Mangroves and Red Graciliaria in tank

Hey guys and gals,

I am all set to deal with my nitrate issues naturally and plan to do so with mangroves and red graciliaria in my 75 gallon display tank. I have a 30 gallon sump, but do not have a refugium, nor do I have room for one. The mangroves will not be an issue; I leave my tank uncovered except for my overflow and I think they will look kind of cool, in addition to giving my fish somewhere else to hide and frolic. Here comes my question, I was going to put the red graciliaria under and around the roots of the mangroves by gluing it to some rocks. Yes, I have the appropriate reef safe glue. I am also getting a yellow tang, so I thought he would enjoy the option of a 24 hour algal buffet.

Is this a good idea, will it spread and take over my tank, from what I understand it doesn't have the tendency to go sexual? Are there any negatives to red graciliaria in my display tank? I am very excited to give this a try and I think it will add to the uniqueness of my tank. As always, thanks in advance for the advice and help.

Happy Friday,

Jim

 

I hate to have to respond to my own thread, but please can someone give me a little advice?

 

i have never had red graciliaria but if the tang takes a liking to it, it probably won't last long. most people set up the refugium to keep the macroalgae and the herbivores separated.

 

Thanks Say,

He is going to be a little guy, so I am not so worried about him devouring it. I am more worried about it taking over my tank. Any idea how fast it grows? Having macro is very new to me.

 

According to reefcleaners, it grows at a moderate pace. You shouldn't have any trouble trimming it when it grows larger than you want. my guess is that you will have more trouble keeping it from being eaten than from it overtaking your tank. Those little tangs will graze all day......don't say i didn't warn you.

 

Thanks again for the advice.

 

Mangroves are tough in the DT as they are naturally bouyant and anchoring them can be a challenge as the seed pods aren't normally long enough to reach the bottom. A lot of people successfully use rubber bands to secure or styrofoam to float them in their fuges, but not sure either of them will be very attractive in your DT.

As for the graciliaria, it's a good choice, but you will definitely have more trouble keeping the fish from eating it all very quickly.

My advice(if the mangroves and graciliaria prove difficult), even though you say you don't have room in your sump, is to get a nice size ball of chaeto and put down there...even if it's high flow. I have chaeto in both high and low flow areas of my 150 and, while the low flow chaeto grows faster, they both thrive.

 

Thanks Capt,

I was going to position the mangroves between two pieces of live rock to hold them in place. I could probably fit some chaeto down there, but I would need to illuminate them in my sump though, correct?

 

Yes, but a simple light like this one is all you need with a grow bulb. Both are cheap and available at any Lowes or Home Depot.

 

Using some thread or string to tie the mangroves over the top of a rock big enough to hold several of them down under the water. It will be a little while but trust me not only will they grow out of the water the roots will anchor themselves to and around the rock and you will be able to take the string or thread off. Plus it will look really cool in the tank, at least I think so.

As for the red graciliaria, if you put a tang in there with it especially a yellow no matter how small it is you can say goodbye to it. Tangs will eat themselves sick when it comes to that stuff and it grows to slow to keep up with them. I have a Yellow and Kole tang in my display, both are about 2.5 to 3" in size. I put a 6" tightly compacted ball of red graciliaria in the tank and it was gone within a week.

Chaeto as much as every one like to use it cannot even come close to the Mangroves and red graciliaria in nitrate usage. Next to mangroves one of the best for Nitrate absorption is Cuplelera Mexicana, which I use in both my sumps and Seahorse tank. All you have to do to any of the Macros the tend to go Asexual and cause problems is trim them. About once a month or so I just reach in and rip out a couple of big hand full, it been in my tanks since they were set up and never had an issue.

And the light that captscott advises you to use is exactly what I use, with a couple of CF bulbs from Lowe's, they work great, they are cheap to buy and cheap to run!


PS: you might not want to put the Cuplelera Mexicana in your display tank becasue it does grow really fast and can be a bit of a ***** to eradicate, I was just letting you know that it can be controlled thats all.
I have it in my Seahorse tank just becasue I want it to look as natural as possible.