Two-faced plants: What types of algae have you found to be both good and bad?

What types of algae have you found to be both good and bad?

  • Caulerpa

    Votes: 43 32.8%
  • Chaetomorpha

    Votes: 33 25.2%
  • Coralline algae

    Votes: 55 42.0%
  • Diatoms

    Votes: 31 23.7%
  • Invasive macroalgae

    Votes: 27 20.6%
  • Phytoplankton

    Votes: 23 17.6%
  • Ulva

    Votes: 14 10.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 14 10.7%

  • Total voters
    131

Coral Loggers

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I have not yet had luck with algae. I have tried cheato on several occasions and it died and wrecked havoc in the tank. Phos spiked like crazy killed some coral. If anyone has advice on using algae in a fuge would be appreciated. I’ve been told to try cheato gro. Going to do so and maybe get back with results. What’s a good light to use that won’t break the bank? Tried several.
 

_sludgefactory

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I voted other = turf scrubber algae

we know it works well for the most part and usually stays isolated

but any plants in a system can reproduce via fragmentation it’s not unheard of

we just had to rip clean an entire display tank in private message completely taken over by turf scrubber algae that wasn’t in the display before the scrubber, looks identical to the growths on the scrubber, and once we removed the scrubber the ripped system is still using the same sourcewater the original used and now there’s no invasion. Farming plants within a reef display is subject to variation for sure/hindsight
I find that hard to believe. All a turf algae scrubber does is provide an environment that is more hospitable to the nuisance algae that would normally grow in the display tank. It's not growing some special kind of "scrubber" algae. That tank has something else going on. If you have not addressed the excess nutrients, it will be full of algae again soon enough.
 

Jillianh

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Years ago an LFS sold me on Caulerpa for a refugium I plumbed into my sump. It was great until it took up residence in my DT and spread to ever piece of live rock in the tank. It was such a miserable experience trying to get it out- finally the tank came down. Never again camp on Caulerpa.
 

Wasabiroot

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Just trashed my Chaeto today bc it stopped growing and kept getting smothered by GHA. Anyone else encounter this? For now I've decided to go with the GHA in my fuge. After about two weeks mesh becomes overgrown and I power wash it.
A decently strong powerhead helps. Without sufficient flow stuff gets caught in it. With GHA, I try to periodically deep clean my refugium section to keep it from taking over.
 

BionicReef73

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I have not yet had luck with algae. I have tried cheato on several occasions and it died and wrecked havoc in the tank. Phos spiked like crazy killed some coral. If anyone has advice on using algae in a fuge would be appreciated. I’ve been told to try cheato gro. Going to do so and maybe get back with results. What’s a good light to use that won’t break the bank? Tried several.
I would wait until you have an established nutrient level and as far as a light, I would recommend tunze eco chic refugium light as seen in the picture. I was originally having the same issue with keeping cheato. Until now.
 

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BionicReef73

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I would wait until you have an established nutrient level and as far as a light, I would recommend tunze eco chic refugium light as seen in the picture. I was originally having the same issue with keeping cheato. Until now.
I still want to increase the flow to help the cheato stop collecting detritus.
 

Coral Loggers

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I would wait until you have an established nutrient level and as far as a light, I would recommend tunze eco chic refugium light as seen in the picture. I was originally having the same issue with keeping cheato. Until now.
I was thinking of giving a different algae a try and then putting in an air line with now stone. Maybe I need more movement. I have a high phos now still but been dosing nopox cause nothing would work
 

Seansea

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Hair algae. Nothing removes fish poo and rotting food as fast and as well. It just looks gross and will smother everything. So grow it somewhere else. I started a atf scrubber from day 1 on my tank with 2 rotting shrimp and skipped all the ugly phase.
 

Mortgaged Reefs

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Current fuge situation. I have been a big macro algae fan and had multiple macro tanks since 2010. I keep one mainly because I like the way they look. I can tell you however, they are difficult with SPS tanks because of their nutritional uptake. Some people want to run a ultra low nutrient system but corals like elevated phosphates and nitrates which your micro algae will devour and you will find yourself needing to dose regularly and feed heavily. The solution? Get more fish lol.
 

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BionicReef73

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I was thinking of giving a different algae a try and then putting in an air line with now stone. Maybe I need more movement. I have a high phos now still but been dosing nopox cause nothing would work
I would suggest cutting back on the amount your feeding. but an air stone is a good idea to get more movement in that area. since I started with the light thhe algea is doing amazing. Started out with a ball the size of a golfball now its the size of 2 soft balls and has only been a few weeks I may have to start harvesting it. I would alo not recommend trying any other type of algea other than cheato, I did and it was a desaster it made a mess of my tank. Sump and display. grows way to fast and when it dies it caused a milky look to the water.
 

_sludgefactory

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Hair algae. Nothing removes fish poo and rotting food as fast and as well. It just looks gross and will smother everything. So grow it somewhere else. I started a atf scrubber from day 1 on my tank with 2 rotting shrimp and skipped all the ugly phase.
That's what I'm hoping and what seems to be happening for me. I just installed an ATS a few weeks ago. I was having a bad cyano bloom. A few extra water changes and the ATS are slowly clearing it up. I was doing chaeto because that's what i did back in the day but it would grow well for a while and then start dying. My tank is finally starting to come around.
 

FishKeeper.mp3

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I have a high nutrient tank by design so almost all macroalgae are my friend. Not only do they take up nutrients for my 56 gallon display tank with 10 fish plus inverts, but they beautify the scape adding color and texture. In this pic you can see codium, ulva,cheato, caulerpa cupressoides, red moss ball and red titan. I have a small amount of Coraline algae but use less calcium and alkalinity to limit it's growth on my gyre and pumps. I also feed phyto to help increase the pod population.
IMG_20230209_090654482.jpg
when you have sponges feather duster worms, microalgae with lps sps and softies, you get a true mixed reef
 

Jay B

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Current fuge situation. I have been a big macro algae fan and had multiple macro tanks since 2010. I keep one mainly because I like the way they look. I can tell you however, they are difficult with SPS tanks because of their nutritional uptake. Some people want to run a ultra low nutrient system but corals like elevated phosphates and nitrates which your micro algae will devour and you will find yourself needing to dose regularly and feed heavily. The solution? Get more fish lol.
I just absolutely love your display tank with sump and controllers set up. That is a work of art. I keep my macro in an ugly 55 gallon drum that's plumbed to my sump in my basement. Works ok but is really ugly.
 

Neptune 555

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Years ago an LFS sold me on Caulerpa for a refugium I plumbed into my sump. It was great until it took up residence in my DT and spread to ever piece of live rock in the tank. It was such a miserable experience trying to get it out- finally the tank came down. Never again camp on Caulerpa.
do tangs eat Caulerpa or any other CUC? Hmmm I need nutrient control and want to introduce macro algae to my sump and then feed by blue and yellow tang with the goodies. I would love some in my DT also b/c it looks FANTASTIC! but agree it can overwhelm the tank....
 

BionicReef73

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do tangs eat Caulerpa or any other CUC? Hmmm I need nutrient control and want to introduce macro algae to my sump and then feed by blue and yellow tang with the goodies. I would love some in my DT also b/c it looks FANTASTIC! but agree it can overwhelm the tank....
I would suggest getting cheato it's not as invasive but tangs may eat it I know tangs love cheato and it grows like crazy. Now I have to harvest ever month and now my nutrients are running low that I now have to dose nitro and phos
 

Turkey head

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Coralline is nice to look at and is food for urchins. It is hard to scrape off the glass though.
Phytoplankton such as what’s from algae barn is great. It has helped keep bad algae in check if I overfeed a little etc.
 
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