Red Gracilaria collecting waste

wendy32693 · 04/18/2012, 09:44 PM

I have red gracilaria ( the stringy kind) in my 10g macro/seahorse tank but ive been having a problem with left over matter collecting up in the gracilaria and if i barely move the gracilaria it stirs up a bunch of that waste into the water. i do weekly water changes on the tank and have a sponge filter but i feel like the sponge filter isnt doing very well since there is so much waste that settles in the gracilaria. Does anyone else have a problem with that? I also have a problem with hair algea growing in the gracilaria. I have lots of other macros in my tank but not stringy like the gracilaria so it doesnt collect waste. Is this just not a good algea to have as a display algea?

mtc1966 · 04/19/2012, 07:14 AM

i stir up my macros before water changes to try and get the settlement.

eddiesylas · 04/19/2012, 10:18 AM

Can You easily remove the gracilaria? I also have a 10G macro tank and find that periodically (~every two weeks) I pull all of the rock out and "shake" it in the bucket of waste water to get any debris off before putting it back in the tank.

wendy32693 · 04/19/2012, 05:37 PM

Yes I can take it out, I suppose thats what il have to start doing. Thanks

drunkenmonk · 04/19/2012, 07:42 PM

I have to shake out the macros every once in a while as well to remove build up.

Jmnazari · 04/25/2012, 02:27 AM

This tends to be the problem with macros in picos

And since you have seahorses, you can't blast the macro with more flow. Do you have it as close to a pump or powerhead as possible?

wendy32693 · 04/25/2012, 07:58 PM

I decided to just take the gracilaria out as it was collecting a lot of waste and you could see it building up in it then i had a problem with red slime algae growing all over the gracilaria so the tank looked really dirty, so i just took it out and did a water change. Il just stick with macros that aren't stringy like that and are waste traps. Tank looks a lot cleaner now

eddiesylas · 04/26/2012, 06:14 PM

I dose Reef Nutrition Live Phyto Feast and boost pod populations. But it is my gammarus that live in my gracilaria now that I think keep it almost buildup free.

mtc1966 · 04/26/2012, 08:25 PM

just wondering what kind of seahorse you have in a 10g tank? dwarfs?

04/18/2012, 09:44 PM	#1
wendy32693 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 68	Red Gracilaria collecting waste I have red gracilaria ( the stringy kind) in my 10g macro/seahorse tank but ive been having a problem with left over matter collecting up in the gracilaria and if i barely move the gracilaria it stirs up a bunch of that waste into the water. i do weekly water changes on the tank and have a sponge filter but i feel like the sponge filter isnt doing very well since there is so much waste that settles in the gracilaria. Does anyone else have a problem with that? I also have a problem with hair algea growing in the gracilaria. I have lots of other macros in my tank but not stringy like the gracilaria so it doesnt collect waste. Is this just not a good algea to have as a display algea?

04/19/2012, 07:14 AM	#2
mtc1966 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: middletown,ct Posts: 5,775	i stir up my macros before water changes to try and get the settlement. __________________ 65g seahorse tank 20g sump with a reef octopus skimmer ,tlf 150 reactor, red sea ozone generator controller,cpr hob fuge with light and 2 China led lights one 42x1 w and one 24x3 w. occupied by 4 ecectus seahorses a couple small gobies and cuc. Current Tank Info: 58g main with 20g sump

04/19/2012, 10:18 AM	#3
eddiesylas Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 950	Can You easily remove the gracilaria? I also have a 10G macro tank and find that periodically (~every two weeks) I pull all of the rock out and "shake" it in the bucket of waste water to get any debris off before putting it back in the tank. __________________ Aaron Current Tank Info: 10G Pico Seagrass/macro.

04/26/2012, 06:14 PM	#8
eddiesylas Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 950	I dose Reef Nutrition Live Phyto Feast and boost pod populations. But it is my gammarus that live in my gracilaria now that I think keep it almost buildup free. __________________ Aaron Current Tank Info: 10G Pico Seagrass/macro.

04/26/2012, 08:25 PM	#9
mtc1966 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: middletown,ct Posts: 5,775	just wondering what kind of seahorse you have in a 10g tank? dwarfs? __________________ 65g seahorse tank 20g sump with a reef octopus skimmer ,tlf 150 reactor, red sea ozone generator controller,cpr hob fuge with light and 2 China led lights one 42x1 w and one 24x3 w. occupied by 4 ecectus seahorses a couple small gobies and cuc. Current Tank Info: 58g main with 20g sump

04/19/2012, 05:37 PM	#4
wendy32693 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 68	Yes I can take it out, I suppose thats what il have to start doing. Thanks

04/19/2012, 07:42 PM	#5
drunkenmonk Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Springfield, IL Posts: 123	I have to shake out the macros every once in a while as well to remove build up.

04/25/2012, 02:27 AM	#6
Jmnazari Hangin' w/ Rome from SWR Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Tucson Posts: 382	This tends to be the problem with macros in picos And since you have seahorses, you can't blast the macro with more flow. Do you have it as close to a pump or powerhead as possible?

04/25/2012, 07:58 PM	#7
wendy32693 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 68	I decided to just take the gracilaria out as it was collecting a lot of waste and you could see it building up in it then i had a problem with red slime algae growing all over the gracilaria so the tank looked really dirty, so i just took it out and did a water change. Il just stick with macros that aren't stringy like that and are waste traps. Tank looks a lot cleaner now