New Macro Algae Information...

[Dom]

Something was brought to my attention at the LFS where macro algae is concerned. I'd like to confirm this information.

I recently purchased some Chaetomorpha to add to a refugium. The employee who helped me said that Chaetomorpha was a good choice. He went on to explain that some macro algae, will turn to an asexual state when the lights go out.

It is during this time that algae spores will separate and end up in the display tank, possibly creating an algae problem in the tank.

This does not happen with Chaetomorpha and is a good choice if you wish to run lighting in the refugium opposite the display tank schedule.

Has anyone ever heard this?

 

[keddre]

chaeto shouldn't undergo sporilation, it will just break apart and spread if conditions plummet.

 

[spiraling]

I have heard that caulerpa does this and chaeto does not. Caulerpa is invasive in a DT no matter what kind. Little chaeto pieces will get to the DT but they are easy to pull out.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Whether it happens by sporulation or, very often, just by a little piece breaking off and sprouting, caulerpa racemosa (and possibly other types) is a poor choice due to infestations in the main tank. Even taking the tank down and scrubbing every surface did not permanently eliminate it from mine.

Chaeto, even if you intentionally keep it in the main tank, does not become a pest.

 

[Dom]

chaeto shouldn't undergo sporilation, it will just break apart and spread if conditions plummet.

Yes... but I've come to learn that some macro DOES. I just wanted to confirm the accuracy of the info.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes... but I've come to learn that some macro DOES. I just wanted to confirm the accuracy of the info.

It can. Whether that is any problem is another issue.

I kept both chaeto and caulerpa racemosa for many years. Many people give vague warnings about sporulation without any first hand experience of a problem, but usually folks worry about a tank wipe out, etc. Not simply movement to the display.

I just wrote this in a different thread:

Caulerpa is more efficient than chaeto and will outcompete it, but was a long term nightmare until I got a foxface.

Even taking down the tank and scrubbing every rock and surface did not solve it as it grew back from tiny bits in crevices. But the foxface eventually stripped it so much that I never saw any, and brought it up frequently from my refugium to the display to feed him.

In more than 20 years of reading forums (many hundreds of thousands of posts), I do not recall ever reading of anyone with a first hand experience where sporulation from caulerpa actually caused a substantial tank problem.

I had two varieties. The normal grape caulerpa racemosa never sporultated in my tank. I had it for much more than a decade.

I did have a variant of it called peltatta, which did sorulate several times then die back over the years. Those events never caused any issue in my system. It might have been a good food for filter feeders.

 

[keddre]

I have grape caulerpa and caulerpa prolifera and I haven't had it sporilate in my tank either. I second Randy in thinking that sporilation isn't as big of a deal as it's said to be

 

[Dom]

I have grape caulerpa and caulerpa prolifera and I haven't had it sporilate in my tank either. I second Randy in thinking that sporilation isn't as big of a deal as it's said to be

Yeah... I agree. If it was a big deal, I'm sure I would have heard about it by now. This is the first time.

 

[Hotelbravo]

This kind of goes against what I have always been told about how and why caulerpa goes sexual.
I'm questioning how true this is now. but from my understanding.
Caulerpa and other algaes seek out Nitrogen and Phosphorous from the water breaking down NO2 (nitrite), NO3(nitrate), and PO4 (Phosphate) and releasing the bound oxygen atoms thus producing oxygen. BUT at night time they stop producing oxygen and start using oxygen. This sudden drop in oxygen levels in a closed environment like our tanks triggers the algae to go into survival mode breaking down releasing gametes into the water to reproduce. also releasing Phosphorous and Nitrogen that then bind with Oxygen to convert back into Nitrite/Nitrate/Phosphate. This causes oxygen levels to plummet and other levels to increase.
And this is what causes issues in peoples tanks. The sudden change in parameters.

 

[AlexG]

I had a tank once where caulerpa would go through a cycle of sporulation every month or two. I never experienced tank issues due to sporulation. In fact I believe the clams and LPS I was keeping really enjoyed sporulation events as it became feeding time for them. I did keep some activated carbon in that system but other than that I only had a skimmer running part time with 2x175watt MHs. In the instances of sporulation I observed it only happened when the lights were on and I did not observe it happening at night. I don't believe happened at night because the caulurpa turns clear after sporulation at least that is what I always observed. I always like a mix of macro algae for my refuge as it turns into is own display. I have some caulerpa growing out of the live rock I received from the Gulf of Mexico a few weeks ago along with about a dozen other species of macro algae. I plan to let them all grow out in the refugium tank. I would recommend a Botryocladia or (Red Grape) algae as it grows quickly and becomes a great food for any herbivores in your system.