# Marine plants in the display tank and coral uptake of nutrients



## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Hello folks! 

Due to my lack of a sump (Red Sea max) I was thinking some marine plants to starve out the algae. 

I know Chaeto is and will be an option, however, I'm wondering if a few nice marine plants would suffice? 

Also, if I have enough coral would that starve out algae ? Right now I do t have much coral compared to most. My tank is pretty simplistic and not sure if that's the right approach. 

I know for planted tanks the more the better but not sure if that applies to coral and or marine plants. 



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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Corals don't really consume much if you're thinking they can be used for nutrient uptake. In your tank, you're better off watching the amount you're feeding (try not to overfeed as it really increases bioload), and do bigger/more frequent water changes.

You can also use reactors and media to remove phosphates; not sure about the skimmer on the RSM, but if it's decent you can do biopellets as well.


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Hey thanks for the input . As for the food I only feed pellets and the couple raft actually get passed the six line and two clowns gets picked up very quickly by the nassarius snails . As for bio load I'm good. But the bubble algae are getting nutrients from somewhere!


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Does anybody know of a place to get marine plants? 


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## uniboob (Dec 29, 2012)

aquaman1 said:


> Does anybody know of a place to get marine plants?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I may possibly be brining mangroves to be expo.

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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

I wish! I don't have a sump. But if I did I would have a mangrove farm ha ha ha. I think on my next tank I'm gonna fill the sumo with Chaeto, mangrove and whatever else plants I can get a hold of. Starve out the bad algae.

Aside from bubble algae I'm good . I get the usual green stuff on the glass and that's about it!

I added some Chaeto inside my tank and see what that does for now

Thanks Mmatt!!!!! 

















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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Hey Aquaman, cheato is great but lighting used in most displays its very ineffective.

Best alternative for you would be to use phosphate media with a reactor.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

aquaman1 said:


> Does anybody know of a place to get marine plants?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


SUM always has some in the front tank closest to the door. Macroalgae is awesome in the DT in my opinion. It makes it appear more natural but I suggest doing some research before you throw any in so you are prepared for what you're committing to. Assuming your fish (if you have them) aren't herbivores you'll need to trim them back every once in a while. Some varieties are more invasive than others and some require more light. If you have coral it is likely you have sufficient light to grow almost anything. Be aware that the colouration will greatly depend on the strength of the lights and distance from it as well as many other factors like nutrients in the tank. Dragon's breath is one of my favourites

Of course no response is good without referencing a source to read ;-)
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-01/sl/


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Hey thanks for the heads up on SUM!!! And great advice! . Right now I have a container holding some Chaeto. Not sure what it's going to do but worth a shot! 

Dragons breath is nice plant! I heard some take up a lot of calcium so I don't want anything taking from coral in that aspect. But nutrients and adding some O2 would be great!!! 


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Yes it does take calcium but you could dose your tank


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

dosing! It always reverts to dosing . I've gone a year without it. Hoping not to dose. I mean, how hard can it be to replicate perfect Mother Nature in a square glass container???? (Being silly lol) 


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

That amount of cheato is going to do absolutely nothing to help reduce nutrients and I imagine it doesn't look great in your DT. As suggested a small HOB GFO reactor would be your best bet Something like this 








http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/76588-recommend-phosphate-reactor-please.html
You could look into carbon dosing. Vodka or Vinegar. 
http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/116-vinegar-dosing-methodology-for-the-marine-aquarium


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Awesome stuff man! I'll take a look at those links. I didn't know that amount of Chaeto was useless . Thought it would help. That reactor for at look too bad. 

What I should do is get off my wallet and start a actual reef tank with a sump!!!!!! 

Taking donations  ha ha ha. 


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

If my RO/DI reads 000 out where else can the nutrients be coming from? I mean, my bio-load has been low. Water changes pretty good and using 0 TDS water. Could my crappy Red Sea max skimmer be to blame? Should I invest in that new tunze 9001 for now? I really can't afford a whole set up because of bubble algae ha ha ha. 




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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I have four different macros you could try out in your tank. The great part is they're all slow growers and look amazing in a display tank


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Hey buddy! Long time no see! Hope all is well!!!! . Macro algae sounds interesting and anything that is natural. I'm trying for an organic reef tank ha ha ha. Now with the six line not an issue I'm gonna get me some more clean up crew and hopefully not have my shrimp eaten! All inverts disappeared with that six line in my tank. 

Some good replenishment of the CUC should help out too! 

What kind of macro algae we talkin here? 


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I have a red bone macro that looks ultra red and like a fern. Also have a few others that aren't really named but are the usual green. I would go with the red macro though, looks sexy and grows on a rock! The problem with putting some macro's into your tank (like grape calupera) is that it will attach to pretty much anything. This really only grows on the rock that it's attached to.


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## teemee (Aug 29, 2009)

Gulf Coast Ecosystems doesn't ship here, but i've often used their site to identify my macros. Check it out!
http://www.live-plants.com
SUM often has some interesting macro, for really good prices, mariculture onto Marco Rock.


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