Chaeto

[Tazmaniancowboy]

My system has been overrun with algae recently. It is even on my chaeto Anytime I see anybody's fuge I never see hair algae in it and the chaeto is clean. I also hear of chaeto growing like mad and people having to prune it back often and that never happens here? What am I doing wrong? I have never had to prune, but obviously I have high phosphates?

 

[dnov99]

Don, how fast is the flow going through your fuge? If it's going too fast, the cheato won't have a chance to absorb any nutrients. This may be why it isn't growing.

 

[The_Codfather]

Don.. I placed a maxijet 1200 in the fuge where my cheato is and it's growing like mad.. it was almost tumbling.. I also leave my 6500k fuge light on 24/7 maybe it needs more flow and light or one or the other?

 

[The_Codfather]

Don, how fast is the flow going through your fuge? If it's going too fast, the cheato won't have a chance to absorb any nutrients. This may be why it isn't growing.

Darren.. you should see the size of that clump you gave me.. also my NO4 is down from 40 to 10 now

 

[The_Codfather]

Just to add about flow and chaeto.. I see chaeto as the aqua tumbleweed and what i understand is it likes flow and needs high flow so it don't keep collecting detritus

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

Darren, the flow is slow through there, but I do not have much flow against the chaeto. I don't remember how you get flow in yours? I will try putting a power head in there and see what happens. I read that it will grow faster with flow. What baffles me is people that have it stuffed in a filter without movement and claiming it grows like mad!

 

[dnov99]

Darren, the flow is slow through there, but I do not have much flow against the chaeto. I don't remember how you get flow in yours? I will try putting a power head in there and see what happens. I read that it will grow faster with flow. What baffles me is people that have it stuffed in a filter without movement and claiming it grows like mad!

Yeah I have no movement in my fuge and it grows really well. What are you using for a light?? The 6500K CFL are the best to use IMO...

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

That's what I am using for light....24/7. and the flow is just gravity fed directly from the overflows but throttled down. In other words it is raw water that will be high in nutrients! I ended up with a little grape caulerpa in my fuge and that took off, I weeded most of that out

 

[falconut]

What type of bulb are you using, just a simple screw in CFL or something else?

I used to use a Lights of America 65Watt 6500K fixture and my chaeto grew good. Never to the degree that some people get though. After that fixture burned out, I just got a standard fixture with a 5500K screw in bulb. My chaeto seams to be dying off. From what I remember, this started before the bulb change.

The difference I have is that I've been running WM EcoBAK pellets for a year and my NO3 and PO4 are 0.00. So, I suspect that lack of nutrients is my issue. Maybe the other algae is eatting up the nutrients before the Chaeto can use it. My chaeto was getting covered with a redish cyano looking algae around when it stopped growing.

 

[Hawkeye]

you run a sandbed taz? Maybe the bed has saturated and is now releasing nutrients back into the tank...causing the algae rush?

I actually use regular NO light (e.g. 60w light bulb that are goign to eb discontinued soon) and the chaeto does not stop growing. I also do not run gfo or carbon anymore. The water is the outflow from my skimmer.

I think the raw stuff direct from the overflow might be too much - allowing for detritus to get trapped inside the chaeto. do you run filter sock?

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

I do run a sandbed Hawk, unfortunately my problem is a combo of problems at the moment including a lack of dosing, well water probs again, less maintenance, etc... I hope it will bounce back again when I hit it hard.

 

[The_Codfather]

Don, Phil might be on to something with the sand bed, Remember we was talking about bubbles coming from it? I always thought maybe it was nitrogen bubbles and that's a good thing but maybe you have some pockets of nutrients?

 

[downbeach]

FWIW, I had good luck with chaeto in my fuge/sump running 1500 gph through it. I have my lights(2 x 18w 7100k PC's) on 24/7. I was havind a little problem with cyano in the fuge, but that cleared up when I installed GFO and GAC reactors.

 

[knockout]

I run slow flow thru the refugium but run a power head in the refugium, my lights in the fuge are reverse from my DT lights and is on for about 12 hours a day, I just pulled a bucket full of chaeto this week and I do so about every other month, free for anyone who wants some and can pick it up!!!

 

[malulu]

... I just pulled a bucket full of chaeto this week and I do so about every other month, free for anyone who wants some and can pick it up!!!

Hey, I would like to have some, where are you located?
I lives 5 mins from RedSand. (Central Jersey).
thx

 

[TanksNStuff]

Can't really add much to what's already been said, but my chaeto grows pretty good so I'll make a couple comments.

1. My Chaeto has tons of pods (swimmers and crawlers) all through it, as well as tons of bristle worms. Maybe they have something to do with helping it grow?

2. I also run a dual reactor with carbon and GFO, and my hanna phosphate meter is usually reading at zero.

3. My sump design is DT drain through a filter sock, skimmer in same chamber as sock, flows over to fuge (LR rubble and chaeto, no sand, with a few crabs & snails running around), the bubble trap to return section (which also holds dual reactor pump and return line). Maybe the configuration of the sump and order of different filter types helps?

4. I'm using These CFL bulbs. I usually run them 7 PM thru 8 AM, but sometimes I run them 24 hrs straight every couple days.

Hope that helps.

 

[JRWOHLER]

I am almost identical to TanksNStuff for what it is worth.

 

[Hawkeye]

I am almost identical to TanksNStuff for what it is worth.

as in a big time video game lover? I never knew! ;D

 

[JRWOHLER]

My sump smarty.

 

[The_Codfather]

Can't really add much to what's already been said, but my chaeto grows pretty good so I'll make a couple comments.

1. My Chaeto has tons of pods (swimmers and crawlers) all through it, as well as tons of bristle worms. Maybe they have something to do with helping it grow?

2. I also run a dual reactor with carbon and GFO, and my hanna phosphate meter is usually reading at zero.

3. My sump design is DT drain through a filter sock, skimmer in same chamber as sock, flows over to fuge (LR rubble and chaeto, no sand, with a few crabs & snails running around), the bubble trap to return section (which also holds dual reactor pump and return line). Maybe the configuration of the sump and order of different filter types helps?

4. I'm using These CFL bulbs. I usually run them 7 PM thru 8 AM, but sometimes I run them 24 hrs straight every couple days.

Hope that helps.

Sounds like my set up with Filter sock.. I also put all my Asterina stars I find in my DT and put them in my Fuge.. The chaeto is covered in them