Chaeto not growing under kessil h80. Nutrient issue?

[AquaScott]

My refugium used to grow macroalgae pretty well under a cheap par38. A few months ago, I started having issues with red slime algae and the chaeto stopped growing. I dosed the tank with chemi clean. After that, the red slime went away, but the chaeto still wasn't growing. I tried a few new par38 bulbs, nothing. I upgraded to the kessil h80, replaced all my ro/di media and did some pretty big water changes. Some of my acros have started withering too. Halimeda used to grow really well in the display too, but that has also stopped. Some tips of the chaeto in the refugium has turned white too. Any advice?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Try adding a little iron and move light in a little closer to chaeto

 

[AquaScott]

Try adding a little iron and move light in a little closer to chaeto

I will do that. Would iron deficiency have an effect on some of the acros too?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I will do that. Would iron deficiency have an effect on some of the acros too?

It can . Chaeto for sure. Acro has a demand for alk and Aminos

 

[AquaScott]

It can . Chaeto for sure. Acro has a demand for alk and Aminos

Right on. Thank you so much for the advice Vetteguy!

 

[Esquire805]

My refugium used to grow macroalgae pretty well under a cheap par38. A few months ago, I started having issues with red slime algae and the chaeto stopped growing. I dosed the tank with chemi clean. After that, the red slime went away, but the chaeto still wasn't growing. I tried a few new par38 bulbs, nothing. I upgraded to the kessil h80, replaced all my ro/di media and did some pretty big water changes. Some of my acros have started withering too. Halimeda used to grow really well in the display too, but that has also stopped. Some tips of the chaeto in the refugium has turned white too. Any advice?

In my experience dont make to many changes and big water changes are a no go for macroalgae. It might be you dont have enough nitrate in the system

 

[AquaScott]

In my experience dont make to many changes and big water changes are a no go for macroalgae. It might be you dont have enough nitrate in the system

Great, thank you for the recommendation Esquire805! I haven't checked nitrates for a while just always tried to get rid of them. What's a good, sustainable level of nitrate? And to increase the concentration, just leave off the skimmers, or how?

 

[Hemmdog]

Great, thank you for the recommendation Esquire805! I haven't checked nitrates for a while just always tried to get rid of them. What's a good, sustainable level of nitrate? And to increase the concentration, just leave off the skimmers, or how?

Have your skimmer skim dry and feed more good food like frozen mysis, LRS reef frenzy, that kind of stuff.
test your nitrate and phosphate first though so we aren’t shooting-in-the-dark.

 

[Hemmdog]

It’s not the light I assure you of that. I have the same one and it grows chaeto & caulerpa like crazy.
I’ve never used chemi clean but if it works anything like Vibrant, chaeto wont grow well for several months even after you stop treatment.

 

[Esquire805]

Great, thank you for the recommendation Esquire805! I haven't checked nitrates for a while just always tried to get rid of them. What's a good, sustainable level of nitrate? And to increase the concentration, just leave off the skimmers, or how?

I honestly dont skim and when I did macros melted away I use a huge filter sock and everything works fine

 

[Esquire805]

It’s not the light I assure you of that. I have the same one and it grows chaeto & caulerpa like crazy.
I’ve never used chemi clean but if it works anything like Vibrant, chaeto wont grow well for several months even after you stop treatment.

When I used chemi macros melted away if you do use it .... do so for a little while

 

[AquaScott]

It’s not the light I assure you of that. I have the same one and it grows chaeto & caulerpa like crazy.
I’ve never used chemi clean but if it works anything like Vibrant, chaeto wont grow well for several months even after you stop treatment.

It works well to get rid of slime algae, I can tell you that. I never had any issues with it before, and I am not sure that it's the cause of the problem. Will make some adjustments and see what works.

 

[AquaScott]

Try adding a little iron and move light in a little closer to chaeto

I turned off my reactor a few days ago but, if I had been running gfo for, basically ever in this tank, what are the chances the iron is low? Does gfo have an effect on iron?

 

[Mmun]

My refugium used to grow macroalgae pretty well under a cheap par38. A few months ago, I started having issues with red slime algae and the chaeto stopped growing. I dosed the tank with chemi clean. After that, the red slime went away, but the chaeto still wasn't growing. I tried a few new par38 bulbs, nothing. I upgraded to the kessil h80, replaced all my ro/di media and did some pretty big water changes. Some of my acros have started withering too. Halimeda used to grow really well in the display too, but that has also stopped. Some tips of the chaeto in the refugium has turned white too. Any advice?

you have to have a certain amount of nitrates and phosphates, also tumble it some with a small powerhead, I dose with Brightwell Chaeto grow

 

[Hemmdog]

I turned off my reactor a few days ago but, if I had been running gfo for, basically ever in this tank, what are the chances the iron is low? Does gfo have an effect on iron?

What is your phosphate?

GFO info

Aquarium Chemistry: Effects of GFO (Granular Ferric Oxide) on ‘Trace’ Metals Concentrations in Artificial Seawater

Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) is popular among reef hobbyists as a means to decrease phosphate levels and subsequently algal growth in their tanks. GFO, however, can also affect other ions and compound levels as well. In this article, Dana investigates the effect that GFO has on our tanks outside...

www.advancedaquarist.com

 

[Mhart032]

I have the H380, Ive dosed Vibrant and cheato still grows like crazy, i run No3po4X with .02 phosphates and no nitrates and it still grows like crazy. checking my ICP test my iron is .001.

I do feed heavy (14 fish) every night, plus pellets in the morning through an AFS.

this is my Cheato from the last time i cut it 2 weeks ago. mind you this is a 55gal food grade trashcan. and i cut it in 1/2
the Kessils are great for growing macros.

im not sure if this helps or not.

 

[Terry Mattson]

Before dosing measure your phospate and nitrates. And all your typical parameters. So u know what is happening. I have Cheto going crazy using an H80. If you get to close to the chaeto you will bleach it. I have mine at 13 inches.

 

[AquaScott]

wa

What is your phosphate?

GFO info

Aquarium Chemistry: Effects of GFO (Granular Ferric Oxide) on ‘Trace’ Metals Concentrations in Artificial Seawater

Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) is popular among reef hobbyists as a means to decrease phosphate levels and subsequently algal growth in their tanks. GFO, however, can also affect other ions and compound levels as well. In this article, Dana investigates the effect that GFO has on our tanks outside...

www.advancedaquarist.com

What is your phosphate?

GFO info

Aquarium Chemistry: Effects of GFO (Granular Ferric Oxide) on ‘Trace’ Metals Concentrations in Artificial Seawater

Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) is popular among reef hobbyists as a means to decrease phosphate levels and subsequently algal growth in their tanks. GFO, however, can also affect other ions and compound levels as well. In this article, Dana investigates the effect that GFO has on our tanks outside...

www.advancedaquarist.com

Nice! Thanks for the info. Will read tonight. I haven't checked phosphate for a while, but when I did with the hannah checker, it was always zero, or undetectable so I stopped checking.

 

[Hemmdog]

wa
Nice! Thanks for the info. Will read tonight. I haven't checked phosphate for a while, but when I did with the hannah checker, it was always zero, or undetectable so I stopped checking.

zero and undetectable is very bad. Stop running gfo immediately. That’s your issue.

 

[AquaScott]

I have the H380, Ive dosed Vibrant and cheato still grows like crazy, i run No3po4X with .02 phosphates and no nitrates and it still grows like crazy. checking my ICP test my iron is .001.

I do feed heavy (14 fish) every night, plus pellets in the morning through an AFS.

this is my Cheato from the last time i cut it 2 weeks ago. mind you this is a 55gal food grade trashcan. and i cut it in 1/2
the Kessils are great for growing macros.

im not sure if this helps or not.

This helps. Every bit of info helps. I think I need to test more and keep some level of phosphate amd nitrate. Never thought I'd have a problem with too little algae/nutrients.