Using Xenia as Nutrient Exporter, tips & hints on growing and placement

chain

Member
Xenia, as many of you are well aware, is a terrific nutrient exporter. To be exact its around 500% more effective then macroalgae at removing nutrients from your aquarium.
Alot of people don't keep xenia strictly because it can quickly reproduce and overgrow a tank and other corals. Especially in a tank with large amounts of DOCs xenia can quickly get out of hand on your rock work and pose issues for your tank. You can prune it just like you would a macroalgae, however this can get troublesome as every little head which sneaks away via the water column and finds a nice little nook will sprout itself into a new tree.
From personal Exp and conversations with friends, Ive found a nifty way to grow xenia safely in your aquarium without worrying about pruning or dealing with real estate issues in and on your rock work while all the time enjoying the nutrient exporting ability of this nifty coral.
My father, (at one point and time), actually plumbed a main reef display into a secondary 30 gallon reef which was completely a xenia forest. The nutrient exporting capabilites was outstanding. The main issue being the large amount of food which was having to be fed to supply enough food to maintain both the coral in the main display + the entire secondary tank of xenia. This became an issue which had more risks then rewards and my dad quickly went back to a fuge.
Rather then growing your Xenia on your rock, why not grow it on your glass? Its out of the way of other corals, cannot block light, cannot take up real estate, and still serves the purpose to export excess nutrients from the water column. Its not difficult in any way, all it requires is a little scrubbing with a toothbrush every other day. Xenia usually attaches fairly quickly to whatever object its placed next to, if you have a frag available and can suspend it horizontally against the glass safely without it falling for an extended period, then eventually it will attach itself to the glass and voila, you are good to go. Simply seek out any little xenia sprouts and scrub them off the rock with a clean toothbrush every now and again when you see them sprouting up and you are good to go.
If you already have Xenia in your tank and simply wish to know how to get it to grow on your glass so you can completely remove it from your rock, then this is how. I personally left at least 2 healthy trees on my rocks at all times without any pruning being done during the glass growing process. The other trees I cut, pruned, and scrubbed with a toothbrush until only a small amount of the trees remained on the rock. Eventually a spore you scrub off will attach to the glass and begin to grow. When you think it is of adequate size and definitely going to survive, then you can simply completely remove the rest of the trees on your rock. Congratulations, you now have a small forest growing on your glass which is pretty and serves a purpose.
Just an idea to throw out there for everyone.
 

dmanatee

Member
thanksv for the info. That is realy interesting. I have always like xenia's and I never realized that they did anything other than be corals. now I am glad that I have them in my tank. Not sure what "DOCs xenia's are exactly. I have both the feather variet and the pink pulsating kind?
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
So, unless you are actually harvesting the trees themselves once thye get to a certain size how are you actually exporting anything?
 

bang guy

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///forum/thread/383738/using-xenia-as-nutrient-exporter-tips-hints-on-growing-and-placement#post_3358285
So, unless you are actually harvesting the trees themselves once thye get to a certain size how are you actually exporting anything?
Harvest and sell is a perfect export procedure.
I don't completely agree with the 500% more efficient part. It depends on what you're measuring I suppose. IMO if you are space limited then Xenia is far better than macroalgae. If you're not space limited then you can export more nutrients using less electricity with Caulerpa.
Some of the Leather Corals like Colt or Toadstool can also work well. I want to caution though that all of these corals also export Calcium and Carbonate along with Nitrate and Phosphate.
 

chain

Member
Yes Jstdv8; you are correct in that the trees must be harvested regularly to actually 'export' the nutrients which they have absorbed. I apologize if that wasn't evident in the post.

Bang; I agree completely in that Xenia is , in no way, a substitute for a refugium or macroalgae. I apologize if that was understood from my post. I suppose the first sentence is a little mis-leading in that Xenia is much more effective then macroalgae, however it is in no way more efficient in what it does then macroalgae is. From personal exp, if possible, I always try to grow a few colonies of xenia on my glass if I have the space. I also run refugiums on all of my tanks irregardless if I have xenia or not. I believe in incorporating multiple methods to work for you rather then depending on a single one. Things seem to flow much smoother this way plus you have the added benefit of a secondary or tertiary nutrient export if one should fail.
The post wasn't necessarily about the benfefits of having xenia in your tank per-se; it was more directed towards other areas to place the xenia rather then letting it over-run your live rock. It can become very weed like in the home aquarium if exposed to the right environment. I was simply giving people another option in which to look at if they wished to keep growing it in their aquariums without the hassle of it overgrowing their rock and coral. Again I apologize if anything in my post is misleading and perhaps that first sentence need be removed to not give the impression that its entirely ok to substitute all other means of nutrient export for xenia alone. This is not plausible, however some people do it, I wouldn't take the chance personally.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
I have alot of xenia in my tank, some of it has grown onto the side glass.
One thing I can offer to this post is that since my turf scrubber has grown in my cheato has completley dissapeared and my xenia no longer grows like a weed. it is has been pretty much stable not shrinking or growing for the last 3-4 months now, where in the past over that period of time it would have likley doubled in size.
While most people probbaly allready knew that the scrubber is stronger than the cheato, it appears to also be at least as strong as the xenia in that it has stopped the crazy growth. Which is fine by me :)
 

chain

Member
Exactly Jstdv8; The turf scrubber is removing the nutrients the xenia would use to continue growing and spread. This isn't a bad thing whatsoever in that its keeping your xenia from overpopulating your tank and its also giving you the peace of mind that the excess nutrients in your display are at a minimum.
I haven't used a turf scrubber, although I saw a post about them here and began to read through it. I had to hurry off to work so I hopefully I can pick that back up here in the next few days. My father had one way back in the day, I vaugely recall it and mainly so because it was gigantic. I honestly think he still has it somewhere out in the barn back home unless he has trashed it since then. It wasn't very applicable back then due to the size of the thing! Now however it appears smaller ones are available to incorporate and I might just have to do a build on a free weekend and test it out. I still believe religiously in fuges, however I can't deny the results people are getting with the scrubbers and if its done correctly I can scientifically and biologically see how it would make a big difference. Hopefully I can find a way to incorporate one without removing any of my equipment.
 

chain

Member
Ive never had any issues with keeping xenia alive, however alot of people do. Truthfully it isn't completely understood why it thrives in some peoples systems and yet doesn't in others. There was an article I read a few years ago stating that supplementing Iodide will help loads. I setup 2 small tanks, (one control and one experimental) and I left the control alone whereas I dosed the experimental with iodide. Both tanks were stocked with xenia in advance. The addition of Iodide had little to no affect from what I could see and test for. Its entirely possible that your excess nutrient levels in your system are being absorbed by your Macroalgae therefore there isn't enough for the xenia to absorb and use. That's not necessarily a bad thing if that's the case in that your nutrient levels at are at a low. Alot of people just don't have success in keeping xenia for reasons which are still unknown. If you happen to want to try again I have tons I can scrape off and send your way
.
 

btldreef

Moderator
I can't xenia alive in any of my tanks, but a refugium that is hooked up to some of them. Still can't figure that one out.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
you guys running reactors? could be lack of nitrates, not letting the xenia live
 

gemmy

Active Member
I run a Fluval 305 canister filter, but I do regular maintenance and try to keep my nitrates low (and I feed heavy go figure).
 

btldreef

Moderator
I am running a calcium reactor and a phosban. But I've tried in several tanks, with and without reactors, different inhabitants, different water parameters, I just can't keep the stuff alive. I don't mind, I'd rather have macro algae any day to xenia.
 

blackjacktang

Active Member
i have no reactors in any of my tanks and my Xenia loves my 3g pico. When I bought him, the rock he was on split in two so it ripped the xenia in two and now i have two xenias i guess lol.
And my Kenya (sim. to xenia) love my 28g tank.
I love xenia and kenya and i wouldnt care if it grows like weed...but then again, ive never have it gone outta control.
 

chain

Member
Beth, I assume your question was meant for me. I don't have any pictures on the site Atm of any tanks except my 29 and I'm still pruning Xenia in it to transfer to the glass. I do have pictures of this I'm just not able to upload them as they are all on my computer at home. I am at work currently and usually post with my iPhone or iPad. Truly sorry but I will try to upload some
As soon as possible. It may be a few days however as snow is moving in here tonight. It grows similar to GSP in that you can opt to use it as sort of a natural background however I think GSP gives more of a depth feeling. You can try to google xenia growing on glass and I'm sure you'll find tanks which implement this method. I will post some pics as soon as I can though to
Give you an idea what I did. If your question wasn't meant for me then completely dis-regard this post .
 
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