Best macro algae to fight unwanted algae?

[jason24365]

So i am running sea lettuce in my sump and has done good besides that it gets pretty dirty. my pumps and sump wasn't running for about 24 hours so more algae has formed than usual which got me wondering what everyone finds to be best for them and why? This is a mixed reef tank also. Thanks in advance.

 

[Macroalgae]

We tend to sell a lot of Caulerpa prolifera. You can use it as much as you need and fish like tangs love it. When it starts growing too much for your refugium or DT, you simply chuck it. I also like fine hair chaeto, vs the coarse one most are accustomed to.

 

[dmsc2fs]

I have 5 Algae growing in my sump. Ulva and Chaeto are the two top performers. I would say the Chaeto grows a bit faster. I like the Chaeto because it forms a thick mat and it is the last line of defense before the final overflow to my return pump chamber. It prevents all the other Algae that sometimes breaks into smaller pieces from flowing into the sump.

The downside of either is it is hard to get all the amphipods out of it when you are removing it. I always loose tons of them to this. Yesterday it was so thick that I found two bristle worms hiding in it.

 

[shrimped]

Chaeto. You get a lot more macro algae per square inch based on the way it grows into a dense mat.

 

[stovenut]

+1 for chaeto. Mine grows so fast that I remove and compost large handfuls every weekend. It becomes fertilizer for my tomato plants. So with chaeto I remove bad stuff from my reef and add good stuff to my garden.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Have had very good experience with bubble/green grape caulerpa. Grows in a mat like chaeto and very quickly, although it can grow to clog small holes.

 

[shrimped]

To my knowledge, chaeto doesn’t go sexual. Caulerpa does have the risk.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

To my knowledge, chaeto doesn’t go sexual. Caulerpa does have the risk.

Never had the issue/known anyone to have it. In my experience keeping a bunch of caulerpa species, if they're going to die they just kinda do. Leaves start to turn clear then the rest follows and melts away. No tank nuking I've seen.

 

[shrimped]

Never had the issue/known anyone to have it. In my experience keeping a bunch of caulerpa species, if they're going to die they just kinda do. Leaves start to turn clear then the rest follows and melts away. No tank nuking I've seen.

Doesn’t mean a total tank nuke but large amount of sudden die off will definitely result in a nutrient spike though.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Doesn’t mean a total tank nuke but large amount of sudden die off will definitely result in a nutrient spike though.

True, I'm sure in smaller tanks that can definitely do some damage though.

 

[Macroalgae]

It tends to go sexual when the water parameters aren't stable. We've found that water salinity and temperature fluctuations have a lot to do with it.

 

[likemike99]

I used to like to use mangroves alot. it was aesthetically pleasing to look in the sump and see them