Does anyone have or use sea lettuce?

[AydenLincoln]

Other than AlgaeBarn which is expensive but I ordered some but I was looking for more in a bigger quantity possibly as it’s my favorite macroalge and my lobster likes it too. Apparently it’s often seasonal so my local fish store and Petco/ORA hasn’t been able to get any. So where do you get yours? Or does anyone want to sell or trade some? I guess it’s not a popular macroalgae?

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I thought you spent all your money.... LOL
Sea Lettuce grows like a weed, you should only need a bit for a starter. You can put some in a 5g bucket with a bubbler and some old tank water and a grow light and it will go to town.
You can also maybe check out some asian markets, because sea lettuce is actually used in sea lettuce salads.
I could get you some... but it would have to come from the actual ocean.

 

[Reef Alchemy]

Other than AlgaeBarn which is expensive but I ordered some but I was looking for more in a bigger quantity possibly as it’s my favorite macroalge and my lobster likes it too. Apparently it’s often seasonal so my local fish store and Petco/ORA hasn’t been able to get any. So where do you get yours? Or does anyone want to sell or trade some? I guess it’s not a popular macroalgae

Greetings, I recommend not using it. I thought to myself... why not use Sea Lettuce/Ulva instead of
Chaeto in my refugium so that I can feed it to my herbivores. Well, first thing is that it is a terrible candidate for nutrient export in a refugium because: It plugs up the overflow weir very quickly. It traps bubbles under itself when exposed to light which blocks light penetration.

So, then I put it in my refugium. It reproduced throughout my entire tank. Even on frag plugs. It killed several of my acro frags. My Yellow Tang would occasionally nip at it but was ineffective in controlling it at all. He didn't like it. My flame Angel wouldn't touch it. Astrea snails, hermits, and cerith snails would not touch it. I would have to pull as much as I could manually for months, I could not find a solution.

If you have most of your rock covered with corals and coralline algae, it may not be able to get a hold. I did not.

I found its' nemesis... MEXICAN TURBO SNAILS! Within days it was gone, never to be seen again.

That is my experience with Sea Lettuce.

Enjoy!

 

[WheatToast]

Other than AlgaeBarn which is expensive but I ordered some but I was looking for more in a bigger quantity possibly as it’s my favorite macroalge and my lobster likes it too. Apparently it’s often seasonal so my local fish store and Petco/ORA hasn’t been able to get any. So where do you get yours? Or does anyone want to sell or trade some? I guess it’s not a popular macroalgae?

I’ve gotten my sea lettuce (Ulva sp.) off eBay as well as the California coast like @TangerineSpeedo. It’s slowly become very popular in the past few years, joining the ranks of Chaetomorpha, Gracilaria, and Caulerpa as the top macroalgae for nutrient export (there’s a reason it’s near the top of Algaebarn’s macroalgae list).
Under ideal conditions and higher nutrient levels, you should be able to rapidly grow and frequently harvest the algae for your livestock.

Greetings, I recommend not using it. I thought to myself... why not use Sea Lettuce/Ulva instead of
Chaeto in my refugium so that I can feed it to my herbivores. Well, first thing is that it is a terrible candidate for nutrient export in a refugium because: It plugs up the overflow weir very quickly. It traps bubbles under itself when exposed to light which blocks light penetration.

So, then I put it in my refugium. It reproduced throughout my entire tank. Even on frag plugs. It killed several of my acro frags. My Yellow Tang would occasionally nip at it but was ineffective in controlling it at all. He didn't like it. My flame Angel wouldn't touch it. Astrea snails, hermits, and cerith snails would not touch it. I would have to pull as much as I could manually for months, I could not find a solution.

If you have most of your rock covered with corals and coralline algae, it may not be able to get a hold. I did not.

I found its' nemesis... MEXICAN TURBO SNAILS! Within days it was gone, never to be seen again.

That is my experience with Sea Lettuce.

Enjoy!

If I recall correctly, sea lettuce goes sexual and releases spores when it is stressed (ex. under low nutrients). Sea lettuce can also be anchored by tying it to surfaces with fishing line, but I have found that healthy sea lettuce grow in sheets heavy enough to stay in place and not clog weirs. Urchins and emerald crabs would also probably enjoy sea lettuce.

 

[atoll]

I grow Ulva intestinalis aka gut weed not the letuce in my ATS and harvest it every week. My tank and other fish love it.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Greetings, I recommend not using it. I thought to myself... why not use Sea Lettuce/Ulva instead of
Chaeto in my refugium so that I can feed it to my herbivores. Well, first thing is that it is a terrible candidate for nutrient export in a refugium because: It plugs up the overflow weir very quickly. It traps bubbles under itself when exposed to light which blocks light penetration.

So, then I put it in my refugium. It reproduced throughout my entire tank. Even on frag plugs. It killed several of my acro frags. My Yellow Tang would occasionally nip at it but was ineffective in controlling it at all. He didn't like it. My flame Angel wouldn't touch it. Astrea snails, hermits, and cerith snails would not touch it. I would have to pull as much as I could manually for months, I could not find a solution.

If you have most of your rock covered with corals and coralline algae, it may not be able to get a hold. I did not.

I found its' nemesis... MEXICAN TURBO SNAILS! Within days it was gone, never to be seen again.

That is my experience with Sea Lettuce.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the advice. It will be going in a small lobster tank with no coral and other macroalgae so I won’t be using it for nutrient export. And I like the way it looks.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I thought you spent all your money.... LOL
Sea Lettuce grows like a weed, you should only need a bit for a starter. You can put some in a 5g bucket with a bubbler and some old tank water and a grow light and it will go to town.
You can also maybe check out some asian markets, because sea lettuce is actually used in sea lettuce salads.
I could get you some... but it would have to come from the actual ocean.

I did lol. I actually wouldn’t mind that…if it’s not right off the coast.

 

[RedReefer]

I grow Ulva intestinalis aka gut weed not the letuce in my ATS and harvest it every week. My tank and other fish love it.

Dang!!!

 

[AydenLincoln]

I grow Ulva intestinalis aka gut weed not the letuce in my ATS and harvest it every week. My tank and other fish love it.

Sad you are in the UK! Shipping would be so expensive or I’d buy some from you.

 

[atoll]

Sad you are in the UK! Shipping would be so expensive or I’d buy some from you.

I often send it to addresses within the UK. My guess it would be against your laws to import from the UK. However Ulva intestinalis is found on the North East Coast of the US I the shallows. I think I read it can be bought within the US so it might be worth Googling it.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I often send it to addresses within the UK. My guess it would be against your laws to import from the UK. However Ulva intestinalis is found on the North East Coast of the US I the shallows. I think I read it can be bought within the US so it might be worth Googling it.

Maybe and way too expensive.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I think I’ll order it from a food seller it’s $38 total with shipping for a lb it’s so much cheaper. Plus I can try some then lol! I’ve been wondering what it tastes like haha.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Oh wait it costs $65-$100 from another seller for shipping because it’s live ugh.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Will you really be able to replant it in the tank and have it grow? It sounds like they picked it for human consumption within a specified time frame...not to be replanted.

 

[michael_cb_125]

Where are you located?
I harvest tons of sea lettuce every year.
I am located in NC and collect this plus about a half dozen other species of macros right off our coast.
I collect well away from any runoff or pollution.
The winter months are the best for the algae I collect, since water clarity is better due to less plankton. Better clarity equals better light penetration.
These algae have been very beneficial to the prop systems that I maintain.
If you are nearby, i will ahow you where to find it, or I will send you as much as you need at no charge. If you need it shipped, just cover that.

I am blessed to be near the coast...

 

[AydenLincoln]

Will you really be able to replant it in the tank and have it grow? It sounds like they picked it for human consumption within a specified time frame...not to be replanted.

Probably because the one company grows it in captivity and harvests it similar to AlgaeBarn just for a different purpose. But I’m not getting it because the shipping cost is so high. Oh and the time frame is like an expiration date on food.…that’s for for legal purposes because they have to say that. That doesn’t mean my lobster won’t still enjoy it lol. And assuming it’s the same or similar species they all have relatively the same requirements and are hardy species.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Where are you located?
I harvest tons of sea lettuce every year.
I am located in NC and collect this plus about a half dozen other species of macros right off our coast.
I collect well away from any runoff or pollution.
The winter months are the best for the algae I collect, since water clarity is better due to less plankton. Better clarity equals better light penetration.
These algae have been very beneficial to the prop systems that I maintain.
If you are nearby, i will ahow you where to find it, or I will send you as much as you need at no charge. If you need it shipped, just cover that.

I am blessed to be near the coast...

Oooo!! I’m in Pennsylvania. I’ll send you a message.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Also I didn’t know you could eat various macroalgae lol. I knew sea lettuce and seaweed/nori but apparently most other ones are edible too. I suspect most use them more for decoration though. http://www.montereybayseaweeds.com/online-store

 

[michael_cb_125]

I should be heading down in the next few weeks for a fishing and collection trip.
Let me know if anyone wants any macros

 

[Nemo&Friends]

Sea Lettuce grows like a weed, you should only need a bit for a starter. You can put some in a 5g bucket with a bubbler and some old tank water and a grow light and it will go to town.

I tried several times to grow Uva, and was never successful.
I do not know why. I have finally been able to grow other macro algae, but still no Uva, and no Chaeto. These two just die after a few weeks.