Kevinmc Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hey, what are good Microalges, sorry, for my refugium, currently I have chato, about two quarts of it, but nothing else so far. What do we have in our tank? I am trying to finish my 45 gallon sump/refugium, and I need plant ideas. (scratch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I have probally missed it somewhere as to the size of your tank and live stock. IMO if what you have works, stick with it. It will grow with load and die without it. When ever it looks as if not growing, tahe a third to half out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevinmc Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 90 GAL w/ 45 GAL sump/refugium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Rather than the word "plants" they are referred to as macroalgae. Plants have a true vascular system that includes roots and tissue designed to transport water/nutrients up and down the plant. What we grow usually does not have a vascular system (no need to transfer within the plant if everything is close enough to the water for diffusion to work). Therefore it is an "algae" and not a "plant". The "macro" part means that it is large enough to look at without a microscope. Chaeto is by far the most common, but I think calurpa is a close second. Be careful of calurpa, there are at least two down sides to it. One is that once you put it in your tank, it is almost impossible to get rid of it. And two is that sometimes it enters a "sexual" part of it's life cycle and releases a bunch of nutrients into the tank that sometimes crashes your tank. Other Macro's that I have seen are "shaving brush" and I have seen maiden's hair at WAVES from time to time. There is also halimeda, which is more of a calcium containing macro (calcarious algae). I have read some posts on a different forum about people keeping seagrass, and having a "lagoon" system set up (sounds interesting). The down side of all of these is that they get eaten by herbivorous fish (tangs, rabbitfish, etc.). So if they are kept in a refugium, it is usually good. HTH dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevinmc Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 Live Plants, My Stupidity..Sorry I have a refugium that is half full of live crushed rock, live sand. Both are full of life from a few used tank take downs. I filtered the hell out of it all with lights and heaters for three weeks, while stiring the live sand several times a day and with a skimmer for about a week. I plan to put this all in the refugium, can I put any of these things in the internal skimmer box, as I am told that nothing can go in the return, even with window screen keeping it from plugging the pump, orletting it get out and into the tank. What do you think? Thanks Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 can I put any of these things in the internal skimmer box, Do you mean the box part of the overflow that is called the surface skimmer that is up at the top of your tank? If that is what you mean, you should keep the box mostly clear so that you can restart your siphon when you need to (like you just had problems with recently). OR Do you mean the box part of the sump that holds the protein skimmer? If this is what you mean, then it is up to you. As for me, I am probably doing it all wrong (I am only a year into this myself), but I have a sump that has no dividers, and I have the filter sock, live rock rubble, heater, skimmer, and return pump just thrown in the box that I call my sump. There is no "order" and I will probably regret doing it this way later. But I am doing the best I can with what I have until I can afford better. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Just stick with the cheato is works out the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevinmc Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 What I am asking is, what can I put in my sump, I currently have cheato, But 2 quarts worth. I would like to add those that will benificial to all areas of the sump to filter my water. Thanks Michael, for your input on the cheato. I have seen in shops a variety of greens and reds that are floating in their sumps and refugiums, they must be benificial, your they would not have then in the water. I understand that cheato is a popular item in saltwater. I was just wondering if there is something else that I could add that would increase my water quality, maybe not. My Sump/Refugium Is set-up like this. I have a 45 GAL tank that is divided into 4 sections. The 1st. section that the skimmer is in is approx. 8x12, and divided into 2 sections, the 1st.section for the skimmer is approx. 8x8 with base rock under skimmer to increase water height. And the 2nd is 18"tall and 4x8 with live rock, and I would like to put something besides cheato in it. My Refugium This is the 3rd. section. It is 12" Deep x 13" Wide x 16" Tall with an 3 piece bubble trap. My Return Return is approx. 12" Wide x 12" deep. I built this my self out of a glass aquarium. It may not be what some people would use, but it will handle an overflow of approx. 15 to 20 gallons. It is clean and I am happy that I did not waste my money on a small acrylic sump/refugium that will only do it's job and not have any extra room for overflow. If an overflow were to happen, I could start it back up, and skim the hell out of it, and I think it would be fine. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 For nutrient export and microfauna homesteading, I don't think you'll beat chaeto. dsoz is spot-on wrt caulerpa imo, no good reason to keep it and lots of reasons not to. If you are looking for a treat for your herbivores, or something a bit different, you can try raising Gracilaria. Good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defigart Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 What does Glacilaria look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 It's that reddish hairy stuff that Tangs love like pizza and beer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Gracilia is a red fernish looking plant. But I like Andys comparision better^^^!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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