Setting Up My FIRST EVER Saltwater Aquarium! Part 2: ADDING MACRO ALGAE!

[@MJAquascaping]

Everything I've used so far (affiliate links) Tank US: bit.ly/3PSPho5 EU: bit.ly/3CDEQBJ Light US: bit.ly/40HoNeR EU: bit.ly/3JxJQJs Background foil US: amzn.to/40E0iza EU: amzn.to/3lO9WR8 Sand US: amzn.to/3ZtDlOe (similar) EU: amzn.to/3TTFphf Filter US: amzn.to/3LUglF8 EU: bit.ly/3eoYxUn Lily pipes US: amzn.to/40nchBv EU: amzn.to/42RkiQQ Refractometer US: amzn.to/3JPFKgB EU: amzn.to/42Pa7fF Equipment I like to use (affiliate links) Tank US: bit.ly/3EbkdxH EU: bit.ly/3S3y9ht Light US: bit.ly/3S2WxjC EU: bit.ly/3z6R16F Filter US: bit.ly/3yxFttR EU: bit.ly/3eoYxUn Clear Filter Pipes US: bit.ly/3RsFJkT EU: bit.ly/3AL5oyv Substrate US: bit.ly/3bux8yR EU: bit.ly/3qhHDt4 Wood (similar) US: bit.ly/3VmDUJ0 EU: bit.ly/3MwgKfm Rocks (similar) US: bit.ly/3yAO7Yk EU: bit.ly/3Tn0tLX Dwarf Hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula) US: bit.ly/3VsJIR5 Umbrella Hair Grass (Eleocharis Vivipara) US: bit.ly/3MpO9br Riccardia moss US: bit.ly/3SR3Zy9 Juncus repens US: bit.ly/3yyJjmo Crypt parva US: bit.ly/3Cs0APn Crypt lutea US: bit.ly/3yBGDo7 Crypt walkeri US: bit.ly/3rSxBzu 🚨Watch this next!🚨 Inspiration playlist! • Build Videos CO2 buying guide! • BEST CO2 SYSTEM F... How to SETUP your CO2! • EVERYTHING YOU NE... Simple fertilizer dosing! • SIMPLE AQUARIUM P... 👉🏻Cool Aquascaping T-shirts: mosscotton.com/ Code: mjaqua10 👉🏻Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my KZbin channel: / mjaquascaping 👉🏻 Use Code ''MJAMSTERDAM'' for 10% off Fzone products #plantedtank #aquascape #mjaquascaping

[@alternativeaquascaping517]

Also, that red slime is called cyanobacteria, definitely increase that flow, you want those algaes swaying like a field of grass. Something small like a nero 3 or jebao works great for a nano tank. Shoot for 10-20x turnover with no dead spots

[@TheLiddojunior]

For such a small tank, he doesn't need a wavemaker but could get away with using a small internal skimmer for increased flow! Something like the UNS delta skimmer. He has fine sand.

[@Bullshitvol2]

Cyanobacteria is probably growing because his phosphates are over the roof, and not because of the flow. Out of balance nutrients are the main reason for undesireable algae. Also that sera testkit is pretty useless of accurate readings. Get salifert tests for nitrate and ATI tests for phosphate if you want to get accurate readings.

[@dusk1947]

I'm going to enthusiastically nerd-out for a second because I love this kind of tank: Nope, it's not a root. It's a hold-fast. The difference is that plant roots absorb nutrients, and some can conduct photosynthesis in the case of many epiphytes. Algae hold-fast's on the other hand are only structural anchors, but they can be incredibly strong when compared against a delicate root system. The other cool thing is the difference in photosynthesis. Macro algae's have a much wider range in primary photo-pigments, than plants. Specifically when you shift from a green algae, to a red or brown algae. Not something your likley to notice with a full spectrum light, but it's a really cool difference in there biology. As for the brown stuff: diatoms, cyanobacteria, and dinoflagates will all establish in your tank alongside side other bacteria. Marine systems have a much longer initial "cycle", which is a very poor word choice. You system big or small will go through ecological succession, with different microorganisms competing for space as they establish. Adding primary consumers like copepods will help maintain those population of microfauna, so they don't explode into what's referred to as an "ugly phase". But, just be patient. You can stabilize a freshwater system in a few weeks, but most marine system will generally take several months. It's frustrating, but normal.

[@nedtroninck9299]

Very good advice. I’ve been experiencing this process the last 7 months. Even with ocean live rock there have still been different algae phases etc

[@NOoneENV]

Fzone has an auto top off and its not ugly I'm using one and I love!

[@eliasgilmore2795]

I’m so excited to see how this fish tank turns out MJ! It’s so cool that you’re finally doing a saltwater tank after years of only freshwater. I have been watching your videos for years now and I hope you keep making more. Can’t wait to see what inhabitants will be in the macro algae fish tank.

[@scaughtedaug]

Love the videos! Definitely following your foray into the salt world. Some low volume lo-fi music in the background of your videos would be amaze-ballz!

[@nickbovee4372]

Great job! So glad you take us along with this interesting journey and you've kept it "real" 😊

[@Tigahboy]

Excited to see this project progress!

[@toddwatanabe7298]

Love your channel. I have a reef tank, but have started my first freshwater planted tank thanks to you and others. Most reef keepers battle with cyano whether they admit it or not. Mine comes and goes. "They" say to always keep your Nitrates higher than your phosphate. Like maybe 100 times higher. I'm happy if I'm under 0.05 ppm for phosphate and 10 to 20 ppm for Nitrates. But, I've never kept macro algae, so maybe it needs a little more Nitrate. The comment someone made on flow is also good. Cyano usually clings to areas with low or no flow.

[@BetuelGujonsson]

Love this! I'll set one up sometime in the future. Macro algae and Sea horses would be dreamy.

[@carolthorn]

hope to see more updates on the reef tank!

[@kimthompson1618]

I love how clean this build looks. The clear intake and output lines are awesome.

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

Clean = low biodiversity in this case. IMO it would be better to see this tank crawling with microinvertebrates, encrusting lifeforms, mulm/detritus, etc. which would help prevent stuff like nuisance algae from dominating.

[@madhatterjones4781]

Excited to see it develop and grow. Big love from Australia

[@toadpope2522]

This is cool! I’m excited to watch your journey with this tank

[@lakeshiamills1454]

The brown slime could be cyano or diatoms. Generally best way to address it is depending on your nitrate and phosphate levels as well as your lighting schedule. White light which macros love also lead to issues with cyano, turf algae, bryopsis, bubble algae, etc. I would consider reducing the photo period or splitting it up (4 hours on, 2 hours off, 4 hours on) that really helped me when my macro tanks was going through that stage

[@alexandrafontaine8111]

Good jod! I realllly like the red salt thank. 🤩 Good luck! 💁🏻‍♀️🇨🇦

[@MoonchildBrody]

Glad to have caught your videos at the start of your saltwater aquarium keeping. I'm interested in getting into it myself, because I'd like to breed nerite snails, and maybe some other future creatures that can go between water salinities. Although I'm more interested in breeding water hoppers -- for a lack of better words -- I'm sure it'll be a gateway into me becoming obsessed with saltwater tanks. For the moment, I'll live through your saltwater tank haha!

[@DavidDavis311]

Can’t wait to see how this tank evolves! I think I would get some livestock in there asap so you can rely less on experimenting with dosing at least until the tank is more established. The salt mix already contains minerals such as calcium so there’s that to consider too.

[@YourFavoriteNewb]

I am genuinely so excited for this tank, if it's successful I'd love to do something similar in the future with a little clownfish

[@TheLiddojunior]

If you ever want to add corals, i recommend soft corals! I think gorgonians would really fit well into macro algae tanks, even maybe a cabbage coral or colt coral.

[@nedtroninck9299]

Gorgonians/zoanthids and Macros are exactly what I’m running and i love how natural it looks. Gorgs are easy and highly underrated

[@label4706]

Loving this series!! Now you have me considering salt water!!

[@knabdank]

been thinking of setting up a salt water tank for like a year now love watching vids like this for inspiration, look forwards to seeing the results and growth!

[@Layheeee]

It’s cynao and a bit of dinoflagellates, the cynao is the dark red slimier stuff lower in the tank and can be treated by maintaining phosphate and nitrates above zero. Sam story with dinos, there the more brownish bubble producing slime on the top leaves and they thrive in highlight zero nutrients tanks. Both pest algae’s extremely common in newer tanks, and even some older tanks. Just lost 90% of my coral to Dino’s but I’m finally on the other side and happy as could be!

[@TylerValbuena]

Should add some copepods and feed them with phytoplankton. Will clean up a lot of the nuisance algae and avoid the “ugly phase” of a new reef tank

[@petrfrolich7544]

Looks interesting, wish you very good luck and can’t wait for updates:)

[@Sangor03-SH]

That grape caulerpa is called "Lato" in my country, and it's edible.

[@ambersmith2612]

I was just gonna say how delicious grape algae is

[@Sangor03-SH]

@AmberSmith yep! And it's also beneficial and helps prevent thyroid/goiter

[@lakeshiamills1454]

Enjoy the macros! Culerpa is awesome, I love it grows fast and is amazing at nutrient control. It may die back a bit and go sexual before it makes a comeback. Some macros will require a deeper sand bed so look into ways of adding those algaes without having to add more sand (I've used containers to create deep sand beds for those types).

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

As far as I am concerned, no macroalgae require sand though some appreciate having it around to anchor in. Seagrasses definitely require a sandbed.

[@Talons_N_Tails]

When you get off work and see another video posted from you .. 🙌🏻❤❤❤🙌🏻

[@kingzlatan12]

You can eat the grape. We call it Latok in malaysia 👍🏻

[@BabyFish4Music]

Using RO/Di water? tap water,sometimes will create those algaes...

[@andrejAgulage]

Cool looking marine planted tank 😎 I wish you good luck with cyano🤞

[@chicanoaquatics143]

Haha nice work man! You're doing everything I did when I started...except I didn't get a test kit. Best of luck brother!

[@aapassion5135]

Red Cyanobacteria very often in marine aquarium sometime increasing water flow can help if not there is some treatments for Cyanobacteria but more natural method is Redfield ratio. ( ratio between phosphate and nitrogen) works for freshwater and marine algae;)

[@priyankardas2668]

Looks very interesting....even the way the macroalgae moves with the flow has something special about it... very different to plants, yet similar in many ways...

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

Red and green macroalage are plants!

[@willwilkinson6989]

Great vid! That def looks like red cyanobacteria. Idk if this is much help but when i had cyanobacteria on my freshwater tank, I used Chemiclean Aquarium Treatment and it absolutely wiped the Cyanobacteria in a week and never had a problem again I was actually impressed by how quickly and effective it was. The box says it can be used for both salt and freshwater. Good luck

[@jasonsj]

Thank you Mark for those amazing videos! I just subscribed. Btw you remind me of Jaqen H’ghar from Game of thrones hahaha

[@tracys.6033]

Tank looks good MJ. It's great but also a little weird to see you so happy putting algae in a tank! If fresh water diatoms looked as nice as these my problems would be solved! Looking forward to your next update.

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

Marimo is algae. Decorative algae is everywhere!

[@glopper2148]

I have used the grape caulerpa in the kitchen before. We referred to them as "sea grapes." If I remember correctly they swell up with heavy flow. We would rinse them under running water to fatten them up right before plating. Maybe that's common with macro algae? Not sure, I've only ever done fresh water. Anyways, great content... I've only been watching for a short time, but I love the channel.✌

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

You are simply rehydrating the sea grapes. Macroalgae do not naturally swell up, though different flow patterns can affect the ways in which they grow. Fun fact: marimo are true freshwater macroalgae, so you may have possibly dealt with macroalgae after all!

[@marcmyers1465]

You're going to want an Iodide supplement as well... 😉 I know Kent Marine use to sell one ? 🤔

[@happybubble4863]

These look so cool 👌

[@bubblewizardmtg8254]

doesn't look like cyanobacteria to me, i would guess it could be diatoms (from silicates in the new sand) so it will die eventually as you water change out the silicates, but if you wish to speed the process up i recommend JBL silicatex rapid.

[@thehypercasual385]

looks good. love a macroalgae tank. the red slime is cyanobacteria as others have noted. I really would like to try and persuade you to change out that rock for a more porous live rock. yours appears to be rather solid and almost volcanic looking?

[@apdroidgeek1737]

lava rock is a no no in reef tank

[@rickyabdullah4758]

Nice salt water tank 👍🏻

[@conservativeslovekids5326]

Remember that macroalage can transform into a reproductive state and will release all their contained nutrients at once

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

That's mostly just an issue with Caulerpa and only if it becomes stressed (ex. due to overcrowding).

[@alternativeaquascaping517]

When i had mine, i used nitrogen and iron every few days, and micro nutrients every couple of weeks

[@alino61]

thnx ..lol you got me to do a planted co2 tank ..and now im going to start a mixed reef tank ..omg all your fault 😁

[@tombarb2864]

I am not a saltwater person. This is interesting now with “plants”. Here in Southern California we have huge kelp beds in the ocean. I guess that could be a “plant”. 🤷‍♂️. I wish you success on your venture MJ

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

The brown macroalgae found off our coast are not plants. Unlike the red and green macroalage in this aquarium, brown macroalgae belong outside the kingdom Plantae and in the kingdom Chromista alongside diatoms. California does still have seagrass beds; seagrasses are vascular plants like those you see in freshwater tanks and on land and unlike red and green macroalage.

[@matthewsmith22]

This looks great, hoping you troll all the salties and stock with mollies 😂! Have you seen the Mark's aquatics uk native rock pool aquarium, that was absolutely stunning and had a similar feel to it

[@MJAquascaping]

I will check it out!

[@lochy1128]

Nice! 🐠

[@widarohlin1412]

Nice Video!

[@Jammilogy]

Out of topic, you look like a CK model. Very Cool Bro! Btw, I like this video. I'm planning to have a saltwater tank too.

[@formgeben]

Any updates on this tank? I'm excited how it turned out

[@MJAquascaping]

Coming soon!

[@formgeben]

@@MJAquascaping Amazing, thank you!

[@trappermcgruder3491]

Do dwarf seahorses

[@pookahlakatribe]

Oh man if you were here in Hawaii you could easily pick up plants and algae and coral for your tank 😮. I've always wanted to start a salt water tank but I'm afraid... Anyways, I hope to see the growth of this tank! Best of luck to you Aloha 🤙 *edit I would send some limu *Lee mu* (algae in Hawaiian ) to you so you can grow a little bit of what the pacific waters have to offer 😊

[@Egyaquatic]

I think you need to use wave maker

[@lorenzospina3174]

I love macroalgae but it's not simple find them . Greetings from Italy.

[@GodisGood2395Yes]

the stringy red algae that you tucked away on left in the rock. I feel like you could of done something cooler lol

[@martiendenhaan9119]

Mark, die Caulerpa taxifolia mag niet verkocht of verhandeld worden. Het is een invasieve soort in subtropische zeeën, waaronder de Middellandse zee. Je kunt hem beter niet promoten. Verder mooie video.

[@martiendenhaan9119]

Caulerpa racemosa is ook invasief verklaard in 2003. Caulerpa prolifera is een autochtone soort in onder andere de Middellandse zee. Die kan wel.

[@seanaldrich5024]

I never knew seaweeds were actually algae, but don't they deal with tides all day so wouldn't u need a wave maker in this instance? I know the last video u didn't want heavy flow at first at least.

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

Most macroalgae in the aquarium hobby do not have particularly demanding flow requirements. I assume this is because the species in question come from relatively sheltered environments. There are exceptions though, like various brown macroalgae which are not typically seen in the hobby.

[@stoneysscapes7544]

Hey Mark , I just wanted to say congrats on your channel reaching 100K Subscribers!!! It's so awesome that you are going to have one cool addition to your wall, and I am looking forward to seeing where you will have it displayed . Which is the most recent reasons for another congrats on the new OASE SCAPERLINE aquariums and finally I am sure that you will enjoy this display from the KZbin channel Aqua Splendor and the video is- Anemone Aquarium- The Sunburst Bubble Tip Sep 7 2019 The way the Clownfish is swimming and then the way it looks right @ the camera is as good as it can get , and it would be a great setup for one of the new Scaper tanks especially if you just went a little crazy and get as many as you think would be a safe start and there are exactly 30 different species + incredibly hardy + they can live up to 10 years and last is the different positions that they have when they are sleeping !!! Best of everything, MJ 🛥

[@MJAquascaping]

Thanks bud! Just watched the video, that is pretty amazing indeed!

[@ferryonn]

what if you injected co2 into a saltwater aquarium, would the plant get the benefits during photosynthesis? 🤔

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

No one injects CO2 in the saltwater hobby, probably because it lowers the pH of water. Just feed more or manually dose nutrients into the water (heck, you could dose ammonia) and the macroalgae would do wonderfully.

[@walterotiepka1460]

Add some type of clean up crew, I gave up sw aquariums few years ago but this something I might do

[@marcmyers1465]

Neon Gobies, Clown Gobies, and some Shrimp will help without contributing much to the bioload. 😉

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

@@marcmyers1465 Neon and clown gobies do not help clean the tank and neither will most shrimp. Snails are some of the best options alongside microinvertebrates.

[@SatanicBiPanick666]

You need more flow, at least 20x turnover. Maybe cut back on the red and green light as well. Reefs are blue for a reason.

[@tonywomersley1256]

Do we need to see such a flowrate for macro algae. I'd say not from my time in the hobby, my first tank had all manner of macro algae, perfectly happy swaying gently. As soon as I added more flow, the planting died back. Except the caluerpa which liked the dynamic, dirtier water conditions of the sump and red/green plant lighting - oddly enough. Sure thing we need the flow rates for coral, but not algaes. Also reefs are blue for the reason of highlighting symbiotic colours in coral. Where the plants need plant spectrums, not coral spectrums

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

@@tonywomersley1256 A few macroalgae do require strong flow, but they are rare in the hobby. These tend to be the more difficult-to-keep red and brown macroalage.

[@MinhHieu-ie6eh]

Hey MJ i has a question ? How many gallon is that saltwater tank ? Also which fish and invertebrate do you plan to add that tank ?

[@SatanicBiPanick666]

It’s a 30 centimeter cube, it’s a bit more than 6 gallons

[@MJAquascaping]

Yeah 6-7 gallons or so! No idea yet about stocking 😊

[@MinhHieu-ie6eh]

6-7 gallon huh ? Uh that is almost a pico size tank so it kind hard to call it a “nano tank” and which size fish can be add in there is pretty much most likey small species of Goby (like cleaner goby: Neon Blue Goby, or Clown Goby: yellow, green, and orange, or goby with parther pistol shrimp:High Fin Banded Goby and Yasha Goby) and for invertebrate... well you has Astrea Snail, Blue Leg Hermitcrab, and maybe Sexy Shrimp ? Tho the last one more for look then any clean up crew stuff then the other two.

[@martinprochazka6324]

what is the name of the inlet with the skimmer please?

[@pawewasiak8485]

I think that when You will introduce a "live stock", dosing nitrate will be unnecessary, because fish and shrimps will build nitrate levels from waste and leftovers from fish food

[@Aquaticvibes9775]

💚🖤

[@aurikarusnak8872]

😍😍😍👍👍👍

[@OlgaStjarna]

Why i see smiling face in this stones 😂

[@prophecy66]

Here we all are spending time and money to prevent algae in freshwater and you're willingly adding it to saltwater lol. Funny how in saltwater, algae, of a certain type, is wanted haha.

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

There are still some desirable freshwater algae, like marimo.

[@cr0n557]

that grape is edible i believe

[@gusart9168]

ฉันอายุ14ฉันดูช่องนี้ทุกวัน แฟนคลับจากไทย

[@KalebMorgan-l8t]

first comment

[@henrylo6773]

Lol we eat those in my country.

[@rupinnair2225]

Hope that algae, doesn't get algae.😂😂

[@mikeireland5118]

MJ I am a huge fan of your fresh water work, but I am utterly gutted by your use of Caulerpa species in this tank. Caulerpa is an utterly devastating species throughout the world, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea so close to you. Please research the genus Caulerpa and reconsider your choice of macro algae for this project. This is an opportunity to rectify a misstep an educate your followers. I beg you not to miss this opportunity to act responsibility and sustainably!

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

It's not a problem if he is properly disposing of his tank water and macroalgae trimmings.

[@zoraz8404]

that looks like cyanobakteria for me

[@patricktoulze1274]

Really interested on this one, microalgae.... Cool.

[@hypanusamericanus9058]

*macroalgae Microalgae is the unwanted, film-like stuff.