Macro-Algae Aquarium

[howlincody]

Hello ;-).

I have been interested in macro-algae lately (if you can believe anyone can be interested in algae, heh) after noticing the algae at LiveAquaria.com, also called the 'marine plant' section, which is found here (http://liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?siteid=26&pCatId=490). I am usually more interested in flora rather than fauna so I figured it would be cool to have a Macro-Algae tank. Is it possible to do this in a small tank like an eclipse 3 with supplements of iron and magnesium? The eclipse 3 has 6 watts of lighting (just standard bulbs, not specialty) so I figure that I would need to upgrade it. Would something like this (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=3811) work?

I definitely wouldn't put fish in such a tank but should I put a shrimp or starfish in? Also would you recommend putting a small coral in, as well? Or should I avoid that?

Thanks ;-)

[OrionGirl]

Actually, plumbing that into your main tank would be great for nutrient export. Macro algae is used in sumps/refugiums all the time.

If you set up a small tank, you'll want to follow mandates for nano tanks--daily attention and water top offs.

There are lots of ways to convert the lighting on those things. Be careful of temp fluctuations--since it's acrylic/plastic, the tanks and hoods can melt.

Adding corals, fish, or other inverts would be optional. Some fish/shrimp will graze on the algae. We tried the maiden's hair once. The copopod population decimated the algae in about 2 months, but we don't have much luck with macro algaes. If you don't add anyting sensitive, you might be able to dose with nitrates to encourage growth.