as many water changes that that is not sufficient to make up for the consumption of depleted elements.

[Michael Hoaster]

Sounds like a good idea. Without the need for as many water changes, dosing is an easy way to give your plants what they want.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Sounds like a good idea. Without the need for as many water changes, dosing is an easy way to give your plants what they want.

I probably should have dosed each separately, but I did them both one after the other. I dosed lightly and poured them into my overflow box of the display. (I was too lazy to go down the stairs to the basement fuge or sump.) Anyway now the tanks are a little cloudy. It does not seem to be effecting the fish or coral so I guess I will just wait and see if it clears on its own.

[Michael Hoaster]

Iron does cloud the water for a while. It'll clear up in a few hours.

[Subsea]

[I bought some Seachem Flourish iron and Excell to dose both iron and carbon to my tank]

[Flourish Excel is a source of bioavailable organic carbon. All plants require a source of carbon. This is typically obtained from CO2, but, may also be derived from simple organic compounds (such as photosynthetic intermediates)]
Product description above.

Dawn,
In nature, carbon dioxide in air is converted to glucose through photosynthesis. Glucose as carbon is moved up the food chain.

In addition to carbon entering reef tank through carbon dioxide coupled with photosynthesis, carbon enters reef tank with food. Use fish to convert dry food into marine snow for your system.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Subsea

[I bought some Seachem Flourish iron and Excell to dose both iron and carbon to my tank]

[Flourish Excel is a source of bioavailable organic carbon. All plants require a source of carbon. This is typically obtained from CO2, but, may also be derived from simple organic compounds (such as photosynthetic intermediates)]
Product description above.

Dawn,
In nature, carbon dioxide in air is converted to glucose through photosynthesis. Glucose as carbon is moved up the food chain.

In addition to carbon entering reef tank through carbon dioxide coupled with photosynthesis, carbon enters reef tank with food. Use fish to convert dry food into marine snow for your system.

Thanks Patrick, but I am not quite getting all this. Are you saying that if I feed my fish heavy enough they will provide the necessary carbon through their fish wastes?

I have heard of the red redfield ratio and Michael has explained some of it to me but I still struggle to grasp it all. Plants/microalgae need nitrates, phosphates and carbon to build their structures but I am not sure how that happens. All I understood was nutrients fed plants but I did not understand how.

[Subsea]

Thanks Patrick, but I am not quite getting all this. Are you saying that if I feed my fish heavy enough they will provide the necessary carbon through their fish wastes?


Dawn,
Yes. Fish detritus is food for the reef as it feeds a diverse crew of micro fauna & fana that generate the microbial highway and move carbon up the food chain.


Consider carbon as the building block for all life in your tank. Major (nitrogen potassium & phosphate) and minor/trace minerals are required to grow. Pure carbon enters the reef as carbon dioxide coupled with photosynthesis.

Carbon is not the only thing in fish food It contains major & minor minerals/nutrients.

In my opinion, carbon dosing coupled with protein skimming in not only unnecessary but can be detrimental in contributing to skewed bacteria populations in the sediments: Cynobacteria comes to mind.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Iron does cloud the water for a while. It'll clear up in a few hours.

Thank you Michael. That never happened to my tank when I added Kent iron but maybe it's more diluted. Anyway I am glad to hear.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Subsea

Thanks Patrick, but I am not quite getting all this. Are you saying that if I feed my fish heavy enough they will provide the necessary carbon through their fish wastes?


Dawn,
Yes. Fish detritus is food for the reef as it feeds a diverse crew of micro fauna & fana that generate the microbial highway and move carbon up the food chain.


Consider carbon as the building block for all life in your tank. Major (nitrogen potassium & phosphate) and minor/trace minerals are required to grow. Pure carbon enters the reef as carbon dioxide coupled with photosynthesis.

Carbon is not the only thing in fish food It contains major & minor minerals/nutrients.

In my opinion, carbon dosing coupled with protein skimming in not only unnecessary but can be detrimental in contributing to skewed bacteria populations in the sediments: Cynobacteria comes to mind.

So should I not use the Excel at all and just continue to feed fairly heavy as I have been?