Having Issues Growing Macros

[Eienna]

So....I have chaeto algae, and that's doing good, but for whatever reason any other macroalgaes I've tried to grow (halimeda, a grass that was washing up on a local beach, and a red one that was on a snail's shell) have blackened and/or faded, and died.

Anyone have a clue what possible causes could be?

 

[reef lover]

Your chaeto is probably taking all available phosphates,nitrates and is starving out the other macros.

 

[Wiz]

How old is the tank? Do you know your iron level? My macros start to fade when iron is low

 

[Wiz]

Also what lighting do you use?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I find that my macroalgae begins to die if I have sustained nitrate levels below 0.5 ppm.

 

[Eienna]

I have some of the halimeda in each of 3 tanks at the moment. I originally had it in the Mollies' quarantine under two T5s but they're bleaching, so I moved fragments to the other two tanks to see what happens. Usually I've had all the macros under LEDs.

Could it be that the nutrient level is actually too high? I stopped testing for a while because the nitrate results were too high for my test kit to process. I've been vinegar-dosing since then and plan to retest this evening.

Does it matter if the roots are missing?

 

[Eienna]

I do sporadically dose iron, but only enough to remove some of the phosphate.

 

[Eienna]

OK, so I guess my problem was kind of a 'duh' for a 3-year saltwater aquarist like me. I can't blame everything on the fibromyalgia, but since my dr tripled my Neurontin I've been thinking much more clearly (after a few weeks of being a complete ditz - it can do that to you when you're getting used to the stuff).

I needed lower nitrates. That could well be all it was. My phosphate is below 1ppm (don't recall the exact number just now) and my nitrate was down to a halfway-respectable 13 when I tested a few days ago. The halimeda I put in there about a week or two ago appears to actually be growing as opposed to fading away. I do need to get iron and potassium test kits, but gotta wait a little while. I have been putting a little iron/potassium supplement in, but only sparingly since I can't currently test for it.

Everything's looking much better now, and even better when I have my glasses (heh). Just two things really to fix now...the light on the sump, so I can put the chaeto down there where it won't be eaten by asterinas, and the aiptasia, which I will soon have berghia for.

I finally had a fish dream last night where things actually went well. <3