Growing sea weeds in your local marine system.

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Seaweeds are an important part of natural temperate marine habitats and provide a home for a diverse range of invertebrates as well as add movement to your display. Sub tidal red algae are the easiest to establish in a closed system, with many attractive species available that will survive in an aquarium.

The slow-growing encrusting coralline red algae are particularly attractive and suitable for aquarium life. Encrusting corallines form the beautiful pink patches coating rocks and will survive quite well under aquarium conditions try to avoid exposing them to air when collecting. Other species of algae may be tried and often do quite well, but should be removed when undergoing rapid loss of color or deterioration. Temperate seaweeds that do well in the aquarium are generally subtidal species adapted to relatively low light levels. Most of these belong to the red algae group and make very attractive display additions.Green seaweeds need stronger lighting as they use a green pigment to trap solar energy through photosynthesis, I have found a simple light system consisting of T5 fluorescent tubes (one actinic blue and one cool white at around 10000 kelvin are a good combination) run on a 12-hour cycle should be adequate for a standard tank. Metal halide lamps are good but can damage seaweeds collected from deeper levels than a rock pool as well as add extra heat to your system.

All seaweeds should be collected with the holdfast intact so collecting plants on small rocks in best. This attachment structure can be wedged into crevices or even glued with cyanoacrylic adhesives (super glue gel) onto the smooth surfaces of rocks (both surfaces must be dried before applying glue).

In an aquarium with insufficient water motion, seaweeds may become smothered by detritus so a good varied flow in the water column is essential to keep them in their best condition. After all remember they are used to a more rigorous environment than can be provided in the average aquarium and will cause problems if they begin decaying.

A few of the Sea weeds that do well in an enclosed system.

Coralline algae

Coralline algae are hard and come in encrusting and upright branching varieties, extra calcium can be added to the aquarium to enhance growth, when collecting rocks try to avoid exposing them to air for too long a period as they can die off.

Velvet Weed

(Codium fragile)

Feels like velvet. it can at times be found above low tide usually found in sheltered harbours. Grows from a holdfast.

Green Grapeweed

(Caulerpa geminata)

is sometimes found in healthy rock pools or growing sub tidally. Its roots form a growing network so can be lifted off the rock it is on in a mat, this can be bound with cotton on rock work.

Strap Weed,

Carpophyllum maschalocarpum

Needs good varied flow , but slow grower.

Sea Rimu

(Caulerpa brownii)

This derives its name from the resemblance to the New Zealand rimu tree. Found sub tidally in medium shelter, East Coast North Island. This plant grows from runners, use Super Glue Gel or cotton to re attach.

green seaweeds

Green seaweeds use a green pigment for trapping solar energy in photosynthesis. But some red seaweeds can look greenish too. Green seaweeds prefer shallow water, but some manage to live at considerable depths, to 30m.