Chaeto won’t grow

[Cephalobob]

Anyone have advice on growing chaeto? I’ve tried twice now and both times it slowly turns to mush over the course of about 2 weeks.

Here’s what I have:

150 gallon tank, 40 gallon sump
Fuge light: Home Depot clip-on work lamp w/ hydroponics grow lamp from Amazon. (Other reviewers had good results growing chaeto with this lamp)
Nitrates: 10
Phosphates: 0.024
Specific gravity: 1.025
Temp: 78

My first attempt I ran the fuge lights for around 8 hrs on a reverse schedule. Then I read somewhere that might fry new chaeto and you need to light acclimate them. So on the second attempt I ran the lights for 3 hrs, slowly increasing it over time. But it didn’t make any difference.

Not sure if maybe my phosphates are too low to support it. I was really hoping to use chaeto as a nitrate export. Especially since it’s been slowly creeping up over the past several months.

Also, every time I place the algae in my sump it breaks up and makes a huge mess. The small portion that manages to stay together sinks to the bottom and slowly dies.

 

[fish farmer]

Possibly nutrients. When I grew chaeto, I started with 20-30 ppm nitrates and phosphate around 1ppm. Grew very well under a 9 watt grow bulb from Home Depot. Fist sized at start and would be double in a month. Currently my nitrates are around 7 ppm and phosphates .5 ppm. Growth has slowed considerably. I ran a 12 hour light cycle from the start.

Do you have algae in the main display?

 

[Neo Jeo]

I had the same problem when my tank was new. I then finally added it 6 months later and tried a better light. Then it grew!

If it starts to turn mush, pull it out. It will add nutrients back into the tank.

 

[GoatmealJones]

I actually disconnect my refugium for a half day and directly feed my chaeto reef roids, a large amount. Then I empty the fuge, fill it with new water, a re connect it. Your cheato will grow and be healthy without adding nutrients to the tank. Every since i started doing this my chaeto has been very healthy and out competes any algae in my main tank.

 

[bluprntguy]

Bulkreefsupply found chaeto grew better and removed the most nutrients under the highest lighting. I’m not sure where you got the information about low lighting and needing to light acclimate it. I’ve never done that.

I’d suspect lighting is your issue. Increase your light schedule and make sure your light has the proper wavelength.

I run chaeto in my fuge using a kessil refugium light that runs opposite to my tank schedule and stays lit for about 16 hours. It’s in a ULS zeovit system. It doesn’t grow fast, but it stays dark green and dense.

 

[Cephalobob]

Possibly nutrients. When I grew chaeto, I started with 20-30 ppm nitrates and phosphate around 1ppm. Grew very well under a 9 watt grow bulb from Home Depot. Fist sized at start and would be double in a month. Currently my nitrates are around 7 ppm and phosphates .5 ppm. Growth has slowed considerably. I ran a 12 hour light cycle from the start.

Do you have algae in the main display?

There’s a fair amount of what looks like red Cyanobacteria on the rocks. Also tiny bits of green algae here and there

 

[Cephalobob]

I had the same problem when my tank was new. I then finally added it 6 months later and tried a better light. Then it grew!

If it starts to turn mush, pull it out. It will add nutrients back into the tank.

My tank is a year old. Maybe I need a light upgrade.

 

[Heart of Dixie]

You may have to run your lights for twelve hours at first. I now have my lights on 8 hours or phosphate and nitrate both drop to 0. I have a 20 gallon refugium for a 150 tank. The lights are 2 Home Depot clamp ons with a 5100 k bulb in each which grows cheato like a weed and fills the refugium about every 5 weeks. Current PO4 is .029, NO3 is 2. Also, it helps to dose iron once a week. Check Randall Holmes-Farley’s articles in the Reef Chemistry section on iron dosing.

 

[stacksoner]

The best luck I had growing chaeto was setting up the reverse lighting schedule and forgetting about to it. Slow and low when it comes to flow. It will grow just like all the other algae you grew without even trying

 

[Cephalobob]

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

As for the chaeto breaking up and falling apart immediately upon placing in fuge, does anyone have any tips?

 

[stacksoner]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/chaeto-falling-apart-why.319379/#post-3950311