Weeds

[ThePurple12]

Nice, lots of pearling!

Speaking of widgeon grass, I found that it does grow on rocks, or at least attach to them. Although I'd rather have it in the sand. Rocks are reserved for macros!

[Michael Hoaster]

Pearling is good! And does that look like widgeon grass to you?

One of the challenges of the reds on the patch reef is getting each plant, with it's own light requirements, in the right spot. It's especially tricky when two different plants are on the same rock. Then you have to rotate the rock just right! The only plant that is loose is the large grasilaria, so it can be moved around easily. Ironically, I haven't moved it since I finished the rock project. It has reshaped itself into a pleasing arrangement without my fiddling. Most of the reds are coloring up well, except the unknown, flattened one. It seems to prefer dimmer lighting, but it's attached to the same rock as one of the sargassums. Since I have another sargassum, maybe I should prioritize the flat one and get it into dimmer light. That could be the ticket!

[ThePurple12]

I would say it's widgeon because of the multiple leaves splitting off of the base leaf. I don't think there are any other seagrasses (at least, any other Caribbean/Floridian seagrasses) with that feature.

I've definitely seen brighter red coloration+growth in low-medium lighting, and faster Sargassum growth in high lighting!

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Grabbed a few pics this evening…



I finally got my two sargassum weeds in good light. I'm seeing growth already.



String of Pearls, Grasilaria.



The red macros seem happy with the new reef setup. So far, the mangroves seem unaffected.



I found a small Widgeon Grass (I think), and moved it to the front. It died back but now looks to be bouncing back.

I enjoyed the more detailed close up pics. Seems like everything is settling in nicely!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn. Yeah, I wanted to focus in on a few things. Thankfully, there appear to be no casualties from the project. Now let's see if I can get the macros to flourish.

[Michael Hoaster]

Ok, so I had to putz with the rocks and macros today. Now that I've spent a little time living with them, I had some ideas to optimize the placement of several of the reds. The biggest challenge was getting the flat red macro into lower light, while giving the sargassum on the same rock higher light, while arranging the rocks to work well together.



From the front of the tank. The red macros are better distributed, and there's room for more.



From the end, semi-close.



A good look at the unknown flattened red. Hopefully, in this position it will color up.



The biggest of several String of Pearl plants, middle foreground. One of my absolute favorites!



Allen's Damsels assessing the changes.



Kind of an overall view from the end.

[vlangel]

I like it. I can see why you like string of Pearl's, it's a cool looking macro. Tweaking and tinkering is part of what makes reef keeping so much fun.

[Michael Hoaster]

I think I like it too. It's challenging to get things 'just so' when you have an artist's head and scientist's head competing for attention. But it is part of the fun!

String of Pearls plants have such a bizarre shape, they look like something from an alien landscape. I love that!

[Michael Hoaster]

Looking at the widgeon grass, what I thought was new growth is instead a manatee grass growing very close to it. So I may have killed it when I moved it. We'll see I guess.

A lot of grass blades are getting coated in calcium again. Yay. I may have to do another simulated grazing event and prune a bunch down. Not crazy about doing it, but now might be a good time, with the reds cut back a bit.

The feather caulerpa is just barely held back from completely engulfing the tank. I may need to do a jumbo export soon.

Glancing at my signature, I see I recently passed the two year mark on this tank. Doing the redo gave me the chance to apply what I learned in v1. The best example is the heavy use of dirt, dug up from my yard. With all that in my sand bed, the seagrasses are much easier to keep happy. When your pivotal species is a higher plant, dirt is your friend!

[ThePurple12]

I think I'll have to do a simulated grazing event too, with all that unknown red algae growing on the blades. What do you do, just cut all the blades from the bottom? They'll have no problem recovering, right?

[Michael Hoaster]

I try to cut them off just below the lowest attached algae. I always try to leave some blades to keep photosynthesis going, to power their recovery. I have read that seagrasses 'like' to be grazed and respond well with new growth. In my experience, this seems to be true.

You may recall from my previous thread that I wanted to get rid of the Turtle Grass that was taking over. I cut the blades off at the base, and they did not grow back.

So I wouldn't cut them off at the base unless you leave some blades uncut. For example, if the plant has three blades, maybe you cut off two of them, and leave one uncut.

I'm struggling with my words this morning. Does this make sense?

[ThePurple12]

Makes sense, but in my case the algae covers the entire blade. That's okay I guess, as I'm not trying to eradicate every single strand. Time to start cutting!

[Michael Hoaster]

Maybe do it in two phases. Cut all but one blade on each plant, then let them grow new blades back. Then go back and cut the old one that still has algae on it.

[ThePurple12]

Ah, too late. That’s a good idea, though. We’ll see what happens.

[Michael Hoaster]

Right on. I think most will grow back, depending on how much stored energy they have. They'll just need enough to get some blades growing and then photosynthesis can bring more energy.

When I clipped my turtle grass, I had to go back and clip some of them again.

Consider it an experiment. We can all benefit from your findings.

[ThePurple12]

I think you're right. I'll get some pics tomorrow when the lights are on.

[Michael Hoaster]

I really should prune my grasses too. I was looking at them again today. It's not as many as I thought. Shouldn't be too bad of a scalping. It opens them up with a little more space between them. And it looks better with only green blades. Gardening…

[Michael Hoaster]

A simulated manatee rolled through the Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon today. It really thinned them out, but it's greener. A few adjustments on the red macros and we're good. Still considering a massive 'School of Tangs' event on that caulerpa…

[ThePurple12]

Nice and lush! What fish are you planning on adding next?

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks ThePurple12! You inspired me to do it.

I have no plans for the next fish to add, but I have thoughts. I'd love to have more Allen's Damsels, for starters. Not sure I can pull it off, but a total of 8-10 would be great. I'd like to get another Royal Gramma harem going. I may 'upgrade' to tank-raised Orchid Dottybacks, if I can find a good deal on them, and info that would convince me they won't be too mean. Their coloring and sheen would really pair well with the Allen's. A Bristletooth Tang might be handy for detritus and algae help. If I decide I don't want macro algae anymore, a Foxface should do the trick, but I doubt I'll want to get rid of all my macros. One of my all-time favorite fish is the Regal Blue Tang. Fun personality and maybe a little algae consumption. Pygmy Angels have been on my radar, but with sponges in their diets, they're probably a no-go. That's all I can think of for now.

[vlangel]

I loved the last pic. So much green. The seagrass looks great. You and thePurple are inspiring me to snip the tops off of the blades of seagrass with algae on them. I will let you guys know when I do.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn! It really greens up the overall impression doesn't it? A little tedious but worth the 'after' pic! Luckily, I don't need to do it very often. It's therapeutic for my obsessive-compulsive side.

You could do it too, for your grasses, to tidy up if you like. How are they settling in?

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Thanks Dawn! It really greens up the overall impression doesn't it? A little tedious but worth the 'after' pic! Luckily, I don't need to do it very often. It's therapeutic for my obsessive-compulsive side.

You could do it too, for your grasses, to tidy up if you like. How are they settling in?

I probably will do that eventually. Some of the blades are very green and others are green at the base but have algae at the top. Those will be the blades that will experience a grazing event, ha ha. However in general I believe that the seagrass is getting settled and established.

[Michael Hoaster]

Yeah, it sounds like a good idea, but no rush with new(ish) plants. I'd wait until they are well established and growing well. Also, since it is sort of a secondary display, there's less need for perfection.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Yeah, it sounds like a good idea, but no rush with new(ish) plants. I'd wait until they are well established and growing well. Also, since it is sort of a secondary display, there's less need for perfection.

Having the fuge in the basement with the sump definitely takes the pressure off to make it look good all the time. It's a double edged sword however. When it does look good nobody but me sees it, ha ha!