caulpera turning transperent

[vsnsofadrgn]

ive just adding some caulpera (saw blade) to my tank and some of it is turning transperant. is this normal, if not what do i do??

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

is it dying, or is it "going sexual"?

 

[austinsdad]

Got light on it? How long daily?

You mean it's turning white?

Watch your water readings. Might need to trash it.

 

[greenmaji]

what does your tank test for in NO3 and PO4 ppm..? it might not be getting the nutrients it needs (thus you might not actually need it)

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

well i put it in because i have a nitrate problem.... you could call it white, cloudy. the lights are on about 12-14 hrs a day. its the tips or leaves, the stems are green.

 

[greenmaji]

PO4? it will have issues growing without any PO4 being prodused..

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

no3 - are high. i tested today and it was at 40-60, i think (colors), but that is down from about 80-160. i dont have a po4 test yet. but theres algae on the ls, and i think i have cyano, so maybe they are sucking what ever is there out. i cleaned the cyano when i just did a water change, but a little is still there. i thought it could use the nitrates??

 

[HoopsGuru]

Upon just putting it into your tank it would not have died from a lack of nutrients, regardless it should be able to survive quite well with only nitrates.

Did you purchase this commercially or get it from a friend/fellow reefer? My guesses at this point are either that the conditions from the tank it came from to yours were very different (I even acclimate macro-algae) and/or the interconnecting strands were broken....this is a big no-no as all caluerpa that is connected is actually one big cell and if broken it often can spell doom for the severed section.

 

[seaham358]

I would not worry, I do not think that the blade goes sexual. and PO4 is not needed for caluerpa, macro algae to grow. Being new to the tank i would just give it time, but keep an eye on it.

 

[Hara]

I would be keeping an EXCEPTIONALLY close eye on it. I have known caulerpa to go sexual very quickly after being put in a new tank. It is pretty risky using it in a main tank. Much safer to put in a fuge where the lights are run 24/7. If you do not have a fuge, you may want to seriously consider a different type of macro for your tank.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

here is a pic

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

i got it from ebay, im guessing it grows alot and he/she sells what they cut off, at least thats what i gathered. ive posted a pic, hopeing that would help someone to let me know whats going on with it. sorry for the poor quality, thats all i could get. i dont want it messing my tank up further, so please let me know if i need to take it out. my sump isnt complete, so i cant put it in there. im waiting on my shipment of lr, so i have to cure the rock in the tank that will be my sump. its been in there since wednesday, do i need to take it out?

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

i have a 5 gal tank cycling, would it hurt the caulpera if i put it in there, even though theres alot of ammonia?? just so i dont hurt the tank thats already up? or can i put it in the tank that the lr will go into? (all it has is sw and ph) will curing the lr hurt it? especailly since theres no light when curing rock?