Macro in a reef

[Treefer32]

So, I never thought of this until now (3-4 years in) are there some macros that won't consume too many nutrients, look nice in a mixed reef display and that my fish won't devour? If it consumes phosphates and nitrates, I'm o.k. with that, I have an algae turf scrubber, so I wouldn't want it to out compete that. The idea came from my canary blenny. He loves to wear the nori when I stick it on a clip. A whole sheet will coil in the water and he swims into the center and tucks himself in... My tangs are a little surprised when he pops out of the middle of the nori sheet. At night the blenny cuddles against the glass, pressing himself into it as much as possible. I think he'd love some macro leaves hide in. Just a thought, maybe macro algae doesn't belong in the display. I don't want it going sexual and taking everything over.

 

[WheatToast]

What other fish and invertebrates do you own?

 

[Treefer32]

26 semi agressive fish. .

1 Bellus angelfish
2 swallowtale angelfish
1 lamarck's angel fish
1 mimic tang
1 Black long nose tang
1 Caribbean blue tang
1 Dragon Wrasse - He likes to dig things up and move them around, so any algae would almost have to be glue down in some way that he couldn't move it.
4 clown fish - 2 orange and white and 2 black and white.
A goby and 2 pistol shrimp
3 Caribbean blue Chromises
6 Lyre tail anthias - 1 male 5 females
1 golden midas blenny
1 canary blenny
1 lawnmower blenny
1 starry blenny

 

[WheatToast]

26 semi agressive fish. .

Awesome list! What about invertebrates?

 

[WheatToast]

Awesome list! What about invertebrates?

If you happen to own Sea urchins, that would, unfortunately, prevent most, if not all macroalgae from surviving in your aquarium.

 

[ReefRy]

I have dragon's breath and caulerpa in my 120. Looks great and helps a bit with nitrates. I like the splash of color, but I also like the added habitat it provides for those that choose to use it.

 

[WheatToast]

I have dragon's breath and caulerpa in my 120. Looks great and helps a bit with nitrates. I like the splash of color, but I also like the added habitat it provides for those that choose to use it.

Though I enjoy their appearances as well, they are probably not suited for OP's aquarium as it contains several angels and tangs which would probably make quick work of soft, fleshy macroalgae species.

 

[WheatToast]

Assuming OP's tank does not contain Sea urchins, here is a list of macroalgae species that it could house (still somewhat worried about those tangs and angels and I don't know if OP also owns Emerald crabs which eat softer macros) with links to purchase if available somewhere. They are either calcium based or possess toxic compositions and tend to grow slowly.

Brown:
Scroll algae (Padina sp.)

Green:
Turtleweed/Maiden's hair plant (Chlorodesmis sp.) (Only toxic one I know on this list though pods enjoy living within it)
Tufted joint algae (Cymopolia barbata)
Watercress algae/Cactus algae (Halimeda sp.)
Brush algae (Penicillus sp.)
Pinecone algae/Christmas tree plant (Rhipocephalus phoenix)
Mermaid’s fan (Udotea sp.)

Red:
Red razor/Flame algae (Bryothamnion sp.)
Thin and Thick branching coralline algae (Corallinales sp.)
Plating coralline algae (Corallinales sp.)
Pink galaxy/Pom Pom algae (Galaxaura sp.)

A list of some sources (with increasingly longer names for some reason ):
Etsy
Ebay
AlgaeBarn
KP Aquatics
LiveAquaria
Reef Cleaners
Indo-Pacific Sea Farms
Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Addictive Reef Keeping
Alyssa's Seahorse Savvy
Aquaculture Nursery Farms
Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory

Make sure your lighting and flow are ideal for the algae and you can provide necessary nutrients (ex. nitrates and phosphates) and trace elements (such as those in this product: Brightwell Aquatics Chaeto GRO).

Read up here for more information:
Marine Plants in The Aquarium
The Algae Lab - Blog
List of marine aquarium plant species