macro algae keeps dying

NCMBM · 01/19/2009, 03:49 PM

I'm an experienced african chiclid guy. 8 mos ago I decided to give salt a try, mainly reef. My tank is a 60 gal cube, 24 x 24 x 26 with a 20gal tall sump/refugium. The main tank is lighted by 250w MH with 14k bulb and blue/white leds. The refugium is 5 gal of the sump, its a DIY setup. I was running a mag 5 for return, 5' head, and felt the flow was too slow. I was growing cynobacteria on the surface of the refugium. I am now running a Rio 2100 for return, maybe 100gph more flow. Run a koralia 3 in the main tank.

I have placed cheato and/or feather caluerpa in there three times and it time it melted away. I purchased a coralife light that was supposed to be for a refugium, 36w and 24" long. It was longer than I needed it to be but it fit the tank properly. In my attempt to grow macro I checked the bulb, it was a 50/50. Not right for growing plants I was told. Instead of buying a proper bulb for this fixture I just bought a smaller fixture, 18w total with 2 9w bulbs - 6700k and 10,000k. The fixture was cheaper than a bulb for the other one.

Restocked the refugium with a mix of chaeto and feather caluerpa. The caluerpa is melting away but the chaeto seems to be living, not growing but living. The dying macro is creating havoc with my nitrate levels and I'm changing water all the time. What am I doing wrong? My corals and fish all seem fine but the nitrates are always high. All other parameters are in line but can't keep up with the nitrate problem I assume is coming from the dying macro.
Thanks

NirvanaFan · 01/19/2009, 04:52 PM

What food do you feed? How many and what fish do you have? Do you have any nuisance algae in the tank? Do you ever shake the algae out? I find that my chaeto gets a bunch of stuff like cyano and other algae caught in it.

NCMBM · 01/19/2009, 06:28 PM

I feed frozen food, mysis, brine, emerald, cyclops and sheet seaweed. Fish are false perc, yellow watchman, sailfin tang, pink lip blenny, bi-color blennie, six line wrasse and a coral beauty. I have one cleaner shrimp, a couple serpent stars, hermits, snails and 2 pistol shrimp that hitched in on the rock. I have stirred and shaken the cheato, trying to get it to roll in the current but the caluerpa stops it from rolling.

The rock came covered in feather caluerpa but its all gone, tang ate quite a lot of it, rest just died away like it does in the refugium. I buy RO/DI water from the local store for top off and pre-mix. Any idea why macro wouldn't grow in my refugium?

Percula9 · 01/19/2009, 06:47 PM

I would forget the caleurpa, and concentrate on your chaetomorpha. Try an iron supplement to enhance its growth. Your refugium is small for that size tank, I recommend a 10 gal at least. Do you have a skimmer?

NCMBM · 01/20/2009, 10:47 AM

I do have a skimmer, though not pleased with its performance so far. I have a Aqua C Urchin pro driven with a mag 3. Its overproducing bubbles and a fix is on the way from Aqua C.

The 5 gal fuge was necessity not choice. The foot print of the skimmer and return pump ate up much of the tank. I'm looking now at setting up a seperate fuge area above the 20 gal sump/fuge currently in place. I think lighting is the culprit but some iron additive can't hurt. I run the fuge lights when the MH is off on the main tank, about 16hrs a day. Today even the cheato looks lighter colored than it should. I am so confused by this. My light wattage is ok, the color spectrum should be right. I'm thinking about trying incandescent grow bulbs next.

NirvanaFan · 01/20/2009, 11:12 AM

I use a clip on fixture with a CF spiral 6500k bulb in it. It grows my chaeto alright.

bubblybumpkin · 01/21/2009, 12:13 AM

try adding iron

01/19/2009, 03:49 PM	#1
NCMBM Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Alamance County, NC Posts: 47	macro algae keeps dying I'm an experienced african chiclid guy. 8 mos ago I decided to give salt a try, mainly reef. My tank is a 60 gal cube, 24 x 24 x 26 with a 20gal tall sump/refugium. The main tank is lighted by 250w MH with 14k bulb and blue/white leds. The refugium is 5 gal of the sump, its a DIY setup. I was running a mag 5 for return, 5' head, and felt the flow was too slow. I was growing cynobacteria on the surface of the refugium. I am now running a Rio 2100 for return, maybe 100gph more flow. Run a koralia 3 in the main tank. I have placed cheato and/or feather caluerpa in there three times and it time it melted away. I purchased a coralife light that was supposed to be for a refugium, 36w and 24" long. It was longer than I needed it to be but it fit the tank properly. In my attempt to grow macro I checked the bulb, it was a 50/50. Not right for growing plants I was told. Instead of buying a proper bulb for this fixture I just bought a smaller fixture, 18w total with 2 9w bulbs - 6700k and 10,000k. The fixture was cheaper than a bulb for the other one. Restocked the refugium with a mix of chaeto and feather caluerpa. The caluerpa is melting away but the chaeto seems to be living, not growing but living. The dying macro is creating havoc with my nitrate levels and I'm changing water all the time. What am I doing wrong? My corals and fish all seem fine but the nitrates are always high. All other parameters are in line but can't keep up with the nitrate problem I assume is coming from the dying macro. Thanks

01/19/2009, 04:52 PM	#2
NirvanaFan Reef Ninja Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 4,280	What food do you feed? How many and what fish do you have? Do you have any nuisance algae in the tank? Do you ever shake the algae out? I find that my chaeto gets a bunch of stuff like cyano and other algae caught in it.

01/19/2009, 06:28 PM	#3
NCMBM Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Alamance County, NC Posts: 47	I feed frozen food, mysis, brine, emerald, cyclops and sheet seaweed. Fish are false perc, yellow watchman, sailfin tang, pink lip blenny, bi-color blennie, six line wrasse and a coral beauty. I have one cleaner shrimp, a couple serpent stars, hermits, snails and 2 pistol shrimp that hitched in on the rock. I have stirred and shaken the cheato, trying to get it to roll in the current but the caluerpa stops it from rolling. The rock came covered in feather caluerpa but its all gone, tang ate quite a lot of it, rest just died away like it does in the refugium. I buy RO/DI water from the local store for top off and pre-mix. Any idea why macro wouldn't grow in my refugium?

01/19/2009, 06:47 PM	#4
Percula9 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Orange County CA Posts: 3,819	I would forget the caleurpa, and concentrate on your chaetomorpha. Try an iron supplement to enhance its growth. Your refugium is small for that size tank, I recommend a 10 gal at least. Do you have a skimmer?

01/20/2009, 10:47 AM	#5
NCMBM Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Alamance County, NC Posts: 47	I do have a skimmer, though not pleased with its performance so far. I have a Aqua C Urchin pro driven with a mag 3. Its overproducing bubbles and a fix is on the way from Aqua C. The 5 gal fuge was necessity not choice. The foot print of the skimmer and return pump ate up much of the tank. I'm looking now at setting up a seperate fuge area above the 20 gal sump/fuge currently in place. I think lighting is the culprit but some iron additive can't hurt. I run the fuge lights when the MH is off on the main tank, about 16hrs a day. Today even the cheato looks lighter colored than it should. I am so confused by this. My light wattage is ok, the color spectrum should be right. I'm thinking about trying incandescent grow bulbs next.

01/20/2009, 11:12 AM	#6
NirvanaFan Reef Ninja Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 4,280	I use a clip on fixture with a CF spiral 6500k bulb in it. It grows my chaeto alright.

01/21/2009, 12:13 AM	#7
bubblybumpkin Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 20	try adding iron