Where do you recommend buying Macroalgae for your display tank online?

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Clarinuto

Clarinuto

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Looking to add some macro algae to my display reef tank for both the look and nutrient help. Where do you recommend buying Macroalgae for your display tank online?
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
fermentedhiker said:
Live-plants.com is my go to site. They are moving right now so not taking orders but hopefully they'll be up and running again soon.

Reefcleaners also has some decent selection sometimes
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Live-plants is where I have been considering! How has your experience with them been? Do you keep an Macroalgae specific tank or have algae and corals in the same tank? I want to have both so I would love to hear from others that do currently and get their recommendations for care, placement, and species. :)
 
Chewy.com
I've always been happy with what I've gotten. If it's regular macros like Halimeda, caulerpa , and codium the portions are huge.

I used to run them in my DT but they tended to grow too fast for me and needed constant trimming to keep them from smothering corals. I'm in the middle of setting up a new system with a display refugium which will be partly dedicated to slow growing macros. The thought is that the display macros will consume most of the steady nutrient production and the chaeto fuge in the sump will absorb any spike from a death or overfeeding mishap.

Haven't completely settled on a stock list. leaning toward pencil cap, mermaids fan, pinecone etc... in the backround. Maybe some exotic red macros and/or branching coraline within the rockwork.

But first things first I need to build the shelf to mount the refugium on and get it plumbed and running.
 
I can think of a place or two ;).

We should be back in stock on a lot of our macroalgaes late this week and be releasing a few new types of macro.

For display tank, we recommend the following

 
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Orphek OR3 reef aquarium LED bar
AlgaeBarn said:
I can think of a place or two ;).

We should be back in stock on a lot of our macroalgaes late this week and be releasing a few new types of macro.

For display tank, we recommend the following

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Awesome. Thanks for the great info. Going to check you out right now [emoji16]
 
Even though some vendors say its clean. I dip my new macro in something to rid it of pests like flat worms.
 
Nutramar Foods
I ordered from Doctors Fosters and Smith which came from ORA and I receive a big bag of rotten algae and decomposed pods to the point that I had to open all windows from my house. I guess ORA bag them on Mondays and send them a week later.
 
lapin said:
Even though some vendors say its clean. I dip my new macro in something to rid it of pests like flat worms.
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Yes!! I was wondering if we should/could dip macro algae. Do you use a coral dip? I use coral rx currently.
 
Alex V. said:
I ordered from Doctors Fosters and Smith which came from ORA and I receive a big bag of rotten algae and decomposed pods to the point that I had to open all windows from my house. I guess ORA bag them on Mondays and send them a week later.
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I’m glad you told me this. I just went through a similar experience with another online vendor. The smell was so putrid I had trouble taking care of the items.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
lapin said:
Even though some vendors say its clean. I dip my new macro in something to rid it of pests like flat worms.
Click to expand...

Anytime we get new macroalgae cultures from an outside source, we perform utilize 6 different chemical dips for pests :)
 
I have ordered from algae barn, inland aquatics (gone now?), Floridapets, and eBay over the years for macros with good results from each. I think my last order was ulva from algae barn and chaeto from eBay. No complaints with either.
 
Clarinuto said:
Live-plants is where I have been considering! How has your experience with them been? Do you keep an Macroalgae specific tank or have algae and corals in the same tank? I want to have both so I would love to hear from others that do currently and get their recommendations for care, placement, and species. :)
Click to expand...


I aquascape macro lagoons as mixed garden reef tank. I like contrasting red & green. For red, I like Bortacladia or Halymenia. For green, I like a meadow of Caulerpa Prolifera with its slender emerald green fronds undulating in the currents.

https://www.marineplantbook.com/marinebookbotryo.htm

https://www.marineplantbook.com/marinebookprolifera.htm
AlgaeBarn said:
Anytime we get new macroalgae cultures from an outside source, we perform utilize 6 different chemical dips for pests :)
Click to expand...


Can you elaborate on differrent chemical dips?
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Subsea said:
I aquascape macro lagoons as mixed garden reef tank. I like contrasting red & green. For red, I like Bortacladia or Halymenia. For green, I like a meadow of Caulerpa Prolifera with its slender emerald green fronds undulating in the currents.

https://www.marineplantbook.com/marinebookbotryo.htm

https://www.marineplantbook.com/marinebookprolifera.htm



Can you elaborate on differrent chemical dips?
Click to expand...
Bortacladia is gorgeous. I would love to add some of that.

I second wanting to know more about the chemical dips as well.
 
Clarinuto said:
Bortacladia is gorgeous. I would love to add some of that.

I second wanting to know more about the chemical dips as well.
Click to expand...

So I can't tell you what compounds we use, as its proprietary. But we essentially performed an FMEA ( Failure modes and effects analysis) on potential hitchhikers, their consequence/damage potential in a reef tank, likelihood of detection, likelihood of specific incoming pest, ease of treatment + access to specific reagents, potential damage to the macroalgae, potential residue left on macroalgae, etc to develop out treatment protocol. Then, we follow up with multiple rounds of verification via visual inspection.
 
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Algae barn is the way to go. Ordered Chaeto from there, 1 month in - it's probably 10x the size. Of course, you need a light source (I got H380, probably the best refuge light). Even more, they had a special coupon so I got 2 free macro algae (which both are tripling the size) and Artemia. I then proceeded to buy copepods from there, all pretty much alive, and now I think I have frosted glass!
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Maxx Yung said:
Algae barn is the way to go. Ordered Chaeto from there, 1 month in - it's probably 10x the size. Of course, you need a light source (I got H380, probably the best refuge light). Even more, they had a special coupon so I got 2 free macro algae (which both are tripling the size) and Artemia. I then proceeded to buy copepods from there, all pretty much alive, and now I think I have frosted glass!
Click to expand...

@Maxx Yung Thanks for the love!! We are super happy to hear that the two free macroalgaes are growing well. Can you post a photo?
 
I do not have any recent ones, but I can describe. Funny you asked for a picture, I threw out like 1/2 of the macro algae a few hours ago. The picture you see is a month ago. To now describe it's size, imagine the total macro algae can completely surround the plastic at least 3-5 times. I love it. Although I still have a LOT of algae in my DT haha.
(I removed the plastic now it's tumbling in the refuge section not the main section of the sump)

marcoalgae.JPG
 

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