SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

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BeachORama
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SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by BeachORama »

Was thinking of going the SW planted "macroalgae" tank route with my green spotted puffer.

Anyone else doing this???

Seems like a good way to keep nitrates down and cheaper than corals with less chance of being eaten by the GSP.

Also adds color and interest to the tank....take a look!!!
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by RTR »

I would love to have a large macroalgae tank. I have seen pictures or seen a few really cool set-ups, but I would want it without potential predators.

If I wanted it as a working tool for a puffer tank, I would set it as a linked tank beside or below the puffer's tank - as if it were a jumbo macroalgae refugium, which it would be...

A number of my FW :veggie filters have been set as display tanks in their own right, why should SW be any different? But I would not attempt to co-house the two system - linked but separate removes a lot of potential and real issues. Set the fish display for the fish, the macroalgae display for the "veggies" and set for constant water exchange between the two. It makes upkeep and care better and simpler.

HTH
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by Brent »

YES!

I absolutely adore macros, and their benefits. I've been thinking about, after Christmas, hopefully doing one myself of about 30 gallons (with small gobies at first-- a larger tank with seahorses & related down the road), attached to a NPS reef.

What macros were you thinking of getting? :D
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by BeachORama »

RTR wrote:I would love to have a large macroalgae tank. I have seen pictures or seen a few really cool set-ups, but I would want it without potential predators.

If I wanted it as a working tool for a puffer tank, I would set it as a linked tank beside or below the puffer's tank - as if it were a jumbo macroalgae refugium, which it would be...
HTH
Thanks RTR.

I was hoping to keep everything in 1 tank, not only for practical purposes, but to provide a vibrant environment for my Green Spotted Puff to explore. (I would also like something nice to look at - :) .)

Since my GSP is a real carnivore, I was hoping to keep some bad tasting algae to keep nipping to a minimum.

Do you foresee any other problems with mixing him with macroalgae that I'm not aware of?
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by BeachORama »

Brent wrote:YES!

I absolutely adore macros, and their benefits. I've been thinking about, after Christmas, hopefully doing one myself of about 30 gallons (with small gobies at first-- a larger tank with seahorses & related down the road), attached to a NPS reef.

What macros were you thinking of getting? :D
Thanks Brent.

I was thinking a some easy macros to begin with:

C. Prolifera

Flame Algae

Octodes


Should give some color variation and trying to limit the ones that go "sexual" and release nutrients.

I struggle to keep nitrates down since my puffer is a messy eater and was SHOCKED many macrotanks have to ADD nutrients to there tanks. LOL!

Plus you can make a beautiful tank if you have the will. Look at this great example:
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by Brent »

Wow. I haven't seen that one before. Very nice!

Sounds good. I definitely agree on avoiding sexual macros. I can't imagine trying to deal with those. You could always remove the ones that are about to (turning white I believe..?) and placing them into a holding tank, but that's a fair bit of work...

Botryocladia is nice too; maybe codium as well to give a definitive shape to the scape.
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by BeachORama »

Brent wrote:Wow. I haven't seen that one before. Very nice!

Sounds good. I definitely agree on avoiding sexual macros. I can't imagine trying to deal with those. You could always remove the ones that are about to (turning white I believe..?) and placing them into a holding tank, but that's a fair bit of work...

Botryocladia is nice too; maybe codium as well to give a definitive shape to the scape.
Botryocladia
Image



codium
Image


Very nice!
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by RTR »

And if your GSP decides that colorful macros are tasty? Or that one particular one is a delicacy? That ain't simplifying your life in my book. I would prefer to move excess, divisions, and trimmings to an at-risk environment rather than try to keep them there 24/7. I have learned never to trust any puffer without testing for a number of years... Now I try to avoid painful lessons if at all possible. :(

Having to add nutrients is standard for vascular planted tanks in FW, why ever should it be different for macroalgae in SW? That is how the 24/7 lighted refugia came into being, and a veggie filter is just a large refugium on a normal (or reversed) light cycle.

The ultimate would be a specimen fish tank flanked by normal and reversed light cycle macroalgae tanks. That would be captivating 24/7 - a most satisfying wall of tanks. I have considered it more than once. The cost and labor would be a tad high to start-up though.
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by jus85411 »

maybe eventually when i have the time and money... :drool: i would love to do a macro tank for a display next to my puffer tank but i dont have the time or money right now :( it would just help water quality so much once its established and to be able to make it cool looking like the once above is a major plus. im not sold on corals yet, just not that appealing to me right now to want to keep one i love looking at nicely put together ones though. i would definitely do a planted macro tank like that
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by Brent »

@ RTR: Well they can always try and see what happens... It's all an experiment. :D

And I don't think they said anything about not testing. :wink:
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by RTR »

Testing is part of our lifestyle. There is certainly enough done on me. And I do enough on the tanks - but I do admit that I do not test as much as I used to do. I can tell that something is "off" visually just about as well as the tests can prove it to me - no small feat for the visually handicapped. But after all these years of staring at tanks it is nice that I have learned to see them better.

I do not experiment w/$$ frags and macros. I am too conservative for that. ;)
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by Brent »

RTR wrote:Testing is part of our lifestyle. There is certainly enough done on me. And I do enough on the tanks - but I do admit that I do not test as much as I used to do. I can tell that something is "off" visually just about as well as the tests can prove it to me - no small feat for the visually handicapped. But after all these years of staring at tanks it is nice that I have learned to see them better.

I do not experiment w/$$ frags and macros. I am too conservative for that. ;)

Yes. All of that must come from one ultimate thing-- age. :wink:
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by RTR »

LOL! Age is me! Who is that old jerk in the mirror? I try not to notice him.
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by Nick »

That's something I noticed myself, and I'm wondering if it will continue. Everyone told me to treasure my childhood, because it's the only time I would get away with being so ignorant. The same with high school, then college - everyone said enjoy it while it lasts. First I heard 20 is where you get the first shock of your own mortality, having to say goodbye to your teen years. Then I heard 25, 1/3 of your life, will be a marked date. Then I heard that 30 was a really big deal, a mature adult, totally different from the years before.

But I got NOTHING. I felt just as well at 20 as I had at 18. Twenty five was nothing either, other than not following up on the plan a friend and I had to drink whiskey barreled before our birth at that age. Now, I'm 31. I hardly think about my age, and get flattered when I'm carded to buy something. But other than that? Nope, just as well as I was at 18, thank you. I suppose I have better judgement, and now I don't rush to finish tasks quickly so much as I used to, but then I get all the same things done faster due to experience and skill.

If it wasn't for all these kids in high school who were born around my HS graduation, I doubt I'd realize I'd aged this much at all.
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Re: SW Macroaglae Tanks anyone?

Post by RTR »

I rather enjoyed maturing, and the learning that went along with it. To me maturing was really understanding that I did not know or understand everything, and even more, that I could not possibly know and understand everything. But at the same time you realize that you need not stop learning, ever.

But it not a lot of fun when several systems start shutting down, and doctor's appointments control your schedule and life. That is depressing. You still don't stop learning, but too much of that new material is things you had almost rather not know. Your eyes are weaker, but the handwriting on the wall is clearer and clearer every day. This is not a dress rehearsal, this is it. So relax and enjoy what you (still) can...
Where's the fish? - Neptune
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