Plants for lowering nitrates??

jtp18

jtp18

New Member
I'm having a nitrate problem,and I was wondering what marine plants would help me out? I was thinkin bout the red mangrove tubers...but don't their leaves have to be sticking out of the top of the tank?? I would like something that can be fully submerged...and that will REALLY help w/ the reduction of the nitrates,and also how many plants would it take?. Also...this may sound crazy, but I saw somewhere on this forum that Xenia help lower nitrates?? Is this true,cuz if they do heck I would rather have them than plants. But anywho....any help is always appreciated.:happyfish
 
jtp18

jtp18

New Member
Where do you get it at? I haven't seen any macro algae named that on any sites that I've been looking at? I know it exists...but I don't know where to find it! LOL I'll look into it. Are there any other suggestions?
 
sergeant

sergeant

Member
Sorry jtp I dont mean to steel the thread
Viper by any chance do you have a pic of that algae?
I had the caulerpa but the LFS doesnt have anymore and a couple of slugs ate all mine.
Look out for this guys.
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
Caulurpa Proliferia
I throw lbs of this stuff out every couple weeks...
If you'd like I'd send you some, But it does have special needs to keep from "re-contaminating" your tank...
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
Caulurpa IS KNOW to go sexual ie: it dies back, turns clear and releases gametes, spores, whatever into the water to reproduce...
When it does so it also releases any "stored/captured" nutrients/contaminants back into the tank as well...
It also releases chemicals when it is pruned/trimed...
I have been able to "avoid" this by running it in a separate "fuge" (not main tank), running lighting 24/7 rather than "daylight" or RDP (reverse daylight photo period) running adequate lighting >4 watts/gallon PC spread spectrum and running carbon for 24/48 hrs after "harvesting"..
There are Many Other types of Macros, Chaeto and Gracilaria (sp) for example, that do not have (or less chance of) these charicteristics...
I have also found that in order to be "effective" (as in "measurable") you need to run/grow "Mass Quantities" some where in the neighborhood of 50% or more (more...:yes: )tank volume for "fuge" size...
Obviously lesser ammounts will "help" somewhat, but if your going to "depend" on it you will need to go big..
 
jtp18

jtp18

New Member
oh wow...thats alot of macro algae! I guess I'll have to contact my lfs and ask em to order in some for me. Oh yeah...as for that question bout the Xenia helping out...is that true,or false?
 
dskidmore

dskidmore

Active Member
True. Some people prefer Xenia, some do half and half. Although Xenia also has special needs to keep it from breaking down.
You shouldn't have to order a ton unless you have an emergency situation. All plants that are good at removing nitrate do so because they grow quickly. I'd suggest ordering small ammounts of several varieties of macroalgae rather than sticking to a single one.
No one has responded to me on this, but I read that according to John H. Tullock, author of Natural Reef Aquariums Xenia is less likely to break down if iodine is kept between 0.06 and 0.08 PPM, and Caulerpa is less likely to go sexual if iron is kept between .05 to .1 mg/L. He did not recomend the 24/7 lighting, but rather frequent pruning, and nutrient management. However, the subject of nitrate-reducing refugiums (sp?) is not deeply discussed in his book.
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
Agree...
You don't need a lot of Macro to start... It "becomes" a lot of Macro as it removes nutrients...
Earlier pics of that fuge will show a 'sprig", a small handful of Caulurpa that multiplied rapidly...
I haven't read Tullock's book, so I can't comment directly, but when I ran either a "daylight" and RDP lighting schedule the Caulurpa would try to "reproduce" (sexual) and yes frequent pruning was necessary to remove the "turning" leaves before they could release ALL their nutrients and gamets...
After switching to 24/7 lighting the Caulurpa turned "asexual" and "regenerates" itself through "Cloning" (rather than reproduction) and have had no instances of "dumping" partial or otherwise...All plant material is removed in a full green stage...
I have not measured nor dosed for Iron, knowing it can promote all kind of algal growth, both desired and nuscience...
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
Can do, and I'll e-mail you for addy...
But we'll have to figure out the best way to do this...
I think it was Kip or NMreef or maybe Bang that was shipping Macros before...I'll have to do a search..
Unless one of you guys reads this and can give me some pointers on shipping...
Wet, Dry, 2 day, ground...???:help:
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
Thanks Kip...:yes:
I do want to reiterate that Caulurpa does have "special needs" to keep from re-contaminating your tank and is better suited for a separate fuge or "algal scrubber" than the Main or Display tank...
 
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