Just 2 cents on the topic of Caulerpa.
I had realized that my LFS was distributing Caulerpa Taxifolia with purchases, & I had collected a fair bit of it in a small separated fuge for a time. Of course, it was growing like weeds.
While reading up on macros in general, I found a consistently debated topic of whether to use Caulerpas as macros for nutrient export in aquaria due to its prolific nature, & after enough reading, found that specifically, Taxifolia is an extremely invasive species that is wreaking havoc worldwide.
Now I'm sure there are some of you out there who are fully aware of this & are going, "Well duh!", but its not to you that I address this post. Its to the newer aquarists who, like myself, find a bit of this stuff on their hands before they realize what they've got.
To any aquarist who is keeping any flavor of Caulerpa in their tanks, please make extra efforts to identify it & if you find you are keeping Taxifolia, destroy it! Do not take any chances in accidentally contaminating your local ecology.
My LFS was calling it "fern" or "feather" caulerpa. It grows long branches with closely spaced fern-like leaves. It tapers toward the tip where it will go translucent & dissolve into the water as it goes 'sexual'. It is easily confused with Caulerpa Mexicana, which has similar fern-like structure, but the leaves are a bit more spaced apart.
The tip I found for destruction was manual removal into a ziploc baggie, & then freeze it for 24 hours before disposing the bag whole & sealed into the trash.
OK, soapbox mode off
http://www.invasivespecies.gov/profiles ... lgae.shtml