Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > Invert and Plant Forums > Marine Plants & Macroalgae
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 03/27/2017, 09:18 AM   #1
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
new macro tank - pointers welcome

Been tossing this around for a while, had a 40 breeder; so I started a macro algae tank.

Lighting 4x24w t5:coralife 6700k, geisman flora, ati blue+ and purple+; 18w 8000k leds. I have a coralife 10000k bulb also but this color spectrum looks nice and everything seems to be responding well.

I've found finding macro to be a bit challenging; varieties of caulerpa and gracilaria no problem, but others a bit more difficult and costly to get. I've found most selling tiny little pieces they call an inch, but isn't really. Any sources anyone can share would be great, I do know all the common ones. I thought dragon's tongue and dragon's breath was 2 different varieties of halymenia, I misidentified some as gracilaria hayi and ordered a dragon's tongue and a dragon's breath. I now have a large amount of dragon's breath and no dragons tongue, maybe I'm mistaken.

I have some pieces that require proper reef conditions, so i do maintain my ca, mg, and alk. I dose seachem fuel which is like a carb, vit, etc additive; also iron. I've been feeding the tank with coral foods to keep the nitrogen cycle flowing.

I loaded it up with a 1250 pack of pods from aquarium depot. Do you think I need more to ensure a massive breeding pop, I am planning to hatch some cuttlefish, and the amphipods will serve as a food source until they get big enough to eat something else.

Any pics or pointers welcomed as inspiration.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_20170326_130635.jpg (53.2 KB, 167 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_20170326_123347.jpg (66.3 KB, 137 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_20170326_123405.jpg (58.5 KB, 120 views)
__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/28/2017, 12:04 PM   #2
Michael Hoaster
Registered Seaweedist
 
Michael Hoaster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 5,807
It looks like you've got a pretty good variety going. Once we get into summer, more varieties will be available. Seas are too rough for collecting in winter. You'd think they'd farm a lot of it, to keep inventory up, but they're all pretty small operations at this point. It's still a pretty small niche of the hobby.

Plants love ca, mg and alk, so you should be good. They are not fans of super low nutrients though. Keep feeding the tank. Macros need a lot. If your plants aren't growing, they need more food.

No idea on the cuttlefish but they are cool! Pods need food too, to maintain populations. Algae and phytoplankton.

I look forward to your progress. Good luck!


__________________
As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
Michael Hoaster is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/29/2017, 02:56 PM   #3
Ron Reefman
Registered Member
 
Ron Reefman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cape Coral, FL
Posts: 10,431
Have you looked at Gulf Coast Ecosystems? http://www.live-plants.com/

I'm really just getting my display refugium started and my first few came from them and my collecting in the Gulf of Mexico.


__________________
The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson)
Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017
Ron Reefman is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/29/2017, 09:04 PM   #4
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
Yes thanks I got a couple of pieces from them today, think I'll wait a bit like Hoaster said and check back with them for more varieties.


__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/08/2017, 01:06 PM   #5
reefcreators
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Reefman View Post
Have you looked at Gulf Coast Ecosystems? http://www.live-plants.com/

I'm really just getting my display refugium started and my first few came from them and my collecting in the Gulf of Mexico.
How was the size portions of the items you got from them? Been thinking about doing something like this and have the usual macros and I'm interested in some of theirs just never heard of them before.


reefcreators is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/08/2017, 09:42 PM   #6
SantaMonica
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Santa Monica, California, USA
Posts: 2,511
Been looking for a reason to order from them. Maybe this one will be it:
http://www.live-plants.com/corallinefine.htm


__________________
Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843
SantaMonica is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/11/2017, 08:29 AM   #7
gkat66
Registered Member
 
gkat66's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: North Central IL
Posts: 2
I've ordered from live-plants many times. Never been disappointed , they have super customer service and always send plenty. We had a freak cold snap right after I ordered once and everything showed up dead ,they covered it without question. I run macro in all my tanks , and what thrives in one tank may waste away in another. It has been trial and error but I simply move them around until they find a tank they like.


gkat66 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/07/2017, 12:03 PM   #8
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
Update on the tank, overall I'm pretty happy, most specimens seem to growing, or at the very least not dying. I'm getting some cyano I'm not very happy with, I've been using a variety of coral foods and seachem fuel as a food source. My po4 was at .36 and nitrates always test at 0. So I did a mild drip of x-phosphate and am going to start with some kno3 today.

I'm thinking of maybe adding a couple few photosynthetic gorgonians.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg 005.jpg (49.1 KB, 61 views)
__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/07/2017, 02:18 PM   #9
Michael Hoaster
Registered Seaweedist
 
Michael Hoaster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 5,807
Nice pic!

Potassium nitrate is a good, safe nutrient for plants. Gorgonians are cool! Challenging to keep happy and healthy. But it can be done and done well! Good luck!


__________________
As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
Michael Hoaster is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/07/2017, 04:32 PM   #10
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
I've had this one going for years in my reef, I've seen some nice varieties at gulf coast.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg 015.jpg (51.8 KB, 64 views)
__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/07/2017, 04:46 PM   #11
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
another angle of the macro tank


Attached Images
File Type: jpg 017.jpg (60.3 KB, 61 views)
__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/08/2017, 11:33 PM   #12
SantaMonica
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Santa Monica, California, USA
Posts: 2,511
The gorg you've had for years looks to be a Menella. They are supposed to be "easier" to keep NPS gorgs, and I've been wanting to try them for a while, especially since the yellow version is fairly bright.


__________________
Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843
SantaMonica is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/22/2017, 09:25 AM   #13
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
Help! 3 types of caulerpa dying overnight. Grape caulerpa doing fine. I stopped feeding the coral food because phosphates were through the roof and I was getting cyano. Phosphates came down and cyano receded. I started dosing kno3 in the form of spectricide, just raised the no3 to 5ppm. Everything was great until I changed my routine, but the cyano was driving me crazy.


__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/25/2017, 06:38 PM   #14
Michael Hoaster
Registered Seaweedist
 
Michael Hoaster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 5,807
How's it coming? Three caulerpas dying at once points to a nutrient deficiency. Fast-growing caulerpas are greedy. Keep feeding them.

Stump remover is a cheap version of potassium nitrate and a great nitrogen source.


__________________
As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
Michael Hoaster is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/30/2017, 08:46 PM   #15
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
lost 2 of the caulerpa, one is recovering. I started feeding the tank again with coral foods and ditched the kno3. I put some chemipure elite in and a weekly 3ml drip of brightwell phosphat-E to help control po4. Cyano receded and everything else doing good.


__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/08/2017, 08:32 PM   #16
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
New addition, purple ribbon gorg seems to be doing well after a couple of weeks. Still learning, got the cyano wiped out and under control. Now nuisance algae doesn't realize this a decorative algae tank.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg 004.jpg (65.2 KB, 36 views)
__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/11/2017, 04:04 PM   #17
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
Tank shot 2.5 months


Attached Images
File Type: jpg 005.jpg (55.4 KB, 58 views)
__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/15/2017, 09:16 PM   #18
SantaMonica
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Santa Monica, California, USA
Posts: 2,511
Give the gorg lots of food particles, day and night.


__________________
Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843
SantaMonica is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/18/2017, 09:07 PM   #19
SalFish
Registered Member
 
SalFish's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Maryland
Posts: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by cougareyes View Post
Tank shot 2.5 months
What are you doing for filtration?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


SalFish is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/19/2017, 08:19 AM   #20
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
It's a 40 breeder with a ac70 hob filter, I built a custom flow diverter in the filter box to push the flow down and up through all the media. I run some seachem matrix biomedia, and chemipure elite. I have 2 small hydor circulation power heads with about 40 lbs of live rock in the tank. I have to harvest the grape caulerpa frequently, the macro algae absorbs all the nutrients. My only problem was an imbalance of phosphates that initially caused a cyano outbreak. I now have that under control.


__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/14/2017, 07:08 PM   #21
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
Added a couple of fish to spruce things up; a lawnmower blenny and flame angel. I'm blown away the flame angel is like florescent under this lighting. There's also a cuttlefish that I hatched but he only comes out at night; he's about 1.5" now and eating ghosties. So all in all a very interesting tank.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg 024.jpg (73.8 KB, 32 views)
__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/16/2017, 03:32 PM   #22
SantaMonica
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Santa Monica, California, USA
Posts: 2,511
I always wondered what could be put in with a cuttle.


__________________
Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843
SantaMonica is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/16/2017, 04:30 PM   #23
cougareyes
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 713
Quote:
Originally Posted by SantaMonica View Post
I always wondered what could be put in with a cuttle.
At this size anything that wont eat him, when he gets larger you would have to be more concerned. But these 2 guys will be too large for him to eat. Shrimp, crabs, and small fish are really all that will be on the menu; anything that get to about 4" will be safe.


__________________
30g wartskin angler with living color corals::: 125g juvi tank with blueline, clown, niger triggers; passer angel, and jeweled moray eel

Current Tank Info: 210g fowlr: yellow belly dogface puffer, harlequin tusk, pinktail and pair of bluejaw triggers, majestic angel, orange shoulder and scopus tangs. one spot fox: 90g lps reef with an antennata , zebra and fuzzy dwarf, fu manchu lions, yellow mimic tang
cougareyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 11/23/2017, 10:14 AM   #24
redlobstor
Registered Member
 
redlobstor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Kissimmee, FL
Posts: 92
Anymore updates?


__________________
but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

Current Tank Info: 75 Gallon mixed reef. Fish are a powder blue tang and a lightning filefish. Smokeless with some macros growing in the sump.
redlobstor is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:10 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.