Growing Sea Lettuce

[Ordovician_Reef]

I am going to add Ulva to my refugia. What are the best husbandry techniques for it? Do you let it free float, attach it?

 

[Subsea]

Because of Ulva‘s growth form, it often breaks up and goes into return pump station.

Most variety if Ulva prefer temperature < 80

 

[Dan_P]

I am going to add Ulva to my refugia. What are the best husbandry techniques for it? Do you let it free float, attach it?

Very good water movement and bright light. Use a powerhead to keep the water moving and the algae tumbling. The algae self shades easily so this is important. When the algae just sits, cyanobacteria tends to grow on it. The flowing water will tend to shred the Ulva, generating shreds that can clog the powerhead and get out of refugium. Use a mesh box to surround the powerhead to keep the pump clean. The mesh box will need to be cleaned regularly when it becomes clogged with Ulva shreds. Dosing CheatoGro will be necessary once the algae starts to grow, otherwise it becomes like boiled spinach, and that is the end of your Ulva.

 

[Propane]

The ulva in my tank is attatched to rock work, the power heads and the back wall. Been fighting it for a couple of months. If you can kill it let me know.

 

[Nano_Man]

I use it in my native tank yes it grow well but as stated can brake up I get my sea lettuce from my coast line at low tide my tank is cold water

 

[Subsea]

The ulva in my tank is attatched to rock work, the power heads and the back wall. Been fighting it for a couple of months. If you can kill it let me know.

Put a tang or algae Blennie on the job.

 

[Kasrift]

I’d recommend a different macro algae. Ulva sea lettuce can go sexual and spread like the plague, it sticks for to the rock work, can block pipes, and just sucks.

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Should I temp - acclimate Ulva? I want to collect some for my reef but I live in places where the waters on the coast are tens of degrees cooler than my tank, but I've never had problems not temp - acclimating caulerpa or chaeto. Thinking of putting a few clumps in my dt to assert dominance over GHA.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I had some nice sea lettuce pop up out of no where in my tank, I picked it whe. It got huge and floated it next to my chaeto, i liked it. But some started melting so I removed all of it, too much nutrient export, but I think the melt just let it spread through the tank. It occasionally pops up on a bunch of rocks now, but it looks cool, and grows fast so in 2 days it's easy to pick and remove it. If you have a tank and scape with hard to reach places, I would be cautious and use mechanical filtration between the fuge and return that would be fine enough to stop any spread to the DT, but if you can reach all of your rocks exposed to light, then I wouldn't worry a bit. Definitely plan to keep up with trace elements, seems to be a hog like chaeto.

Not an expert

Edit: note on mechanical filtration, I use the blue aquamesh and it didn't stop it, so something finer than that.