anyone have marine plants in there tank

[charliethetuna88]

I was wondering if anyone has any marine plants in there tanks like halimeda,shaving brush, maidenhair, etc.I was gonna buy a piece last night but I wasn't sure how well they do in our reef tanks.they probally would look pretty nice in a tank .if they live.

 

[Marcellina]

I think I asked this questions on this site when I first started. I was dissuaded from putting them in bc certain types of plants put up runners underneath the sand and can grow out 0f control.. Im not 100% positive but that is something to think about. Im sure someone with more experience will chime in!

They are very cool looking though I agree!

 

[charliethetuna88]

Thanks for the info I was thinking of like the halimeda which is a calcerous plant I don't think that grows to fast I would make a reef tank look good though

 

[Marcellina]

That is the prettiest choice. It looks like linked little coins I *think* that might be the least invasive of the choices you listed. I have read that they reproduce by runners but I have also read that they reproduce by 'hold fasts'. Im no expert but I have read that not only is it pretty it will help reduce your nitrates and phosphates.

I have a small piece with yellow polps attached that I inherited from someone of it in a 10G tank I have, it only has a coralife 28W 50/50 light and its doing good, I do water changes to keep the calcium up. I have no sandbed in the 10G. I have read and heard they need alot of light, maybe that is when they grow a little faster? The one I have is just happy on its little rock with the neighboring polyps.

 

[charliethetuna88]

Cool thanks for the info I might get a piece and try it ill keep u posted

 

[Dre]

Thanks for the info I was thinking of like the halimeda which is a calcerous plant I don't think that grows to fast I would make a reef tank look good though

See ,looks cool but Halimeda suck up alot of Calcium every plant,animal whatever has it's advantage /disadvantage.

 

[Marcellina]

Yes that is right DRE, I guess its good in my 10G as its the only thing in there that would use calcium. SO the weekly water change is good for my little frag.

Charlie do you dose Calcium in your tank? If not you should definitely start adding some if you add the halimeda. I use the B-Ionic in my display and the difference just in my LPS is amazing.

 

[cowfish]

There are plenty of macros that do not grow from runners, are limited in size and don't take over your tank. Do a search for macro algae. I have codium and a few others in my reef.

 

[charliethetuna88]

Cool I gotta do a search I already dose bi-ionic but I never really have a problem keeping my cal up I have mostly lps so they don't really use much of my cal up

 

[zook]

It's pretty much like gardening except you're doing it underwater. Even with runners, you can still easily control growth of macro algae with regular monitoring and pruning.

My planted tank when it was at its best:

 

[charliethetuna88]

Awsome that looks real good what plant should I get that's nice and hardy since u have some experiance woth them what would u recommend

 

[zook]

I think these are good starting points: Gracilaria
Ulva
Halimeda
Sargassum
Codium
Botryocladia

 

[charliethetuna88]

Thanks bro do u order ur plants online if so what site

 

[aznt1217]

Charlie,

Go to John Maloney on Reefcleaners.org. He's freakin awesome.

 

[basiab]

Halimeda,shaving brush, maidenhair nice and will not take over your tank. They are very slow growers. But I found it hard to keep them. I was never able to keep one alive for more than 6 months.

 

[Reef Greek]

Nice planted tank.
There are some very nice looking macros out there just saw a dragons tongue(awesome little plant) and want one myself. Halimeda are slow growing not too invasive and do help water quality BUT they do absorb a lot of calcium and will die off without it so you need to dose.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Charlie, go for it just keep the tangs away

 

[charliethetuna88]

Thanks andy I think I might it would make the tank look nice and add a little towards looking like a reaf reef I dose cal anyway and test frequently

 

[Aerowen]

zook, that planted tank is really nice. I used to have some dragon's tongue in a previous tank and it always did great,but never really grew for me.

 

[adamt]

i have halimeda in my tank and it looks awesome... it changes color through out the day from almost white in th morning to a dark green by the time i get home from work. I have a rock that has some wierd calurpa on it almost looks like a bunch of little green mushrooms growing off of runners and some red algae that looks like dragons breath minus the bright trim. I've always been a fan of keeping macro in my reef tanks you just need to keep it under control and remove any that starts to bleach out.

Ive heard it secretes something that is detrimental to coral growth, and i know it uses nutrients (part of the reason i like it in the tank, it seems to out compete other algaes that i dont want and keeps phosphates in check) but all in all ive never had a problem with it. My other love when it comes to aquariums is planted tanks so adding some flora to my sw always seemed like a natural thing to do. The main thing, like everything else in this hobby, is that you stay vigilant and dont let it get out of control, and seriously, keep an eye out for bleached out pieces.