Question about macro algae

[Yash]

I'm thinking of adding some macro algae to my sump ... the question i had was, does all of the algae need to be completely submerged in water? If so, I might have to think of going a differerent route, depending on how tall they get. My sump might not be able to completely submerge them if the case may be, and yet leave enough room for overflow from the backflow of water in case of a power outage.

Edit: the height of my sump is 14 inches.

Thanks!
Yash

 

[fsn77]

Not all macro algaes grow tall -- in fact, there are several that stay fairly short or grow in a ball. Those include some of the more common varities used for refugiums, like razor caulurpa, feather caulurpa, grape caulurpa, and cheato (spaghetti / brillo pad macro). If half of your sump height is filled with water, that's plenty to grow some macro. When it starts to take up too much space, that's probably a good sign that it's time to trim it back anyways.

 

[Yash]

Thanks fsn ... yeah looks like i should have about 7 inches or so to spare ... that would leave me with about 7 more inches as a buffer for backflow in case of a power outage. I'll jot down those names when I swing by my LFS to see if they have any that I could add to my fuge.

Cheers!
Yash