I am running the AB+ settings on my hydra 26. I bought some Red Ogo and Pom Pom from Algae Barn. Will these grow well under spectrum that’s more suited to corals or should the current spectrum grow these in the rank just fine?
Spectrum for macro algae
- Thread starter Schweezy
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laverda
2500 Club Member
I find algae grow much better under inexpensive red & blue led grow lights. I have 2 like this I use for my mangroves, ATS and refugium. https://amzn.to/2zIOuSd
they are only about $25
they are only about $25
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rkpetersen
walked the sand with the crustaceans
I use a red/blue mix on a Kessil fuge light (40% color), as I had read somewhere that that was a good setting for macroalgae growth. Seems to work well enough.
Scrubber_steve
2500 Club Member
is it in a display, or are you growing it simply for filtration?
Subsea
5000 Club Member
@Scrubber_steve
Do you think that red macro uses red spectrum?
In reading an article on photosynsis & light spectrum, the author made the statement that the reason land plants are green is beause the plant does not use it for photosynthesis, thus the green spectrum is reflected back to our eyes.
Do you think that red macro uses red spectrum?
In reading an article on photosynsis & light spectrum, the author made the statement that the reason land plants are green is beause the plant does not use it for photosynthesis, thus the green spectrum is reflected back to our eyes.
Subsea
5000 Club Member
Bortacladia is collected in the GOM between 60’-120’. There is no red spectrum at that depth. When I receive it from the divers, it is a dark burgundy. Under reef tank lighting, it turns fire engine red.
Does macro have light blocking pigments similar to coral?
Does macro have light blocking pigments similar to coral?
Scrubber_steve
2500 Club Member
Good question.
Colour as the eye perceives it is the product of the mix of light spectrums reflected, not absorbed, by an object.
Plants/algae contain Chlorophyll & it reflects the green spectrum, so most plants look green, & green light is not needed for photosynthesis.
Red algae like Gracilaria (Red Ogo and Pom Pom) contain Chlorophyll a but also contain Phycobilins & this gives them their colour -
Phycobilins are light-capturing bilins found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of red algae, glaucophytes and some cryptomonads (though not in green algae and plants). Most of their molecules consist of a chromophore which makes them coloured. They are unique among the photosynthetic pigments in that they are bonded to certain water-soluble proteins, known as phycobiliproteins. Phycobiliproteins then pass the light energy to chlorophylls for photosynthesis.
The phycobilins are especially efficient at absorbing red, orange, yellow, and green light, wavelengths that are not well absorbed by chlorophyll a. Organisms growing in shallow waters tend to contain phycobilins that can capture yellow/red light, while those at greater depth often contain more of the phycobilins that can capture green light, which is relatively more abundant there.
Gracilaria is commonly found in estuaries or bays, often in intertidal or shallow subtidal areas, less than 1 meter deep, & so would recieve a lot of red light.
Scrubber_steve
2500 Club Member
well then, you wouldn't want a predominently red spectrum then, hey
You may want to use more white than you might otherwise normally use though?
Gracilaria (Red Ogo and Pom Pom) is an opportunistic species that has a wide range of tolerance for changing environmental conditions. It is commonly found in estuaries or bays, often in intertidal or shallow subtidal areas, less than 1 meter deep,
https://articles.extension.org/pages/67024/seaweed-aquaculture:-gracilaria
