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aquascaping with algae

18K views 60 replies 24 participants last post by  auban 
#1 ·
has anyone ever tried aquascaping with algae alone? i have a nice mat of hair algae that i have been growing out in one of my tanks, and thinking about it, i might be able to aquascape it. it seems to bee growing easily enough.
 
#3 ·
There are some attractive algaes out there but IMO hair algae is just not one of them. They aren't all that attractive either.

Oh and it'll be hard to aquascape since they aren't like plants that can somewhat maintain their shape unless you have a nice thick patch of them.

But you can do what you want, would be interesting to see what you come up with. Pruning would be key...
 
#5 ·
give it a shot

I'd say try it, and see what happens.

It would be interesting to see if nothing else.

And since it's your tank, your opinion on what looks cool is higher on the list than others. No offense to those who hold the opinion.


But they are most likely right about not being able to find information about scaping with algae, as most of the scapers here, try to remove it not culture it.

Best of luck.
 
#12 ·
This +1.

This was my 2.5 gallon opae ula tank.



Was trying to go with an alien-looking tank with floating spheres of hair algae with a lava-rock scape. However the algae took over and became a cloud of death, smothering the tank, and limiting the growth of other types of algae. However, the algae did a good job of keeping the nitrates down. Here's the tank before I took it apart.



The hair algae was growing into each crevice between the lava rocks, into the darkness. When I tore apart the tank, all the hair algae compacted and rolled into a ball was about the size of a baseball.
 
#8 ·
I neglected my shrimp tank and at one point had a tree scape with the leaf section made of hair algae. It actually looked better than you would think and did hold its shape, wish I had a picture. When I regained my interest in that tank the algae had to go.
 
#9 ·
I've long since lost the bookmark, but somewhere along the line this year I ran into a thread with a guy who let a filamentous algae basically take over his shrimp tank--it made this gorgeous lime green cloud that swirled gently in the current with just a few places left open.

The closest I've come is purposefully inoculating sun-lit mini-tanks (2.5 and below) with bits of soil and water from a variety of sources (ponds, the lake and river, the canal, golf course spillways etc) to try and get as many types of algae growing on the back wall and surfaces as possible.
 
#10 ·
There will always be those who say "it can't be done, it shouldn't be done", but then another goes against that and finds something new, makes something new.

Go for it, maybe one day there will be an algae scaping section on this website because of you.
 
#21 ·
i think ill be doing this more than once... the results of my first test were better than i thought they would be. the next thing i am going to try is setting up a tank with ONLY algae in it. ill probably try creating a farm look, with long thin rows of algae along the bottom and some farm decorations around it. i think a tractor and a barn would work. with the algae, i may be able to use it in ways i couldnt with a normal plant.

I'm sure it could be done, but the problem is limiting that algae to only the areas you want it, it will soon take over everything and you will regret it.
im not finding this to be the case. if i let the clippings float freely, i do end up with little clumps of algae from time to time, but it doesnt take over like i thought it would. if i see a small ball of algae forming, i can just tug on a strand and the whole piece comes off. whatever species this algae is, its tough. it feels like wool.

High light/low co2 will get you all the algae you want also limit dosing one of your macros and stop water changes.
most algae probably wouldnt grow in my tank, but this stuff does. i have a couple DIY yeast reactors and 6 48inch t5s on it, which run 24/7. i had three DIY bottles, but three was enough to gas my shrimp so i pulled one. there is very little algae to speak of, even after three weeks. in my other tanks that i have tested the algae in, it grows about an inch every 4-5 days. the substrate is cow manure and kitty litter, so i imagine that if i let up on the CO2 the algae will gain the upper hand.

so far, the tank looks good.


and so does the algae:


when i decided to try it, i had already envisioned how i wanted it to work. i wanted it to be easy to scape with and i didnt want it to take over my tank. i tried growing several types out before i stumbled on a way to make the type of scapeable algae i wanted.

so far so good. i have my thumbs crossed that it will behave how i want it to behave when i devote a tank entirely to it.
 
#22 ·
well, i figure i might as well show you all the algae grow out tank. i have figured out that if i flip the algae mat over every few days it forms it forms a more uniform, tightly knit sheet. it also causes it to form layers which can be separated. if i peel one layer away from the other, i can put them side by side and double the size of the mat in relatively short time. it shouldn't be hard to keep growing the algae mats.

a frontal view of the small 5 gallon tank i grow it in:


over head view of the mat:


this pic is just to show how i have used it so far. i cut it with a pair of scissors into a thin strip. you can also see the layers in the strip.
 
#25 ·
im not sure if i would ever sell this stuff. the thought of someone paying me money for something that could potentially cause them an incredible headache just doesn't sit right with me. at least not until i KNOW how its going to act in most situations.

that said, if i ever do sell it, i will first send free samples to people who want to try it to make sure it works as intended in OTHER peoples tanks.

if i sell it to somebody and i give them bad advice on how to grow it, or fail to warn them of the potential risks involved with adding it to their tanks, i wouldnt be much better than a snake oil vendor. if i ever do sell it, it will come with strong warnings of what COULD go wrong as well as the best advice i can give(which would have to be based on more experience than i have with it).

of course, freebies wouldn't hurt my sense of morality. warnings and common sense would still apply though.

i still have a lot of tests to run this algae through. its still at the very early stages of what i have planned.
 
#28 ·
I don't know who Tom Barr is, but I was in north Carolina several years ago and saw a salt tank with lots of different macros. that's when the wheels in my head started turning. I tried to create a freshwater equivilent using algae, but I could find nothing but ways to get rid of algae and nothing on culturing it for aquascaping. at least not in the way I want to use it. I found plenty of threads where people expressed interest, but nothing involving a method to make it work. the closest thing I could find were mostly happy accidents. I want to see a freshwater tank that showcases the potential of our various algaes, many of which can be quite stunning.

I don't have the patience to wait until somebody creates a niche in the hobby for others like me. I decided to get the whole thing started. this is just the first step. after I get this algae figured out, I will move on to a different type. one by one, I plan to "crack the code" on different kinds of algae. it will probably take me years.
 
#29 ·
setting up a ten gallon with driftwood and algae. pics coming soon.
 
#30 ·
every time i trim it, it looks more and more like a marimo ball. to keep the trimmings from taking over, i start a siphon going into a 5 gallon bucket and use scissors to trim it. i hold the siphon tube close to the scissors and all the algae trimmings get sucked right up. i then pour the water through a fine fish net and back into the tank.

 
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#31 ·
well, here is the first pic of the new tank. i was a bit hasty in setting it up. the driftwood doesn't quite want to sink yet, so i pinned it between the tank wall and the maxijet/filter. and yes, the algae is stapled to the wood. ill add more to the tank when the water clears up a bit.
 
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