Underrated Macroalgae Thread!

NoahMMTV · Oct 24, 2018

Macroalgae, in my opinion, is extremely underrated. It can be just as colorful and pretty as coral, and as a bonus they are easy to care for and benefit your tank! Comment below a type of macroalgae you would like to share with everyone!

I'll start:

Red Bubble Macro, a very cheap and easy-to-grow macroalgae. They are beautiful, add great color and even movement (sensitive to flow) to your tank! I have a piece I bought for $9.99, and it has grown so much in the time I've had it!

HotRocks · Oct 24, 2018

I never knew this! Thanks for sharing!

Subsea · Oct 25, 2018

I also think macro is under rated. I grow it commercially. If that sprig of Bortacladia is $10, then I am rich. Over a period of five years, Red Grapes have gone sexual and attached to every surface in 10 year old grow out tank.

Both Red Grapes & Green Grapes are excellent choices for human consumption. I use soy sauce & lime juice.

I think my favorite green macro is Caulerpa Prolifera and my favorite red macro is Halymenia dilatata, Dragons Tongue. Red Grapes & Gracilaria Hayi are second red macro favorites.

lapin · Oct 25, 2018

I wonder if red and green grapes make good Sake?

AlgaeBarn · Oct 28, 2018

Great thread @NoahMMTV !

Sea lettuce (ulva)

Highly underrated macroalgae. Great for nutrient uptake of nitrates and phosphates. Grows faster than chaetomorpha (chaeto, cheato). Fish such as tangs and foxfaces will tend to eat it. Pods love to hang on it and eat any decaying bits. It doesn't need to tumble, just let it float and give it a high power light.

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/clean-sea-lettuce/

Drum roll..... It also absorbs aluminum(source: Effects of green seaweed extract on Arabidopsis early development suggest roles for hormone signalling in plant responses to algal fertilisers. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/08/25/400143.full.pdf).

I know marine pure has been under fire for aluminum. However, if we look at the concentrations that a marine pure plate produces (according to BRS, I'm not sure what tank size they were running this in, and that is VERY important, but the results will speak for themselves). I am assuming 50 gallons for the calculations.

Growing just a half pound of sea lettuce will rid the aquarium of any soluble aluminum.

Red Ogo

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/red-ogo/

https://www.algaebarn.com/blog/macro-algae/red-alga-gracilaria-overview/

Fast growing gracilaria that loves nitrates and phosphates. Often the feed of choice for tangs at public aquariums. It also likes aluminum and Silicates

source: Absorption of metals and characterization of chemical elements present in three species of Gracilaria (Gracilariaceae) Greville: a genus of economical importance
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-695X2011000200024

Leafy Ogo

Dragon's Tongue

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/premium/dragons-breath-halymenia-floresia/

Beautiful macroalgae, well suited for a display tank. The tips fluoresce under the right lighting.

PomPom Macroalgae

Another beautiful macroalgae, well suited for the display tank or the refugium. Under the right conditions, will double in volume every week. It is often misrepresented as dragons breathe macroalgae.

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/pom-pom-gracilaria/

NoahMMTV · Oct 28, 2018

AlgaeBarn said:
Great thread @NoahMMTV !

Sea lettuce (ulva)

Highly underrated macroalgae. Great for nutrient uptake of nitrates and phosphates. Grows faster than chaetomorpha (chaeto, cheato). Fish such as tangs and foxfaces will tend to eat it. Pods love to hang on it and eat any decaying bits. It doesn't need to tumble, just let it float and give it a high power light.

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/clean-sea-lettuce/

Drum roll..... It also absorbs aluminum(source: Effects of green seaweed extract on Arabidopsis early development suggest roles for hormone signalling in plant responses to algal fertilisers. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/08/25/400143.full.pdf).

I know marine pure has been under fire for aluminum. However, if we look at the concentrations that a marine pure plate produces (according to BRS, I'm not sure what tank size they were running this in, and that is VERY important, but the results will speak for themselves). I am assuming 50 gallons for the calculations.

Growing just a half pound of sea lettuce will rid the aquarium of any soluble aluminum.

Red Ogo

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/red-ogo/

https://www.algaebarn.com/blog/macro-algae/red-alga-gracilaria-overview/

Fast growing gracilaria that loves nitrates and phosphates. Often the feed of choice for tangs at public aquariums. It also likes aluminum and Silicates

source: Absorption of metals and characterization of chemical elements present in three species of Gracilaria (Gracilariaceae) Greville: a genus of economical importance
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-695X2011000200024

Leafy Ogo

Dragon's Tongue

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/premium/dragons-breath-halymenia-floresia/

Beautiful macroalgae, well suited for a display tank. The tips fluoresce under the right lighting.

PomPom Macroalgae

Another beautiful macroalgae, well suited for the display tank or the refugium. Under the right conditions, will double in volume every week. It is often misrepresented as dragons breathe macroalgae.

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/pom-pom-gracilaria/

Thanks for the reply! I love your products, and your macroalgae looks beautiful! I'll be sure to purchase some of that amazing looking dragon's tounge for my display, and someday when I get a sump I'll certainly order as much macro as it can fit!