At What Sg Can I Grow Macroalgae?

[Dave Legacy]

I was just wondering at what SG I can start growing marine MacroAlgae in my GSP tank and if it will anchor to all the lace rock I just bought. I've been thinking Caulerpa, and maybe some different type of brown kelp. Any suggestions? I hear this stuff needs to be trimmed every day to keep it under control, so maybe there is something that is slower growing that will work better.

 

[nmonks]

Hi Dave --

Difficult to know. Most Caulerpa will die at anything much below 1.020. The exception is Caulerpa racemosa, which is supposedly euryhaline, and this is one reason why it has become a pest species wherever it has been introduced (e.g., Mediterranean). It might be amenable to SGs as low as 1.015. But you would certainly need to adapt it very slowly. Caulerpa generally has a habit of suddenly dying back when stressed.

Trimming Caulerpa is said to be problematical: chop away too much, and it dies back (again). Someone on the marine section of this forum may know more.

In most mid to high salinity aquaria, I think plastic plants work better. The ones that like brown seaweeds (kelps and sargassum weeds) are especially prototypical.

Cheers,

Neale

I was just wondering at what SG I can start growing marine MacroAlgae in my GSP tank and if it will anchor to all the lace rock I just bought. I've been thinking Caulerpa, and maybe some different type of brown kelp. Any suggestions? I hear this stuff needs to be trimmed every day to keep it under control, so maybe there is something that is slower growing that will work better.

 

[Dave Legacy]

I have some silk Caulerpa Mexicana in there right now that actually looks pretty good. I'll probably just use silk plants until my GSP is ready for full marine. The tank is only at 1.009 at the moment and I don't have the GSP yet, so it could take a while to get to full marine.

 

[steelhealr]

Most recommendations for marine macroalgae are for a minimum s.g. of 1.023. Some will do fine at 1.020 (shaving brush, eg). SH

 

[Dave Legacy]

Anyone know anything about estuary seagrasses that will do ok in SG of about 1.010-1.015 for my Archer tank?

Here's a peek at what my new GSP 37Tall looks like at this moment. More synthetic plants on the way.

 

[nmonks]

To be honest Dave, those silk plants look pretty cool. I'd stick with them.

I don't know much about seagrasses in aquaria, except that from what I have heard, they aren't easy to keep. There is a book called Dynamic Aquaria that has quite a lot about seagrasses, but it's a difficult read, and despite the name is primarily about much larger systems than hobbyists use. It's really more for public aquaria, labs, and so on. Any, my understanding is that seagrasses are phenomenally greedy for light and they need a proper, iron-rich soil to grow in.

It can be done though (e.g., see here). Also be sure and read this discussion.

Cheers,

Neale