Ska's 28 Macro Algae Display

[Chase31]

the skimate shouldnt have to be high up in the cup, as the yuck rises to the top the bubles wont pop and should be pushed to the top of the cup , and if its brand new it will need to break in

[skabooya]

Alright, so i left the skimmer as it was and a few hours later I went to admire the tank. Well some skimmate 'yuck' had collected in the bottom of the cup.
It was all the fine dust floating around the tank. Made the room smell like a rock quary. I fed the spoils to the porcelin god.

This morning the tank is sooooo clear. I cant wait to go to the lfs to pick up my LR to watch the life spread.

Currently my skimmer is set on a timer with the lights. Its on when the lights are on and off when the lights are off BUT I dont have the lights plugged in yet. I figure its a waste of good bulbs when there is nothing alive in the tank until I get some rock.


Im researching a CUC for the tank.
I love love love hermits but they are mean. They kill the snails for shells. I would like to get at least one hermie though.

So, 1 Blue legged hermit crab
? Certh snails
? Astrea snails
? Nassarius snails
? Margarita snails

[Chase31]

well right now as the tank has nothing in it i would say thats okay, but once the rock is in i would run the skimmer 24/7, also with the lights im doing the same thing

[whatcaneyedo]

Margarita snails are said to be sub-tropical and eventually cook in normal reef tank temperatures so I would skip those. My personal favorites are mini brittle stars, Abalone, Turbo snails and Stomatella snails. LFS wont sell mini brittle stars or Stomatella but if you're lucky you will get them on your liverock.

I'd run the skimmer constantly as well. Its actually more important for it to run at night than during the day (if you had to pick one). Algae stops performing photosynthesis in the dark which causes your pH to drop because CO2 builds up. A skimmer helps keep the water well oxygenated and buffers this effect.

[skabooya]

What if i want to grow algae (macro algae)?

[Chase31]

id do it in the sump

[whatcaneyedo]

Gracillaria is pretty non invasive and is a great source of red color. Thats the only one I would dare put into a display tank. Halimedia, chaeto, caulerpa, etc all have a way of taking over and are better suited in a refugium section of a sump.

[skabooya]

I really dont mind the "take over". I would love to do a macro tank with some corals which is what i was planning for the last couple of months. I entertained the idea a few years ago and I am again. I love planted reef tanks.
The corals will be softies, shrooms, zoas, cloves, xenia and some lps like frogspawn or a torch and maybe an acan and candy cane
I am aiming for a mature look tank where there are a few corals and they just spread everywhere

[skabooya]

So far for a CUC Im looking at
1 hermit crab
2 certh
2 nassarius
and whatever comes on my LR if im a lucky one


Anything else??

Remember I want to grow macro algae but not micro algae.

Then after a bit I want to get 1 or 2 skunk cleaner hermits, fan worms.
And for fish; 2 true percs.

I may have to add something else to get the bioload up at a later date to increase trates in the water for the macroalgae. Its hard to choose. The only other fish I really want is a coral beauty (my fav) but it will just eat all the macro
Gotta look into that bit a lot more.

[skabooya]

Right so ive been doing a lot of reading and talking to people who have macro tanks and seahorse/pipefish tanks. This is what im doing.
SG at 1.025
Temp at 76-77F at the warmest
Overfeed tank inhabitants and feed daily sometimes twice a day
No dosing except for maybe trace elements and only every few months if that
Variety of macroalgaes and they must be trimmed often so they dont choke eachother out.
I will not be using green grape capulara or hamladea (sp?) or chaeto
Dwarf angelfish do not eat macroalgae but they do eat microalgae.
Skimmer (have many different results from people using macroalgae tanks) 24/7, not at all or 1/2 time. Aparently they all work depending on your setup.
WC are done minimally. Once or twice a year. Some however do it more often about once a month (10%) to replenish the trace elements.

Livestock will be 2 true percs and a coral beauty (YAY). 1 skunk cleaner shrimp and a few snails and a hermit crab. OH and some feather dusters.
Corals will be, Zoas (super bright ones like devils armor), lots of mushrooms (electric blue and shrooms with stripes and spots), pulsing xenia, cloves (esp blue), rics (maybe), Either a green with pink/purple tip frogspawn or a pink tipped torch, acan lord, duncan (maybe), dendro (maybe), gorgonian (maybe)
Of course lots and lots of macroalgae.