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Caulerpa alternatives that fill the same niche.

anathema

anathema

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In one of my former setups, I had a large refugium full of macroalgae, mostly several kinds of Caulerpa. I felt that having this big growth of algae in a refugium contributed greatly to that tank's stability, and have been trying to encourage several types of algae to grow in it's place in my current setup. I'm assuming that everyone is aware by now that Caulerpa in most common forms is illegal in CA now, but I haven't been able to find a legal replacement.

I currently have chaeto in my sump, and it basically sits there and occasionally I see a small amount of growth. This is obviously not enough to process the nutrients my tank produces however, because I am getting a large amount of hair algae growth in my overflow for the display. While this hair algae does reduce nutrients, it's a serious maintenence pain because it has to be removed frequently to prevent it's spreading into other sections of the tank.

I've done a bunch of reading about algae scrubbers, and I'm not ready to take that leap yet, mainly because there's absolutely no way I could fit one in my stand. I have several places that serve as refugiums of different types, from flooded overflows to a compartment in my sump for algae. I just don't have the algae.

I'm looking for recommendations of algae that will grow rapidly like caulerpa, suck up nutrients, be easy to trim back if kept in a dedicated compartment, and would prefer to have less "loose filaments" to chase around compared to hair algae. It would also be very beneficial if those recommendations came with a source, and I'm even willing to buy.

As of yet, my main tank is nuisance algae free, but I feel I need to starve out this hair algae to keep it that way. Any ideas are appreciated.
 
There are varieties of Caulerpa that are legal in Ca, and several people in the club propagate them, hope is not lost.

You're best avoiding scrubbers, but hat's a whole 'nother story :)
 
Also since I'm all about links today since I'm not on my phone for once:

http://www.sccat.net/#nine-banned-species-in-california-f45a4

Also, as an aside question, I have sprouting from one of my old rocks that were in storage for years sprouts of Caulerpa Prolifera, which isn't listed as banned. I had a chance to talk to a F&W person a couple years ago and he indicated I should get rid of ALL caulerpa. I've been killing off these sprouts as they show up but I'd love to hear opinions on just letting this grow? It seems to me since it's something that could be easily misunderstood it's better to get rid of it, but since I've had such a difficult time finding a replacement I am thinking of reconsidering.
 
That's silly. If it's not banned, there really is no other reason to get rid of it. It does poorly ion cold water from my trials.
 
The reality is the the chances of any Caulerpa becoming invasive in the cold brine up here are slim to none, so if you have a legal variety, I don't see any problem propgating it, especially if you're a responsible person.
 
Does he keep corals in the tank? If he does then it might not be the best idea for mangroves because there are some corals that need magnesium.
 
Mangroves are merely decorations, you simply cannot rely on them for nutrient export, they are not as aggressive a plant as micro or macro algae. The whole mangrove discussion is moot unless you want a pretty tree.....
 
I've grown mangroves before, and I agree with Tuberider. Magnesium levels are a new point, but I found mangroves to be both high maintenance and worthless for nutrient export. I have everything set up so that I could dose mg if I needed but I've never bothered.

As far as where I am looking to go with my refugium setup, I have always felt that the more allowable vectors for nutrient export the better. I've run setups with refugiums in the sump, stand alone, and none at all. My last setup had none due to it being a stretch hex in the corner of a room, and I felt that it wasn't as stable as my previous setups.

I have two areas without fish that could be considered decent sized refugiums, one in the sump and a 20L plumbed into the system. Both also have coral. I could definitely fit mangroves in there but I don't want the maintenence hassles. Mainly looking to grow some type of dense macroalgae that will provide both a breeding place for pods and an additional nutrient sink. Bonus if it looks cool, since the 20L is full of fungia corals and I'm trying for a lagoon look. If it's ugly it can go in the sump.

Are there any types of seagrass available in the hobby?
 
Live aquaria and some other sites have special sections for marine algae. There are lots of decorative species not sure how well the work for nutrient export. Mermaids hair, shaving brush and red macro algae are some.
 
Are you putting enough light to the chaeto. I grow tons under 96W PC. Don't skimp on light because it is just a macro. Push it to grow. When natural sunlight hits the refugium twice a year the cheato explodes. Gives my tanks seasonal NO3- swings, but shows how important light is. My chaeto never rolls. I try to pull it out thin in a layer in the tank after thinning and it grows denser and the layer thickens as well.

I also have C. prolifera and it has been a model citizen and adds to the compost once in a while with the cheato.
 
manatee grass, oar grass (halophila sp) I'm actually going to order some from reefcleaners I think. Planning to make my tank more like a planted tank with seagrasses and macro.
 
One of my customers got a shipment in recently from reefcleaners and it was an absolute joke, a few strands of algae that were not in good condition at all. The Halimeda was the tiniest sprig, the way that stuff grows and the price she should have gotten a fist full...

Caveat Emptor.
 
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