Featured Questions

Do you have a shop to visit?

Livealgae UK is an aquamarine farm specialised in marine macroalgae and we do not have a shop to visit.

But we offer all our macroalgae for sale online within the UK & EU. And of course they all come with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee to ensure that you are fully happy with your new marine aquarium additions on arrival.

You can read more about all our Guarantees HERE

I have placed an order but did not receive any confirmation email?

Once you have placed an order on our website you will automatically receive an confirmation email.

Please check your spam folder as it might have landed in there and if not please check if the email you have provided on our website is correct.

When will my order be shipped?

Macroalgae and aquatic products together with macroalgae order

Our macroalgae take time to prepare and pack but we aim to ship your order within 1-2 working days Monday - Wednesday morning. Orders placed after 10am count as placed the next working day.
Due to the current high demand please allow 2-3 working days processing time.

This means that when you place your order on a Wednesday or later the week it will normally be shipped next Monday / Tuesday morning out to you, as we have due to Covid-19 currently shorter drop off times with the carriers.

Orders where the UPS or Royal Mail Special delivery posting option have been chosen will be sent as a parcel and you will receive a separate email with the tracking code.

Aquatic products order only

Orders placed before 3pm Monday - Friday will be shipped the same day.

Do you post to the EU ?

We are sorry, but due to the current problems at the border and additional bureaucracy & possible charges / VAT we currently can not post as usual to the EU. We will update this section once we will be able to post again.

We apologise for this and thank you for your understanding.

Livealgae UK

Yes, we post within the EU still. We need to see how this will work after the 31.12.2020 though.

We offer normally two posting options, the standard delivery which takes around 4-8 working days and the EU Express delivery, which takes approximately between 1-4 working days.

EU orders will only be posted every Monday morning, to give the macroalgae the best chance to arrive fast at yours.

Although we will do our best to protect the live algae as good as possible, we, unfortunately, can notguarantee the quality of the macroalgae on arrival, as it might be longer in transport than usual, which is beyond our control.

Therefore any posting within the EU would be fully at your own risk. We can't replace any macroalgae which diminished in transit.

Please read more about the Terms of EU Orders ( outside the UK )

HERE

Do you post macroalgae outside of the EU?

We are sorry but we can not offer for sale our marine macroalgae species outside of the EU.

What does dosing macroalgae mean?

In a macroalgae reef tank or planted refugium /sump it can be necessary to add nutrients like nitrate & phosphate, Iron and other trace elements to keep macroalgae healthy and well growing, especially when the macroalgae growth is not satisfying, or dying off and very often in marine macroalgae dominated reef tanks.

Dosing nutrients can be as well very helpful to stimulate macroalgae growth in generell.

Beside of the main nutrients macroalgae will need to grow ( nitrate, phosphate ), Potassium, Iodine and Iron will support the growth of marine macroalgae too and can be safely added to the marine aquarium, following the instructions provided.

If you like to know more about dosing macroalgae in a reef tank you can find more about HERE

Livealgae UK offers as well a range of fertiliser and additives for an optimized macroalgae growth, which you can find HERE

Beware:
We do not recommend to use fertiliser for normal planted aquariums, as they are often produced to use in freshwater aquariums and often include ingredients which can be harmful to marine life like critters, livestock and corals, especially when Copper has been added to it.

There are some readily mixed fertilisers available which are safe to use as they are specifically formulated for marine tanks, like Brightwell's ChaetoGro and Continuum's Basis Chaeto Grow

Faq Sections

FAQ - Marine Macroalgae

What are the different types of macroalgae?

Macroalgae are commonly often just called seaweed. Although a lot of macroalgae species are edible we offer for sale all macroalgae species just for the use in the marine aquarium, so don't be tempted by the great pictures, please.

Macroalgae species are divided into three main live algae species groups which are the red macroalgae, green macroalgae and brown macroalgae.

The most common and widely available macroalgae species are the green marine algae species. Especially the different varieties of Caulerpa are widely available as they often grow very fast and are easy to keep. They are successfully used to reduce the Nitrate and Phosphate level in the aquarium water, which can help to suppress nuisance microalgae.
The only downfall with green macroalgae species is that they are often invasive, which means that they can overgrow your rockwork when not kept under control. Often they are placed in a Refugium / Sump to let them do the nutrients export work and to keep them in a controlled area.

The second biggest group are the red macroalgae species, which often grow much slower than the green marine algae species, which means that they take less nutrients ( Nitrate / Phosphate ) out of the water but therefore they add some beautiful colours to the marine aquarium and in our opinion, some species are so good looking that they can easily compete with harder to keep coral species.
But the best they are often non-invasive and therefore just perfect to be placed in the Display Tank.

The third largest macroalgae group are the brown macroalgae species, which are very rare to get, as they are not very often used, and more often seen as unwanted macroalgae in the marine aquarium

What are the benefits of marine macroalgae?

Macroalgae will help to remove nutrients from the marine aquarium and so help to reduce the nitrate and phosphate levels
Macroalgae can help to reduce unwanted microalgae ( nuisance algae ) by outcompeting them in the marine tank
Many macroalgae species will provide shelter for copepods and amphipods and help to increase the population, especially Ochtodes, Chaetomorpha etc.
Some macroalgae species will be happily eaten by fishes and critters and therefore help to keep them happy and healthy, like Ulva.
Macroalgae will give your aquarium a more natural look
Seahorses will love the benefit of additional hold fast and we can imagine you will enjoy this look as well much more than the look of an artificial addition.
Many macroalgae species can compete with corals when it comes to the beauty of it, and are often much easier to keep too.
Macroalgae will add beautiful colours to your marine tank setup.
Macroalgae will release additional oxygen into the water while growing.

What water conditions will need macroalgae to grow?

For a macroalgae marine tank we recommend the following guideline for the marine water chemistry:

As a general rule, this is for most macroalgae species we sell, but there will be some which will need different environments. If you are unsure please ask us before you order.

Temperature: Between 23-29 °C

PH: 7.9-8.4

Salinity: 1.024 - 1.026

Nitrate: Between 5-10 ppm, above 2ppm

Phosphate: Below above 0.02ppm

Magnesium: Around 1250 ppm - 14000 ppm

Calcium: Around 400 ppm - 450 ppm ( important for calcified species)

Iron: Around 0.01 ppm

Iodine: around 0.04 ppm

If you like to know more about what nutrients macroalgae need to grow successfully in your marine aquarium please have a look HERE

FAQ - Your order from Livealgae UK

I have placed an order but did not receive any confirmation email?

Once you have placed an order on our website you will automatically receive an confirmation email.

Please check your spam folder as it might have landed in there and if not please check if the email you have provided on our website is correct.

When will my order be shipped?

Macroalgae and aquatic products together with macroalgae order

Orders where the UPS or Royal Mail Special delivery posting option have been chosen will be sent as a parcel and you will receive a separate email with the tracking code.

Aquatic products order only

Orders placed before 3pm Monday - Friday will be shipped the same day.

Can I ask for a special delivery day?

Sure. Just let us know when you order when you like us to post your order out to you. But please have in mind that we post macroalgae currently just Monday - Wednesday morning, that it doesn't get stuck in transit.

Due to Covid-19 delivery times can be currently longer than normal. As this is beyond our control we can unfortunately not guarantee a special delivery day at the moment, but we are happy to post it when you like us too. Please have in mind that macroalgae orders will be latest posted Wednesday morning.

FAQ - Livealgae UK

Do you have a shop to visit?

Livealgae UK is an aquamarine farm specialised in marine macroalgae and we do not have a shop to visit.

Do you offer to deliver personally?

We are sorry but we are just a local aquamarine farm for macroalgae and can not offer a personal delivery, unfortunately.
But we are happy to post it within the UK and EU.

Where is Livealgae UK based?

We are based in West Yorkshire - Leeds, but we will post all our marine macroalgae species within the UK & EU.

FAQ - Marine Nuisance Algae

What are nuisance algae ( microalgae )?

Microalgae or often so called nuisance algae, are microscopic organisms that live in water as single cells or in colonies. Microalgae can grow very fast, and some species can double in size in just 24 hours.

Opposite to macroalgae they are that kind of marine algae you do not want to have growing in the marine aquarium which gives them their name: Nuisance.

The most common microalgae in the marine aquarium and reef tank setups are: DIATOMS, FILM ALGAE, DINOFLAGELLATES, RED OR GREEN SLIME ALGAE, GREEN HAIR ALGAE AND BUBBLE ALGAE.

IDENTIFICATION OF NUISANCE MARINE MICRO ALGAE

How to get nuisance algae out of my reef tank / refugium?

Depending on which microalgae you have in your marine tank or reef aquarium different steps are necessary to get them successfully out of your tank setup.

Please have first a look at our MICROALGAE DATABASE to identify them correctly.

Beside of this individual microalgae solution we recommend the following general steps to get successfully rid of unwanted marine micro algae in your aquarium.

HOW TO GET RID OF NUISANCE MICRO ALGAE

My question is not answered on this page, how can I get more help?

Just get in touch with us CONTACT US

FAQ - Product specific

My Ochtodes Sp turned brown / red ?

Ochtodes Macroalgae turned brown

For the blue Ochtodes macroalgae, it is normal that it will turn brown, once taken out of the water and or in transit. But once back in the marine water and with the right light it will turn blue/violet again normally within a few days.

Ochtodes Macro Algae turned red / orange

When your Ochtodes turned red /orange or white it is, unfortunately, a sign that it got too much stress and that it is dying off. Often this is a sign that the water parameters are not good for it or it was too long in transit. Please remove the parts of the algae which changed to those colours from your tank, as it won't, unfortunately, recover from this. Parts which still look brown/purple/blue are good and will grow on with the fitting water and light conditions.

hello, just getting into marine and macroalgae. I am looking at buying the starter pack of 4 you sell and then pick 2 other ones but I don't want the same ones to come in the pack than I pick, which ones come in the set or is it random? And what h . . .

Hi Jack. Thank you for your message. When a starter pack is bought together with other macroalgae we will always try to add other macroalgae species for you and we normally pack them as they come.
When you buy two packs it might be that you get some similar algae species.

I would recommend adding macroalgae when the tank is established and you have the fishes already in for a while.
As with them your tank normally will have enough nitrate and phosphate the macroalgae will need to grow. The other nutrients macroalgae will need to grow you normally will have enough when you do normal water changes.
In other words no need for any fertilizer :) Just in a macroalgae only tank, or where nitrate is below 2ppm / or phosphate below 0.02 it will beneficial to use a fertilizer or a special supplement to replace the used nutrients.

Can you advise on the best light spectrum to use for the fast growing cheato. I have a kessil h380 with option of grow or bloom. I read conflicting advise on which is best to use for fast growth. thanks.

Hi. Thank you for your question. We know that there are different opinions about what grow light spectrum is better for macroalgae to grow.
When it comes to Chaeto we recommend to use the bloom setting with the Kessil H380 as it offers a bit more intense red light & a bit less blue light than the grow setting which is for Chaetomorpha a better choice from our experience.

Both settings will produce though a good macroalgae growth. The grow setting we recommend more for red algae species, like Gracilaria for example.

We hope this helps and when you have any further questions please let us know.

Customer Questions

Do you ship macro algae to sweden? And when will the chaeto be available again?

Hi guys - hope you are all keeping well. I have a question about the Gracilaria macro algae. I have a small 100 litre no sump tank and have struggled to grow chaeto in the back chambers of my tank. I understand with gracilaria that I can grow it . . .

Would you say that Gracilaria also fights well against general algae growth in the tank?