Create your own natural nutrient control! How do you grow Chaeto?

[flashsmith]

I couldn't keep it alive. Tried red ogo and pom pom and it thrives for me and as a bonus my fish will eat it instead of harvesting and throwing out.

 

[TWYOUNG]

I can't seem to keep the stuff alive. I grow other types in the DT, but the chaeto just keeps shrinking. Anybody have any ideas why that would be?

Mine keeps getting overgrown with gha. No idea why. Basically I now grow gha on coarse mesh in my fuge and harvest it every week or two.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

My chaeto grows really well but it does bottom out my nutrients.

 

[salty joe]

I I have a nitrate problem so I set up a 55 gallon acrylic tank I no longer use and just plumbed it into the sump. I use the output of my UV to supply water to the refugium and it just drains back into the sump. The macro algea is like three different kinds and all grown together.. Should I be worried about the brown foamy stuff on the surface?

I also get weird foamy algae on the surface. I'm not worried about it.
I grew Chaeto for a couple years, it grew like mad. Suddenly it turned to mush. I did dose iron. Maybe something else was exhausted, not nutrients though. Now I harvest hair algae, it's a pain.

 

[vlangel]

For nutrient control I have cheato in the display but I also have a lot of other macroalgea in my display, C cupressoides, ulva, codium, gracilaria, red titan, red grape and opuntia. Also I like the nutrients a bit higher than most reef tanks because of all the macroalgea. I do not want a macroalgea to strip the water of nutrients and then the macros die.

 

[o2manyfish]

I have been using chaeto in sumps for the past 20 years. I cheat because my sumps are outside and get direct sunlight year round..

A few years ago we redid the filtration system and moved the main sump into a somewhat covered area. The system volume is 1500g and the sump is 340g. But the covered sump isn't that efficient. I have a 120 tank above the sump called the skimmer tank. It's a 7' lowboy tank. And it gets enough light to grow chaeto well.

I also have 2 outdoor 180g frag tanks. And for years I have been growing chaeto in the overflow boxes of the frag tanks. They get abundant sunlight and constant flow of water from the linear overflow. It gets so densely packed that I have had clowns in the overflow that actually get pushed out of the water because the chaeto gets so dense and tight.

In the overflows the chaeto does seem to collect some aptasia.

During the summer months the two over flows produce a 5g bucket of chaeto every week.

After a disaster in March of 22 the frag tanks were empty of corals and one was empty of fish. The chaeto made it's way into the frag tanks - 96x36x15. Once spring time came one frag tank alone was producing enough chaeto to harvest a full size trashbag every week.

For a few months we had one frag tank dry for cleaning. When we filled it back up hair algae popped up. (All the tanks are attached as one 1500g system). When the hair algae showed up the growth of the chaeto increased. After 3 weeks of inattention I pulled from 1 of the frag tanks a pile of chaeto that covered 6' of concrete by 30" wide and was 30" tall.

While all the tanks are the same water circulating 24/7 the hair algae only appeared in the one tank that had been dry for a few months. We moved some chaeto into that tank (and some snails) and after about 3 weeks we were harvesting chaeto out of frag tank 2 and there isn't a trace of hair algae anywhere.

Dave B

 

[kenchilada]

If I can toss chaeto in the sump with a light and it grows, great. If not, I don't bother with it.

 

[BigMac426]

Going to try to grow some chaeto for the first time. I have the Eco chicca refugium light.

 

[salty joe]

I have been using chaeto in sumps for the past 20 years. I cheat because my sumps are outside and get direct sunlight year round..

A few years ago we redid the filtration system and moved the main sump into a somewhat covered area. The system volume is 1500g and the sump is 340g. But the covered sump isn't that efficient. I have a 120 tank above the sump called the skimmer tank. It's a 7' lowboy tank. And it gets enough light to grow chaeto well.

I also have 2 outdoor 180g frag tanks. And for years I have been growing chaeto in the overflow boxes of the frag tanks. They get abundant sunlight and constant flow of water from the linear overflow. It gets so densely packed that I have had clowns in the overflow that actually get pushed out of the water because the chaeto gets so dense and tight.

In the overflows the chaeto does seem to collect some aptasia.

During the summer months the two over flows produce a 5g bucket of chaeto every week.

After a disaster in March of 22 the frag tanks were empty of corals and one was empty of fish. The chaeto made it's way into the frag tanks - 96x36x15. Once spring time came one frag tank alone was producing enough chaeto to harvest a full size trashbag every week.

For a few months we had one frag tank dry for cleaning. When we filled it back up hair algae popped up. (All the tanks are attached as one 1500g system). When the hair algae showed up the growth of the chaeto increased. After 3 weeks of inattention I pulled from 1 of the frag tanks a pile of chaeto that covered 6' of concrete by 30" wide and was 30" tall.

While all the tanks are the same water circulating 24/7 the hair algae only appeared in the one tank that had been dry for a few months. We moved some chaeto into that tank (and some snails) and after about 3 weeks we were harvesting chaeto out of frag tank 2 and there isn't a trace of hair algae anywhere.

Dave B

That sounds like quite the system! If I were not so far away I'd see if I could talk you into letting me see it in person.

 

[mike werner]

A fuge is nothing more than a pod hotel! You need a fuge 10x the size of your display to have any effect on nutrients!Huge myth about fuges being effective in a home aquarium!!!

 

[SPS247]

Here’s my Macro Fuge Aterrarium. LOL!

 

[CoralB]

In the sump but thinking of switching to a scrubber :cool:

 

[RichReef]

I use an scrubber and 1/2 of a 75 gallon tank/fuge that grows GHA like mad. I pull the GHA out in handfuls every few months. I clean the scrubber weekly.

I recently started kalk and I am expecting something there to change. May be wrong but just being aware.

 

[GARRIGA]

Mine keeps getting overgrown with gha. No idea why. Basically I now grow gha on coarse mesh in my fuge and harvest it every week or two.

That's the path I'm testing. Seems senseless to struggle with more complicated life forms then that we are trying to avoid in the first place. Just make the Fuge a bigger competitor than the main and it should keep GHA out of it. Going to test pegging the light duration to Ph. Shut the lights off when it passes a certain point otherwise 24/7.

Do you have a pic of your coarse mesh setup you can share? Trying to solve that solution as right now in my test tank I'm just letting it grow on the back wall and rocks. Seeking the most surface area to grow GHA with the smallest foot print.

 

[Colodano]

On my 20 long I have a modified AC70, and the main chamber I grow Cheato, just have it lit with some Ikea LED puck lights on the lid. I have to trim it back by 2/3 of the volume every week or two, as it grows thick enough to back up water flow through the filter. I just wanted to try and change where my nutrient uptake was and keep GHA and any other nuisance algae out of the display, and it definitely works for me on this tank.

 

[floridareeflabs]

We grow lbs of it weekly. There are some secrets to growing but also its not that hard to figure out. :) Light (high powered full spectrum LED, one that can grow veggies-- hint hint. ), then comes nutrients. You will want to keep mag/calc at bay (never too high) and nitrates not too high but high enough for the chaeto to thrive. Phosphates are also important but again not too high and never zero. Lastly, Iron and ammonia are important too, dont let those deplete, yes zero ammonia is not as good as the test strips have you think it is. Iron is hard to test for so most just dose a little monthly to ensure there is some and/or do regular water changes.

Dont get hung up on trying to get the chaeto to spin or roll, it wants light and oxygen, so just flip it around once in a while. Again, we grow a lot of it and the last 10 years we have learned a lesson or two. Once you stablize your system and know what your system needs to have dosed weekly/monthly you will end up harvesting and throwing some away. :)

 

[GARRIGA]

We grow lbs of it weekly. There are some secrets to growing but also its not that hard to figure out. :) Light (high powered full spectrum LED, one that can grow veggies-- hint hint. ), then comes nutrients. You will want to keep mag/calc at bay (never too high) and nitrates not too high but high enough for the chaeto to thrive. Phosphates are also important but again not too high and never zero. Lastly, Iron and ammonia are important too, dont let those deplete, yes zero ammonia is not as good as the test strips have you think it is. Iron is hard to test for so most just dose a little monthly to ensure there is some and/or do regular water changes.

Dont get hung up on trying to get the chaeto to spin or roll, it wants light and oxygen, so just flip it around once in a while. Again, we grow a lot of it and the last 10 years we have learned a lesson or two. Once you stablize your system and know what your system needs to have dosed weekly/monthly you will end up harvesting and throwing some away. :)

Can the color of the chaeto indicate iron or other trace deficiencies?

 

[floridareeflabs]

Can the color of the chaeto indicate iron or other trace deficiencies?

Yes, absolutely. When chaeto is starving for something it changes either in color or texture. Too much light or too little light changes its curls too. Even smells or feels deflated and soggy if its not thriving per nutrients but also can become brittle and have white dead areas too. We watch chaeto in any tank and if its not growing and bright green (vs yellow or dark green) then we know something is off and test things.

 

[oceanrider]

I I have a nitrate problem so I set up a 55 gallon acrylic tank I no longer use and just plumbed it into the sump. I use the output of my UV to supply water to the refugium and it just drains back into the sump. The macro algea is like three different kinds and all grown together.. Should I be worried about the brown foamy stuff on the surface

Hi. Nice growth. I had a 65 gallon Long with a sump in back......long sump and I grew 4 types of macro.... Chaeto, Caulerpa, Sea cactus, and 3 mangroves. IN tank I grew Gracillaria.

I do suggest you remove the brown foam on the surface, as it not only interferes with CO2 and Oxygen exchange, but also , its decaying protein, amino acids and fatty acids film. I sometimes use a fine net to skim it out.

 

[oceanrider]

Now, I have a 30 gallon reef, with just an outside filter with some chaeto on it, (with a small light shining on top) , also I grew some in the tank on both outer corners........... and it serves as a refuge for not only pods and gammarus shrimp, but also I bred some peppermint shrimp and they hide in there.

Only 3 fish in tank.... so sofar so good