What's in your sump/ fuge? I need macro...

you WANT nutrient absorption out of a macro. the nutrients they absorb are nitrates/phosphates. Thats the point of macros, to absorb nutrients.
Back to the original question... I have cheato and it grows like crazy!

 

I have chaeto, grape caulpera, fern caulpera, red gracilaria, tall codium and a mermaid fan. Pretty cool. My fuge is full.

 

Not all species of caulerpa are outlawed in cali, just a select few.


CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME CODE 2300. (a) No person shall sell, possess, import, transport, transfer, release alive in the state, or give away without consideration the salt water algae of the Caulerpa species: taxifolia, cupressoides, mexicana, sertulariodes, floridana, ashmeadii, racemosa, verticillata, and scapelliformis. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person may possess, for bona fide scientific research, as determined by the department, upon authorization by the department, the salt water algae of the Caulerpa species: taxifolia, cupressoides, mexicana, sertulariodes, floridana, ashmeadii, racemosa, verticillata, and scapelliformis. (c) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation.

 

it depends on the species of caulerpa. If they sell the banned strains, they are subject to fines.
SCCAT [THE CAULERPA INFORMATION CENTER] Southern California Caulerpa Action Team
There are also other states that banned caulerpa too. The CA coast was infested with caulerpa in the past and it took a lot of effort to eradicate that problem, they don't want it to happen again.

 

You beat me to the punch. Basically, there are only 2 species that are not outlawed in CA. That's the sawtooth and the prolifera types that can be used.

 

Whats in my sumps? Water, heaters, return pumps, skimmer, reactors. No algae at all. I fight to keep algae out of the system, I won't intentionally add algae to it

 

Macro algae helps combat the nuisance algae we fight in our tanks. They outcompete them for food and are out of site in the sump.

 

If a person chooses to run macroalgae in a refugium, then they can. If they choose not to, then they don't. Its a personal choice. I simply choose not to run macroalgae. Clams and Xenia can perform the same water cleaning duties with more positive benefits than macro algae without some of the drawbacks of macro algae. Its a personal choice.

 

Of course, that is true, there was no offense intended in my post. Everyone has their choice of what they want to do, that is the beauty of it. Personally, I could never fit a big enough clam in my 20G to dent NO3 levels.

 

3 You would be surprised at the dent that 2 clams (medium) and Pulsing Xenia can do to a 20G tank. The biggest issue becomes them starving from lack of nutrients to the point where you are feeding them and the lighting required. Clams love light. The downside to the fuge is you have to do maintenance on it tumbling/harvesting the algae. Its a trade off as any system has pros/cons to them.

Is there a pros/cons of fuges thread anywhere?