grape calpera

[Siderjan]

Is this stuff good for a refugium?

[globaldesigns]

Yup, very good stuff. Just don't get it in your Display tank, as it will grow everywhere.

[daniella3d]

Not the best though...if you can get the caulerpa prolifera, now that's a good refugium plant as it will grow like crazy and asbord all the nitrates. It is the fastest growing algae, much faster than anything else, even cheato. Not to be put in a display tank as it is very hard to erradicate. Yellow and blue tang love to eat it.

I had grape caulerpa and it did not grow fast in my tank.

[amoreira]

I still have nightmares from when it got into my DT. It grew like crazy. I was picking fistfuls of it daily. It was smothering some of my coral. Somehow I got rid of it. There's still small amounts of it growing here and there, but it's under control. I grow Chaeto in the sump and it never got into my DT. It grows like a week under good lighting (that's the key) and keeps the pH stable as well as lowers the nitrates/phosphates. It will inhibit algae growth in the DT to boot.

[0sprey]

Keep an eye on grape caulerpa... it can go sexual in a matter of hours and spew all sorts of nasty organics into the tank. If it starts to turn white, or you see little dots on it, pull it out.

[daniella3d]

My caulerpa goes sexual a few times per year and it never bother the corals, quite the opposite as they seem to like this, probably eat the spores. It does turn the water milty white though!

Keep an eye on grape caulerpa... it can go sexual in a matter of hours and spew all sorts of nasty organics into the tank. If it starts to turn white, or you see little dots on it, pull it out.

[untamed]

I use caulerpa in my refugium. Yes, it does die back periodically...but never completely. I've never seen any ill effects from any die off. I usually harvest plenty of it before it does that.

Any that escapes into the DT is immediately consumed by my fish. In fact, I feed the harvest to them and they devour it. The ultimate in recycling!

[Siderjan]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Not sure if I'm going to keep it or not. I leave the light on 7/24 and there is something in there with it that hicked a ride, but not sure what it is. I threw one in my dt and my clown went for it then backed away really quick so I sucked it back out and killed it. I tried to get a picture of it but it's way too small for my camera. Looks kinda like a grasshopper without the long back legs.