Best Practices for the Triton Algae Bed

[d2mini]

For those of you who have been successfully running a full Triton based system for some time now, let's say more than a year... I thought it would be a good idea to nail down what one should expect when it comes to their refugium or "algae bed", which is probably the better term in this case, and best practices for keeping it going.

The reason I bring this up is because, as you may have seen, I've had some interesting ups and downs with mine and part of that (or maybe all of that) is because I'm used to having a refugium run a certain way, and used to maintaining a refugium a certain way, and even though I know Triton changes things up a bit, I don't think I have a full grasp on exactly how and what to expect as the system grows and matures.

I started off my Triton tank from zero. Brand new setup.
So in the beginning, the refugium looked like this and personally I think this is awesome. lol

Then my refugium grew into this... which ended up being pretty much nothing but a solid brick of chaeto.

Then from there it went downhill, crashing and it all died off.
I have the other thread going where I'm now dosing nitrates to bring them up from zero to help feed the macros.

Now they (at least the reds) seem to be hanging in there, but they are also full of nuisance algae.
Which may be fine, just not as pretty.
But if it is coming back, I obviously want to prevent it from crashing again.
For one I'll keep an eye on my nutrients and make sure they don't fall too low again.

But second, what kind of things should we expect from the algae bed?
What should it really become over time?
Do you ever trim it back a bit or do you leave it untouched forever?
I know I've seen a couple of you post that you never touch it. That's what I was trying to do when I ended up with the brick of chaeto.
But if left untouched, how do you keep the chaeto from taking over and starving out the other macros?
Or do you not use chaeto at all?
Is there anything you would change if you were starting again?
How do you keep the algae from blocking the teeth/slots on the partition wall of your sump?

I think these are just some of the questions that could use answers/opinions from those with experience, to help all the Triton newbs.
There is definitely a balance that needs to be achieved. That's one thing I've learned in this process.
So let's turn this thread into a list of tips and best practices!
Post your experiences, add pics, etc.

 

[G8trBait16]

I am going to be following this as I have been thinking about going towards the trition method, as I am on the AF system right now.

 

[MaiReef]

Taking out Cheato as it grows seems to work well. I did best when I when I kept the reds away from the Cheato with thin LR.

 

[timnem70]

This is great. I have had the same experiences and continue to jut trim back the Cheato. Maybe every three months or so I'll go in and rummage through and clean it up. I run a bare bottom in both the DT and Fuge and need to feed a bit more but... I have a few rubble pieces and a large (14"diameter) 1/2 clam shell with a **** ton of featherduster worms. It is awesome and I have not had even a hint of algae in my DT for a couple years now. Good luck

 

[MaiReef]

I had lost all of my cheato and macros for multiple trips to the LFS to get more, but then realized I needed to get more light intensity and less duration. That has worked well with the removal of cheato as it grows before it floods the sump.

 

[timnem70]

 

[timnem70]

Yep. That's where I laid a heater I thought was unplugged... it was not and the smell is what alerted me.

 

[ksfulk]

I was never able to get chaeto to grow in my triton fuge. I had about 15 other species of macros, and all did ok, but as time went on, I found that really only one or two species were ever dominant - the others would hang on for dear life, but never really take off, just maintain. C. prolifera and Ulva were my main growers, with Gracilaria being the only red that really took off. About every 3-4 months I would get a huge growth of cyano in the fuge (and only the fuge), which I would take offline, dose with red slime remover, wait three days then water change and bring back online to the main system. The cyano always went away and three - four months later it would come back almost overnight - growing on the top of all the algae that was in the fuge in a thick mat. I harvested and sold macros to the locals, as I was throwing out a 1L glass beaker stuffed with algae every 4 -5 days or so. So the good news is that its cyclical - the bad news is that Im not sure you want it to be

 

[JustinFromAL]

You use a lot of past tense in that post. Did you abandon the Triton method?

 

[ksfulk]

You use a lot of past tense in that post. Did you abandon the Triton method?

I broke down and sold that system, as it was too large for my house (~300 gallons) and the basement was suffering from my lack of planning for the plumbing and other issues. I liked my experiment with Triton, but on my newest tank, I dont have room for a big enough refugium, so I went in a different direction. All in all, I still really like the method and the premise - but the fuge is something that is the crux of the method, so not having one made the decision to part ways easier.

 

[BWilliby]

Following along on this because I just started using the Triton method a couple of weeks ago (Jan. 15th to be exact). I already had 40g setup as a remote refugium with chaeto and a little live rock, so I just added some other macros and started dosing Core7. The chaeto is separated from the rest by a small rock wall.

Here is a pic the day I started dosing Core7...

And here it is today...

The chaeto has gotten too big to spin anymore and seems more loosely packed. I assume that means the bottom layers not getting any light will start to die? I was just starting to wonder if I needed to trim it back like I am used to doing, but I have seen most Triton sumps just let it go. The other macros seem to be growing pretty well also.

So I am curious to see from more experienced Triton users how to best manage this moving forward.

 

[rinckemd]

I've been running triton for well over a year now. I just have cheato and ulva in the fuge. I blast it with light and flow, and trim weekly. I take maybe 1/3rd of the cheato per week, remove some of the ulva from the powerheads. I have a Kessil h380 grow light over it 15 hours a day. It doesn't tumble, and I still have some hair algae in the fuge, and a bit in the display. Nitrates always read low, but as long as I don't see more algae in the display I don't worry about it.

 

[BWilliby]

I was reading through the faq's on the Triton website and they actually do recommend trimming back the algae occasionally to prevent die off. That is different than what I have read on the forums. So I guess I will continue to trim back the chaeto as needed.

 

[bubbaque]

here is also a quote from their website on how often to trim it "If it grows more, it should be harvested more. One quickly becomes accustomed to the right amount and the right intervals. Important is that the algae does not die off because of becoming too big.