caulerpa dying? read

[JonnyJ]

hey, i added a handful of caulerpa to my tank around 4 days ago, it has had around 50% die-off but the rest seems to be living fine.

someone had told me that i could just remove it altogether but i left it in for an extra day figuring that i was off today [Thursday] and would give me some time to remove it and do some other maintenance on the tank.

can the dying caulerpa have a effect on my water if i leave dead strands in? it is all intertwined so some dead is wrapped around alive stuff. meaning i would just remove it all or just leave it in and see what happens.....

i posted a pic below... tank has been running 3 weeks, coraline is suprisingly spreading rapidly to other rocks, suprisingly very well from the established pieces i added....unplanned polyps and random stuff i have growing in the tank all looks great and tests all seem to be stabilizing.[nitrite 0, ammonia is a little above 0, and nitrates are like 5-10] no fish or inverts in the tank yet,

would love to give the caulerpa a chance to live but if not ill remove it all. let me know.

thanks

 

[Dre]

Put it in your refuge.This stuff grow fast and has the capability to going asexul.Meaning the entire colony can deteriorate rapidly releasing billions of seeds .So check for color change and prune regularly.

 

[JonnyJ]

i dont have a refuge, its a stock aquapod 24 gallon,

today my inTank Media basket will arrive, maybe i could put it inside one of the chambers with a lite? what kind of lite would it need? anything that would fit under the hood? just looking for some ideas,

if i kept it in main tank couldnt i maintain it by trimming as needed?

 

[Dre]

It does well under 5500k-10000k bulbs at 75f-85f.If you keep it in your 24gal that fine but if it start to change color from green to yellow or transparent remove it immediately.

 

[sjsoto]

that dont look like caulerpa to me, its look more like chaeto

 

[Deep Dive Coral]

definately cheato. i cant keep cheato for the life of me. i dont know why.

 

[JHOV2324]

Looks like Cheatomorpha to me too and does extremely well in a sump....if u want more i have plenty...every weekend i throw tons away.....

 

[JonnyJ]

i can see the resembelence on the dead strands because it shrinks up like Cheatomorpha. but from pictures it looks like grape caulerpa and i was told its grape caulerpa...

some more pics...i ditched the dead stuff and made a nice little strand...

 

[sjsoto]

k, i see it now

caulerpa sertulariodes

 

[sjsoto]

put some fish in there, they require lots of "nutrients" thats why they dying

 

[jrobbins]

yeah, its grape caulerpa. if you let it deteriorate in the tank it will just release all the nutrients that you put it in there to absorb.

i would just be careful putting that stuff in your tank. when that stuff takes hold it, it is a real pain to get rid of. it also has other risks that other members have mentioned.

chaeto is a much better choice imho and you can chuck it in a rear chamber with a little submersible led from ebay if you want.

 

[bizarrecorals]

The first picture looks like cheato, the last one looks like grape caleurpa, people always mix plant in the refugium.
whats your phosphate level? are you using tap?how long do you have the light on
are the bulbs old, maybe change the bulbs
these 2 types of plant never die, something has to be wrong in your tank.
you replenish iron?

 

[JonnyJ]

Hey,

its a brand new tank so i have yet to add any fish or inverts! its only 3rd week of cycle

Reasons i believe some of it has died
-Fluctuation of Temperature - i just picked up a new heater. the other one was no good.

-my ammonia levels were high when i added it to the tank so i suppose that was why some of it died. I would say only around 25% actually died [noticed that when i took it out]

I used R/O water.
Lights are Stock power compacts [NEW BULBS] 8-10 hours a day i run them.

phosphate -
[api tests]

1st week - .5
2nd week - .5
Today [tested twice]

these tests are so hard to read but to me they look around .5 or a little less.

first test: .5
second test: .5

never replenished iron [ the tank hasnt even had its first water change because waiting to see if the nitrates go down to 0 which they have been decreasing from 10. i will post all tests in a bit...doing them now.]

 

[JonnyJ]

complete tests: ALL with API

Nitrate 0
nitrite 0
AMMONIA - looks like its .25 the color isnt even on the chart and hard to even round it out...
Alk KH 7 DKH 125.3
Phosphates .5
PH: 7.8
Temp: 80

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

your PH is low

 

[JHOV2324]

u were right