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Marine planted tanks



The latest additions are settling in and are actively growing.
They don't have roots but many have hold fast and need to get established
after a transplant or when placed in a new tank. Some of the the so called
nuisance algae in a reef tank are quite nice for the marine tank. Batophora
appears like micro Cabomba, about Gloss height. But it's relatively easy to
control, some brown diatom glass algae here and there. Nothing bad.
The seagrasses will get various things growing on them but are easy to clean
the blades with one's fingers. Some strands of Laurencia get entangled in
algae plants. Picking them out is not too bad. Nothing like BBA or other
really bad algae. 

I've bombed the tank with KNO3, iron, KH2PO4 pretty good every so often and
watched. Some did not do well. Some melted, some grew faster. I'll do a much
more controlled and measured dosing later. I'm runnin g things lower and
leaner this next week. The tank is a 25 gal with about 500GPH of flow, 110
w/light, 4"DSB. I do 50-70% water changes every 2 weeks or less. I use CaCL2
and baking soda for KH and Ca additions instead of Kalk generally.

I figured out what everything is (not the critters, a very odd worm is loose
in there) and made a list:

Greens:

Acetabularia: Had some but it's melted back.
Caulerpa verticillata
C. sertularioides(wee bit)
C. mexicana(wee bit)
C prolifera
C. racemosa
C. cupressoides
C. Curpessoides "Tiny"
Batophora oerstedii
Dasycladus vermicularis(aka furry sauages)
Neomeris annulata (cannot find it now)
Ventricaria ventricaria
Valonia sp
Dictyospaeria cavernosa
Codium  repens
Codium sp
Cladocephalus luteofuscus
Udotea flabellum
Rhipocephalus phoenix
Penicillus capitatus "Mini Trees"
P. dumetosus
Cymopolia barbata : my favorite green alga
Halimeda copisoa
H. discoidea
H. incraassata
H. monile

Browns:
Dictyota cervicornis
Padina gymnospora
Sargassum sp

Reds:
Halymenia sp.
Ceramium sp.
Laurecia poitei
L. intricata.
L. sp.
Eucheuma isiforme
Jania adherens(looks a lot like coral)
Galaxaura subverticillata
Amphiroa ridida (Looks like coral)
A. tribulus
Neogoniolithon spectabile
N.  strictum
And Titanoderma prototypum

Plants:
Syringodium filiforme
Thlassia testudinum

43 plants. 
That's a fair number. I'll weed out the less desirable ones later. I've had
other species in addition to this. These are as pretty as any FW plant,
perhaps even more so. There is a huge choice of active colorful fish.

I'm not certain as to why folks don't keep these plants/macro's except as
refugium filter utility plants in marine tanks. They are quite suitable and
nice in their own right. No CO2, less dosing etc.
Seems like right up some folk's alley.

Regards, 
Tom Barr