??'s about macro algae in my seahorse tank

Hello 3Reef. I previously posted a thread about me having a seahorse tank and the seahorses actually surviving. Well on that thread it was advised to me to add some macroalgae to the tank, and so I did. I have pics of when I first put it in and a week later. Now I have questions. The guy at my lfs said I should keep the light on the macroalgae 24/7 but that is impossible for me to do with my seahorses. Would the macroalgae still survive?? I've noticed some of the leaves turning white to clear and the rest are fine and green. So what do you think 3Reef. I did end up taking some of the macroalgae and putting it in my newly converted fuge. But now I'm not to sure about the photoperiod or how long to leave the lights on or should I not even turn the lights off. Help Please!!

 

You'll seriously stress out those seahorses if you run Caulerpa 24/7. Just maintain a photoperiod that is recommended for seahorses. (I'm assuming that's 12 hours).

The best key for preventing going sexual is to control how much is in your system at any one time. They go sexual because they think they are not getting enough nutrients. Running light on them non-stop helps overcome this to some degree but the best way to deal with this is pruning vs running lights. If you have extremely low nitrates and you have a lot of Caulerpa, trim some of the Caulerpa out.

 

Very nice tank, follow inwalls' suggestions they will keep things going well.

 

But that's the thing I have some measurable nitrates. It's gone down since I do a weekly water change but there's not a lot of the caulerpa. I even took some out to put in my new fuge.

 

Then, maybe your lighting isn't strong enough.

Two other possibilities are Iodine or Iron levels. However, since I don't keep seahorses I wouldn't dose either element without talking to a seahorse expert.

 

As far as lights I have a coralife double compact flourescent lights. There's 2 lights, each is 65 watt that has a 10,000k bulb and an atinic blue one. Could it be that the caulerpa need the lights 24/7, or was that a lie from my lfs guy? As far as dosing I haven't dosed the tank with anything. I know that from all my reasearch it says to keep the tank maintaned like a reef tank and since I had a reef in there I just kept up with it.

 

Lots of people do this and it is a method that works well TEMPORARILY. Photosynthesis requires a dark period.....the longer you go running 24/7, you are slowly weakening the macroalgae. Eventually it will go sexual even running 24/7

If you're doing a 10 percent waterchange, your salt mix should in theory have enough Iodine and Iron.

I really don't understand why your algae is going sexual.

 

interesting

I had a Calerpa crash some years ago and the leaves went yellow and then more or less disintigrated and thats what I percieved as going sexual.

I also had leaves that went white/ clear and these where always the back end of any runners , the front end was putting out new shoots and baby leaves faster than the ones at the back where dying off

Steve

 

Yellow leaves means it's Iron chlorosis. EDIT TO CLARIFY: This is fixed by dosing iron.

going clear means it's going sexual. In the description you're describing, I would attribute that to a lack of light at the back Vs. a lack of nutrients.

 

Well the leaves are definatly not yellow, they are going white and clear. I attached pics to show. I currently have the tank on a photoperiod, about 12 hours day/night not 24/7 on.