I am not new to saltwater reef keeping but have been out of the hobby for a few years. I really am looking at getting back into the hobby and want to put a 55g tank I have to good use by setting up my first Macroalgae tank. I am looking for some ideas on setting up the tank. My idea so far is to have 20-30lb of substrate with about 20-30lbs of live rock. I am not going to use a filter unless it is strictly for some type of mechanical filtration. I would like to also have some fish in the tank with the macro. I do however want to be careful with certain types of macro that will be sexual such as culerpa. I will have water flow in the tank with a Aqueon Circulation Pump 500 gph. Using a Aqueon Modular LED Aquarium Lighting System. Really looking for some input on if this would work and if so what types of fish would I be able to keep in the macro tank. Thanks for everyone's input.
Setting up a Macro display tank
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You may want to get a stronger light as these macroalgaes will not grow well under weak lighting conditions. Also a filter with carbon is still a good idea as you will have things build up in the water overtime if you are not going to do water changes frequently. You also need to be dosing trace elements with the macro. Chaetogro is what I use. As for fish, anything that doesn't eat macroalgae should be fine.
mrjohnreed
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Thank you for the info. I will look at upgrading my lighting. I have seen on other sites some have said they were using a filter with a bio-wheel and they are having good luck with that. I use those on my 90 gallon freshwater and they work great, just not too sure about how they would work with a macro tank. Has anyone had any experience with these filters on a macro tank?
vlangel
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New item by Dawn Gilson
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I only had an aquaclear 50 filter and powerheads for water circulation and filtering. I have T5 lighting but most of the ornamental red macro algae need less light than the greens. The reds are very attractive and are not invasive. You will want to dose magnesium, iron, a little iodine and some trace elements.
Macro algae take up a lot of nutrients so I find keeping a lot of fish helps to meet that need. I chose mostly gentle fish like blennies, gobies and cardinal fish. The large amount of rock and macro algae create lots of hidey holes and that helps the blennies and gobies feel safe.
Of all the tanks I have set up, this is my favorite. It's has lots of life, is active and relatively easy from a maintenance viewpoint. I will be glad to help with any questions. Have fun!
mrjohnreed
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I have a marine macro algae display tank and I love it. Mine is a 56 gallon column so very similar in volume as your tank. I also used a lot of sand and rock. I used some large rocks to build a retaining wall so that the sand bed could be tiered. Having 3 levels created an interesting aquascape, offered denitrification in the deep sand bed area and utilized the height of the tank.New item by Dawn Gilson
What type of sand did you use? I usually used a live sand when I had setup my other tanks in the past.
I only had an aquaclear 50 filter and powerheads for water circulation and filtering. I have T5 lighting but most of the ornamental red macro algae need less light than the greens. The reds are very attractive and are not invasive. You will want to dose magnesium, iron, a little iodine and some trace elements.
In your aquaclear, are you using just the standard carbon and sponge insert or are you using different media in the filter?
Macro algae take up a lot of nutrients so I find keeping a lot of fish helps to meet that need. I chose mostly gentle fish like blennies, gobies and cardinal fish. The large amount of rock and macro algae create lots of hidey holes and that helps the blennies and gobies feel safe.
As far as the stocking of the tank, I am still trying to decide about the types of fish I want to place in the tank but I know it has to be fish that will not want to consume the macro. Can a cleanup crew be placed into the tank as well?
Thank you for all the info. I am sure as I put the tank together and move forward in this venture I will have more and more questions about keeping macros.
mrjohnreed
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I have found that I have an old tank light for my 55 gallon which had a T5 HO Ultra Sun Super Daylight Flourescent bulb with 54watts. It's made by ZooMed. Does anyone know if this lighting should be sufficient for a macro algae only tank?
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I am not sure but I would think its fine. I would post that in a separate thread to see if others have used it.
vlangel
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Yes, I use those HOT5 54 W bulbs and it should grow macros. You might want to plant the red macros where they will be close to an overhang where they are not getting the most intensity. It will help if the bulb is a bit older too as T5s lose intensity after 9 mos. That daylight bulb is a good choice for some of the green macros however.
mrjohnreed
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So I am now at day 13 of the new 55 gallon macro algae build. My parameters are coming along.
Ph: 8.0
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 1
Nitrate: 40
I have received 10 more pounds of dry rock that I am going to put in the tank soon but I have attached a picture of the tank so far with my aquascape. I am wondering at what point can I begin to place macro in the tank? I'm not going to add fish for a while but was wondering if it was okay to begin to add the macro and then begin to light the tank. Thanks for everyone's input.
Ph: 8.0
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 1
Nitrate: 40
I have received 10 more pounds of dry rock that I am going to put in the tank soon but I have attached a picture of the tank so far with my aquascape. I am wondering at what point can I begin to place macro in the tank? I'm not going to add fish for a while but was wondering if it was okay to begin to add the macro and then begin to light the tank. Thanks for everyone's input.
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I think you can put in macro algae whenever. Some use ammonia. However, avoid caulerpa so that if your macro gets smothered in hair algae you can use fluconazole. Personally, I would want to make sure I can have stable detectable nitrates since you don't want a brand new tank with 0 nitrate and 0 phoshate (you would end with dinos).
Here is a great source for macros, they give some nice tips on care as well. Lighting is complicated and you always want fresh bulbs, change every year; but most macro will respond well to many spectrums of light. I even grow caulerpa in a dimly lit predator tank. Caulerpa is not as scary as many make it out to be.
live-plants.com
Gulf Coast Ecosystems (GCE), founded in 2003, is a trusted source for live marine macroalgae, gorgonians, sponges and invertebrates. From our Florida Keys and Tampa Bay stations, we hand-collect and culture high-quality specimens for hobbyists, reef tanks, public aquariums, universities, and...
www.live-plants.com
mrjohnreed
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So I have completed my cycle about 2 days ago. I added the other 10lbs. of rock I had ordered and as of now this is the aquascaping I am going with. I ordered some macro.from live-plants.com yesterday and will put them in the tank once they get here this week. I ordered a sample pack.of red macro, a sample pack of halimeada macro and 2 pieces of corralline fine and rigid. We shall see how it all looks as we move forward in this journey. I am also going to be adding some fish but not sure what as of yet. Any suggestions are welcome.
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So I have completed my cycle about 2 days ago. I added the other 10lbs. of rock I had ordered and as of now this is the aquascaping I am going with. I ordered some macro.from live-plants.com yesterday and will put them in the tank once they get here this week. I ordered a sample pack.of red macro, a sample pack of halimeada macro and 2 pieces of corralline fine and rigid. We shall see how it all looks as we move forward in this journey. I am also going to be adding some fish but not sure what as of yet. Any suggestions are welcome.
You might like blye hypnea. It looks pretty and I am considering it for my display.
Halimeada and coralline will both need calcium levels maintained just as in a reef tank. So testing and possibly dosing your ca will be needed for optimum care. In turn you'll also need to maintain alk levels. Some macros are easy to care if proper nutrients are there, which usually come from fish waste and dietritus from uneaten food. Sometimes if not enough nutrients you may have to actually dose nitrates, do some research on the specifics of feeding a macro tank. Some macro, like 2 of the ones you chose, have to be care for under reef conditions, with proper reef levels of ca and alk.
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mrjohnreed
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So macro is in the tank. This is where we are today. Might have to move some around but am going to watch them.over the course of the next week or so and see what happens. Hopefully all will be happy.
how do you feel that lighting is working for ya?So macro is in the tank. This is where we are today. Might have to move some around but am going to watch them.over the course of the next week or so and see what happens. Hopefully all will be happy.
