Macro Nutrient Uptake

zieg9479 · Oct 24, 2017

Did you say what macroalgae you have? Some are more efficient than others, both in terms of growth rate and tolerance to resource limitations. Chateo and Codium are both decent growers in a variety of environments. I bet a sump could be fairly packed and you'd still get more than adequate growth rates out of them. Ulva tends to really be harmed by low light. If it's most caulerpa spp, you'll notice the "going sexual" phase, and the subsequent bleaching of the algae, in response to insufficient resources.

CoralWealth · Oct 24, 2017

what does it mean when you have hair algae in your cheato in some spots? my cheato grows great but I still have very high nitrates (over 64 on the red sea test kit) and I cannot do anything about it even though my macro grows great

jduong916 · Oct 24, 2017

zieg9479 said:
Did you say what macroalgae you have? Some are more efficient than others, both in terms of growth rate and tolerance to resource limitations. Chateo and Codium are both decent growers in a variety of environments. I bet a sump could be fairly packed and you'd still get more than adequate growth rates out of them. Ulva tends to really be harmed by low light. If it's most caulerpa spp, you'll notice the "going sexual" phase, and the subsequent bleaching of the algae, in response to insufficient resources.

I have half chaeto and half calurpa. Used to have the thick mat algae, but I removed it when I swapped fuge chambers with my protein skimmer. The mat algae hasn't come back, nor made it to the DT. Not too worried about calurpa going sexual, I have three tangs in the DT that will probably handle it for me.

LittleMaui · Oct 24, 2017

Wow, great discussion here. So, at the end of the day is it better to allow macro to grow dense and thick or should we continually prune back?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 25, 2017

codydemmel4 said:
what does it mean when you have hair algae in your cheato in some spots? my cheato grows great but I still have very high nitrates (over 64 on the red sea test kit) and I cannot do anything about it even though my macro grows great

Some people, myself included, have beaten back hair algae growing on macroalgae by dosing iron.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 25, 2017

shaywood said:
Wow, great discussion here. So, at the end of the day is it better to allow macro to grow dense and thick or should we continually prune back?

If it grows too dense I think it will slow in growth, but it's a balancing act to have as much as possible exposed to light without too much that isn't exposed to light.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 25, 2017

jduong916 said:
Not too worried about calurpa going sexual, I have three tangs in the DT that will probably handle it for me.

I wouldn't worry either. I do not consider it a likely problem. Even when it happens, I've yet to see a problem from it.

CoralWealth · Oct 25, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Some people, myself included, have beaten back hair algae growing on macroalgae by dosing iron.

I have saw a lot of people talk about this and also how it helps the growth of the cheato, I would be worried it could hurt my SPS or is this a non factor?

Do you have a link that I can do more reading about how to dose iron, and how much to dose?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 25, 2017

codydemmel4 said:
I have saw a lot of people talk about this and also how it helps the growth of the cheato, I would be worried it could hurt my SPS or is this a non factor?

Do you have a link that I can do more reading about how to dose iron, and how much to dose?

Many people dose iron, and Red Sea recommends very high levels (far higher than I do). Glennf also doses huge amounts of iron and has a ton of SPS:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-dsr-method-dutch-synthetic-reefing.162872/

so there's no evidence that it is a problem with SPS corals.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 25, 2017

I discuss iron here:

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iron In A Reef Tank ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iron: A Look At Organisms Other Than Macroalgae ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/chem.htm

CoralWealth · Oct 25, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Many people dose iron, and Red Sea recommends very high levels (far higher than I do). Glennf also doses huge amounts of iron and has a ton of SPS:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-dsr-method-dutch-synthetic-reefing.162872/

so there's no evidence that it is a problem with SPS corals.

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I discuss iron here:

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iron In A Reef Tank ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iron: A Look At Organisms Other Than Macroalgae ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/chem.htm

Thank you! I will read these when I have some time today.

CoralWealth · Oct 25, 2017

very nice articles and explanations in them. Makes me want to try to dose some iron in my tank slowly and see what happens to the macro, if it grows densier, faster and hopefully gets rid of the algae growing in some spots on the cheato.

I do not feel comfortable making my own solution, I know you said kent marine has a product in the article but is there any other newer products you recommend for dosing iron or is that still the iron supplement you recommend?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 25, 2017

codydemmel4 said:
very nice articles and explanations in them. Makes me want to try to dose some iron in my tank slowly and see what happens to the macro, if it grows densier, faster and hopefully gets rid of the algae growing in some spots on the cheato.

I do not feel comfortable making my own solution, I know you said kent marine has a product in the article but is there any other newer products you recommend for dosing iron or is that still the iron supplement you recommend?

I now recommend a very easy DIY:

Buy Fergon iron tablets from the drug store.
Put one pill in about 25 mL fresh water (volume is not that important since dose is not that important for iron). Let it soak for a while or overnight until the tablet breaks apart.

Swirl it to mix. Let is settle overnight. Then use the clear greenish liquid.

Dose about 1 mL per 100 gallons once a week (dose is not critical).

CoralWealth · Oct 25, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I now recommend a very easy DIY:

Buy Fergon iron tablets from the drug store.
Put one pill in about 25 mL fresh water (volume is not that important since dose is not that important for iron). Let it soak for a while or overnight until the tablet breaks apart.

Swirl it to mix. Let is settle overnight. Then use the clear greenish liquid.

Dose about 1 mL per 100 gallons once a week (dose is not critical).

Awesome, thank you!

Since I have around 200 gallons, could I break it up into a dose of 1ml twice a week or do you only recommend dosing once a week. if so, why only once a week?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 25, 2017

Twice a week is fine.

CoralWealth · Oct 25, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Twice a week is fine.

Thanks Randy

penguin_free · Oct 25, 2017

What other elements might be deficient and prevent chaeto from growing? Assuming it has good flow, light, testable levels of N and P, and some Fe present from dosing? Or is it possible for chaeto to go dormant while still having a normal appearance?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 25, 2017

penguin_free said:
What other elements might be deficient and prevent chaeto from growing? Assuming it has good flow, light, testable levels of N and P, and some Fe present from dosing? Or is it possible for chaeto to go dormant while still having a normal appearance?

Lots of trace elements might be low (you can pretty much google elements needed for life), but I've not really seen evidence that in practice they limit growth in a reef aquarium.

penguin_free · Oct 25, 2017

Thanks Randy. Maybe just time to reboot the algae reactor with some fresh chaeto. I did notice a little calerpa growth while the chaeto has declined; maybe a caulerpa chunk in one of the chambers, to see what happens?

jduong916 · Oct 25, 2017

Assuming it has good flow, light, testable levels of N and P, and some Fe present from dosing?

In my experience flow has not been an issue with growing chaeto. I've never had the chaeto tumble in the sump. When it gets big it doesn't move at all. I normally flip is once in a while and that's about it. The fuge chamber does get the full flow of my return pump, but that is spread across and 18" by 18" area. It's definitely not a lot of water movement.