Refugium algae choices

[GarrettT]

I’m looking to add a refugium to stabilize my ph at night. The question I have is, are certain algae types more efficient at raising ph than others?

I’m really wanting an algae that doesn’t require tumbling, but attaches itself to a surface.

 

[X-37B]

I like the reds. I had cheato in the remote fuge and it did not need to tumble. It did keep my po4 below .05 in the 120.

I have it all in my 45 fuge now as I replaced the 120 with an 80g.

The macro keeps my frag system below .1 for po4.

 

[MoshJosh]

I don’t know if one macro is better than other at raising pH, I would just go with chaeto as it seems pretty tried and true. You don’t need to tumble it, just flip it every now and again.

calurpa seemed to grow well in my fuge set up, and after a while it attached to rock, though had to glue it at first. That said these types of algae can “go sexual”. . . Not entirely sure what that means, other than I think they can die back.

regardless of if it will or will not attach to substrate you can drill a hole in a rock (or find a rock with a hole) and zip tie the algae to it.

 

[Lavey29]

Chaeto for the win.

 

[GarrettT]

Nice. What kind of red algae is that?

 

[Uncle99]

For me, just chaeto as well.

Doesn’t make a mess and is easy to scale up/down in terms of nutrient mop up and lowering CO2 resulting in an increase in PH.

But any saltwater plants can do that.

 

[dmsc2fs]

Nice. What kind of red algae is that?

Red Ogo Gracilaria. The nice thing about Ogo is you can pull some of it out and drop it in your DT. Your Tangs will take care of disposing of it.

 

[areefer01]

Not going to get into what a refugium is vs an area specifically designed for harvesting algae and nutrient export (one is more efficient than the other) but take a look at Grape Caulerpa.

This does not require tumble. It is pretty prolific. Grows runners. Runners will attach to rock, side walls, substrate, and more. It is relatively fast growing. You will need to manually export. Herbivores will also eat it. My Scopas and Gold Lined Rabbit fish clear out a handful every time I put it in the display.

As to your question about if there is a better macro algae and raising PH I don't know. What I can say is that Grape Caulerpa will fill up your space if lighting is right. You will have to remove it. You can use it for food. Pods and bristleworms will home in it. Note that if you use your refugium for refuge like fish isolation, temporary coral holding or recovery, this may not be an ideal macro algae. It will take over.

TL; DR - Grape Caulerpa does not require tumble. It grows fast. Can be used for food for Tangs, urchins, and more. All the best.

 

[X-37B]

Nice. What kind of red algae is that?

Ogo and dragons breath.

 

[WheatToast]

I’m looking to add a refugium to stabilize my ph at night. The question I have is, are certain algae types more efficient at raising ph than others?

I’m really wanting an algae that doesn’t require tumbling, but attaches itself to a surface.

pH goes up as more carbon dioxide is taken up by plants and macroalgae, so I would assume more productive, faster growing algae would be ideal for your pH stability as well as nutrient export and housing micro-invertebrates.
Green macroalgae, like Chaetomorpha (spaghetti algae) and Ulva (sea lettuce) are some of the fastest growing and most popular macroalgae I have encountered, but do not usually form holdfasts in captivity (though you can purchase attached Ulva from a few sources). I don’t think they enjoy being glued to surfaces either.
Fleshy species of Gracilaria (ex. Gracilaria parvispora), commonly called ogo, and many other red macroalgae (ex. Halymenia, like dragon’s breath and dragon’s tongue) do not grow nearly as fast, but are still popular in refugiums and can be harvested as food for tangs and herbivores (like Ulva). Gracilaria can easily be glued to surfaces.
Caulerpa quickly attaches to substrate and rocks, but care must be taken to trim it regularly. Otherwise, sensing its overcrowded environment, it will go sexual, melting away and clouding the water with its spores. I have found Caulerpa prolifera to be one of the fastest growing and least susceptible to going sexual, while grape Caulerpa species (ex. Caulerpa racemosa) are notorious for going sexual. Many species (though not all) are illegal here in California, but not in Texas to my knowledge.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Mexi. Calupra. Awsome macro. Won't go asexual and multiply unless it takes hold on the rock. Used to have a dsb cryptic fuge with it in it. A great nutrient absorber and hardy.
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