Any old macro?

[Adequate]

Say I were to go to the coast and get some wild macroalgae of whatever kind from there. I take it home and throw it into a refugium and let it grow. Basically what I’m asking is if any old macroalgae I take from the sea will do the same job of reducing nitrates, phosphates and whatnot, or if only a select few macro species, such as chaeto and caulerpa, have been proven to do so.

 

[ZoWhat]

you would be introducing unknown strains of all kinds of biologics into your tank. I personally wouldnt do it....

 

[JustAnt]

you would be introducing unknown strains of all kinds of biologics in your glass box. I personally wouldnt do it....

+1

 

[Mr Fishface]

Who knows what else you bring into your tank. Could be good, could be terrible! If you had a qt tank I guess you could qt it first to make sure nothing bad came in with it. Seems like a lot of work IMO.

 

[Adequate]

QT sounds feasible tbh.

I’ve never seen macro for sale at my LFS, or when they are, it’s pretty pricey, hence why I was interested in collecting from the wild.

What are examples of any potential “goodies” or “baddies”?

 

[tehmadreefer]

Sure you can, but you might get some undesirables as well. All it takes is an unseen strand of something.

 

[Tamberav]

I would do it. I buy macro from reefcleaners, live-plants.com, etc... I mean they pick it from the ocean so why not pick it yourself? I don't see the difference? People buy live rock from tampa, kpa, gulf-live rock, snails, crabs, etc


I would miss out on so many cool critters if I was worried about them coming from the ocean...

 

[KrisReef]

QT sounds feasible tbh.

I’ve never seen macro for sale at my LFS, or when they are, it’s pretty pricey, hence why I was interested in collecting from the wild.

What are examples of any potential “goodies” or “baddies”?

What ocean are you picking out of? Some folks on here go to Florida an do this, (not me). I agree with the cautions given above.
Still, I like to pick from the reef when I visit but the contamination potential is not to be dismissed. You never know what hitchhikers you brought until they show up, sometimes a year or two later.

 

[ScottR]

FWIW - I seeded my tank with ocean water and added some rocks from the ocean. I have seen any and everything in my tank show up. If you’re cool with odds and ends, go for it. Also, you’ll pick up some parasites for sure. If you have some prized fish, it may have to run fallow before adding to your tank.

 

[Adequate]

I would do it. I buy macro from reefcleaners, live-plants.com, etc... I mean they pick it from the ocean so why not pick it yourself? I don't see the difference? People buy live rock from tampa, kpa, gulf-live rock, snails, crabs, etc


I would miss out on so many cool critters if I was worried about them coming from the ocean...

Okay now I'm tempted

What ocean are you picking out of? Some folks on here go to Florida an do this, (not me). I agree with the cautions given above.
Still, I like to pick from the reef when I visit but the contamination potential is not to be dismissed. You never know what hitchhikers you brought until they show up, sometimes a year or two later.

Indian Ocean

FWIW - I seeded my tank with ocean water and added some rocks from the ocean. I have seen any and everything in my tank show up. If you’re cool with odds and ends, go for it. Also, you’ll pick up some parasites for sure. If you have some prized fish, it may have to run fallow before adding to your tank.

A spotted mandy ;Bucktooth. Yeah I guess it's prized haha. Due to get some more pretty soon too, soooo....

 

[Jase4224]

I understand the potential for undesirables but sometimes I feel like people forget where our fish are collected from.. if you want to be cautious you can put it in an observation tank first.

Also sea lettuce can be a great nutrient export algae and easy to identify.

 

[ScottR]

I understand the potential for undesirables but sometimes I feel like people forget where our fish are collected from.. if you want to be cautious you can put it in an observation tank first.

Also sea lettuce can be a great nutrient export algae and easy to identify.

I also agree with this statement. But as long as you know what you’re putting in your tank.

 

[Jase4224]

I also agree with this statement. But as long as you know what you’re putting in your tank.

Unfortunately you never really know what you are adding, but this can be good or bad. I wouldn’t be concerned about diseases but larger nasties are more likely IMO but it’s easy to sort through what you have collected and if you are unsure then put it back and keep what you want.

 

[ScottR]

Unfortunately you never really know what you are adding, but this can be good or bad. I wouldn’t be concerned about diseases but larger nasties are more likely IMO but it’s easy to sort through what you have collected and if you are unsure then put it back and keep what you want.

The ocean is the ocean. You really never know. But if you’re like me, I am willing to take a chance within reason.

 

[Jase4224]

I did. I used a paint scraper to get chunks of mussels, sponge and macro algae and it all went into my sump.

Pros:
Pods
Mussels
Shrimp
Worms
Snails
Some sponges
Some macros seem to be coming back

Cons:
Most macro died
Most sponges died
Had to vacuum dead stuff

Whilst I’m disappointed most of the macro algae died and made a bit of a mess, some lettuce algae seems to be growing back which was my main target. Also got a thriving population of amphipods and copepods + a few other cool creatures.

My tank is new though and this was confined to my sump. Only got one fish (green coris wrasse) in the display and doing better than ever due to having pods to eat.