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View Full Version : Macro algae in a sps nano?


willjay
02/05/2009, 04:18 AM
Ok bit of a lie its not an sps nano as such, but i have a couple of frags and a colony!
acros and hystrix.
other corals are acan, duncans ecinophylia, green stars, zoas and fungia.

Tank vol before displacement is 49 litres, light is 150 w 20k MH.
flow is via hydor nano power head and 900 approx return from the canister (fitted via two bulk heads in the bottom)
modded canister to house the fuge light and chaeto, the canister also house the inbuilt heater and controller.
fan run on a timer for the summer (may yet put that via a habistat cool control)

One of the acros (nana) suffered a bit and has some striping due to a yellow clown goby sitting and picking at it, it went brown! Goby was removed.......... coloring up well so far, and hope it does really well from now on.
Striped parts don't seem to have increased and the water tests are all at desirable levels.
I have a tiny frag of the nana, (untouched by the goby) and its doing really well.
The other sps is a hystrix which grows bloomin quick, tiny frag given by a friend.
Lastly a new acro i got from a tank close down, a acro millipora. looks well since moving it in, two weeks ago approx.

I run phos remover but no carbon at the moment, once every few months i run carbon for 2-3 days

In a canister filter i run Chaeto lit and growing well on a reverse cycle and a few chunks of rock

My question is what are peoples thoughts on macro algae, I now have no fish, do a water change every week, the tank has good temp stability, 25.8 - 26.3 winter, last summer i did see the temp creap up to 27 a few times, but with a fan pointed across the open top it came back to the normal 26 target pretty much.

I have read that the macro could be detrimental to the sps, obviously i did have an issue with the goby, but now that physical damage has stopped i want to provide the best care for the sps and maybe get more. I have no intension in keeping fish in this nano now, just crabs and shrimp (feed them small amounts and a pellet each)!

Any experience and advice always most gratefully received

natan
02/05/2009, 05:23 PM
Some NO3 will be removed by the rocks and chaeto, you chemically remove P, and have next to zero bioload. So why do you want macros? At the very least they will compete with coral for microelements, making supplementation more challenging. Some say they secrete chemicals in to the water as well, one more possible reason to avoide them. Above all, IME most macros need more nutients than what yuor tank has to offer in order to survive.

>In a canister filter i run Chaeto lit and growing well on a reverse cycle

Why on a reverse cycle and not on 24/7? You can export more nutrients with equipment u already run, export taking place as long as the lights are on.

TheH
02/05/2009, 07:41 PM
It will be difficult to grow macros and sps together in such a small water volume. SPS need low nutrient levels and macros needs high nutrient levels.

However, I must disagree with the idea that macros and detrimental to SPS because they release chemicals into the water. I have yet to find anyone with evidence of this.

willjay
02/10/2009, 09:06 PM
Thanks guys, so very different approches to my situ!

i as you can see have tried to reduce the bio load, (no fish) and the very low load feed for the crabs and shrimps, so basically wondering now if i should reduce the macro algae bit by bit and then go to none at all?

I have found it helps to stabalise the PH at night, so hence the reverse cycle of the main light.

I find doing small changes very slow works so will not have much to report for a month at least.

Any extra advice of experience is VERY welcome

:)

Will

willjay
02/10/2009, 09:06 PM
Thanks guys, so very different approches to my situ!

i as you can see have tried to reduce the bio load, (no fish) and the very low load feed for the crabs and shrimps, so basically wondering now if i should reduce the macro algae bit by bit and then go to none at all?

I have found it helps to stabalise the PH at night, so hence the reverse cycle of the main light.

I find doing small changes very slow works so will not have much to report for a month at least.

Any extra advice of experience is VERY welcome

:)

Will