How to get my chaetomorpha algae to grow better /work better

[bichirfreak]

It's in my sump I just have a one of the new fluval reef led lights it not bright green like when I first bought it now looks like a dark green any help would be appreciated

 

[Lynn52]

I have been having better luck with a cheap clamp on fixture with a 23 watt flourescent bulb.

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

I was having such hard time with cheato for such a long time, tried different lights, adding iron, adjusting flow, pretty much everything . i am currently using a 6500k flood lamp from homedepot. What did it for me was putting a bigger portion of cheato to start. start with double the cheato that you last started with and it should be able to pick up on its own and continue to grow. I think putting a small batch to start is just to small and weak to recover and regrow. worth a shot. Il be following to see how it goes.

 

[NanaReefer]

Dark green is good [emoji2]

 

[davidwinn101]

Yup dark green is good

 

[Harold Green]

If your tank is very nutrient poor the algae won't get enough nutrition to grow well. Tumbling the cheto will help the entire ball to get light and grow.

 

[NanaReefer]

Mine doesn't tumble at all. I think the tumbling is simply to keep it in a ball shape.

 

[dbl]

Interesting you say that NanaReefer, as I've wondered if I should make it tumble based on things I've read. Mine doesn't and is doing just fine. I guess I'll just go with the old adage...if it isn't broken...

 

[Damon]

I, along with a few others that I "know of"follow the hydroponic principal: light bombardment of plant life..

What I mean is actually very simple in theory, and for cheato, works ridiculously well.. You simply throw more light on a plant, and, as long add the plant is healthy, it will grow, consuming nutrients.. But.. You need a lot of light.. In our cases, we use low wattage(150 watt) high pressure sodium mini fixtures.. With this low wattage, you don't get heat, but what you do get, is extremely strong light(11k footcandles) in the red spectrum(below 4000 Kelvin)..

When you throw one of these on your cheato, it is going to grow like crazy. What a lot of people don't realize, and it came to me all of a sudden one day, ids that, our systems are fairly low nutrient. Just like any other plant life, a small amount of light is ok to keep them alive, but, if you really want to grow, throw some real light on it. Whether these days, a small sodium, or, a full horticultural led fixture(Amazon is full of them very cheap) of at least 100 watts.. 300 works best in my experience, but, you need a lot of light.. A lot! And it will literally scrub your tank of nutrients. All of us that use these lights, as far as I know, your phosphate stays extremely low, and your nitrate generally stays close to, if not at zero..

The one consequence though, is your going to be harvesting a ton more cheato. Every week to two, at the most, or your sump is going to be literally packed full.. But, throw some more light on it.. A real light just like we use to light our coral..


And no, it doesn't need to tumble at all as long as you have enough strong light. The light will penetrate through, keeping all of it green, thick and growing. Though, d2minis cheato "death star" ball is awesome!

You don't have to add any chemicals at all. Our salt mixes, along with the food we add has all the nutrient we need to grow plant crazily. Which, just like pellets, ats and other methods that less to ulns parameters, you can then begin feeding more to your fish and not ever have to worry about it..

It actually is amazingly simple..

 

[ReefMadScientist]

I've never tumbled chaeto and never had an issue growing it. I just use a small Wavepoint and leave the light on.

 

[NanaReefer]

I've been using the Reef Radiance DM-7e as my only fuge lamp. SPECIFICATIONS:

Power: 7 WATTS

Layout: 7 X 1 WATT LEDS:

1 RED LED @660 nm

3 ROYAL BLUE LED @ 450 nm

1 VIOLET LED @ 410 nm

2 WHITE LED @ 6500K Kelvin

I'm harvesting at least 2x softball sizes of Chaeto a month. Maybe bigger!

 

[bwrag]

i use a 150 watt hps i have thrown away 1 5 gallon bucketfull the last 2 weeks. mine dosnt tumble makes a thick brick about 6 inches thick.

 

[NeuroticAquatics]

I use a Home Depot clamp-on light as well. My chaeto grew slowly at first, but now grows pretty fast. Started off with a baseball size clump and probably harvest that a month now. No tumbling either.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I, along with a few others that I "know of"follow the hydroponic principal: light bombardment of plant life..

What I mean is actually very simple in theory, and for cheato, works ridiculously well.. You simply throw more light on a plant, and, as long add the plant is healthy, it will grow, consuming nutrients.. But.. You need a lot of light.. In our cases, we use low wattage(150 watt) high pressure sodium mini fixtures.. With this low wattage, you don't get heat, but what you do get, is extremely strong light(11k footcandles) in the red spectrum(below 4000 Kelvin)..

When you throw one of these on your cheato, it is going to grow like crazy. What a lot of people don't realize, and it came to me all of a sudden one day, ids that, our systems are fairly low nutrient. Just like any other plant life, a small amount of light is ok to keep them alive, but, if you really want to grow, throw some real light on it. Whether these days, a small sodium, or, a full horticultural led fixture(Amazon is full of them very cheap) of at least 100 watts.. 300 works best in my experience, but, you need a lot of light.. A lot! And it will literally scrub your tank of nutrients. All of us that use these lights, as far as I know, your phosphate stays extremely low, and your nitrate generally stays close to, if not at zero..

The one consequence though, is your going to be harvesting a ton more cheato. Every week to two, at the most, or your sump is going to be literally packed full.. But, throw some more light on it.. A real light just like we use to light our coral..


And no, it doesn't need to tumble at all as long as you have enough strong light. The light will penetrate through, keeping all of it green, thick and growing. Though, d2minis cheato "death star" ball is awesome!

You don't have to add any chemicals at all. Our salt mixes, along with the food we add has all the nutrient we need to grow plant crazily. Which, just like pellets, ats and other methods that less to ulns parameters, you can then begin feeding more to your fish and not ever have to worry about it..

It actually is amazingly simple..

FWIW, I have not found high light to be that much of an advantage for macroalgae growth in my system. I've had my macroalgae on many different light fixtures, up to 175 w mh, and I didn't really see much more growth at the high end then with much lower wattage fluorescents.

The big drawback to using higher light levels is electricity costs.

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

FWIW, I have not found high light to be that much of an advantage for macroalgae growth in my system. I've had my macroalgae on many different light fixtures, up to 175 w mh, and I didn't really see much more growth at the high end then with much lower wattage fluorescents.

The big drawback to using higher light levels is electricity costs.

Same here, dont really see a big difference from higher or lower lighting. There is a difference but not big enough to increase temps in my sump or increase electricity costs.

 

[Damon]

FWIW, I have not found high light to be that much of an advantage for macroalgae growth in my system. I've had my macroalgae on many different light fixtures, up to 175 w mh, and I didn't really see much more growth at the high end then with much lower wattage fluorescents.

The big drawback to using higher light levels is electricity costs.

That may indeed be the case(respectfully) in your system. However, the type of light and spectrum(halide versus sodium are very different and do very different things). For example, the 175 watt halide puts out a very different type of light than a 150 watt sodium(and much less actual light, because it's not the wattage, but the efficiency of the light source). The light intensity(candles) is not as high either with a halide(not nearly). This is coming from hydroponic experience dealing with both systems over time in both horticultural and aquatic environments..

There is a large misconception in the aquarium world versus the hydroponic/plant growth world. Aquariums are far, far behind as far as hid. I'm trying to remember, simply because I haven't dealt with halide for so long with plants(simply because of that big of a difference in power). And this topic is about plants(simply under water or/and above water) and their metabolic functions.

I am only going into detail with you Randy, simply because I think you can appreciate the nuances that what "seem to be small" can make a drastic effect. You really cannot compare a halide to a sodium in this regard. Because of their spectrum, in the past, you got very different growth patterns from the different sources(type of hid light bulb). You normally achieved much squatter(and what seemed slower) growth with halide than sodium, for the given wattage. Simply because of that blue, much in the same way, a 10k versus 10k would grow coral. In essence, it's not just the wattage, it's the "type"of light and it's penetrating power. Sodium is a much better source, as long as you can deal with the color.

Also, you really, honestly, and I am just this way, cannot equate the difference in electric cost. Example: I have experimented with his, halide, compact fluorescent(both the home depot types and also horticultural semi mogul based bulbs), fluorescent, and multiple led. This us simply because I guess I truly love plants, and I think of coral, as an underwater garden. A led fixture pulling 165 watts(both a full spectrum and a purpose built horticultural spectrum diode device), actually pull near the same amperage(the led actually pulled a little more in my tests and experiments). I'm talking about trying to get something to grow like a sodium(led fixture with optics are needed to get these results)

Honestly,I cannot count the number of bulbs, fixtures, etc, I have given and thrown away, just to find out this. And trust me, I have tried. But nothing grows like those sodiums. It's pretty amazing! And the typical things associated with hid, you don't have to worry about(supposedly heat, electricity, etc), simply because the wattage is so low(all figuratively speaking here).. I tried other alternatives, trust me, and nothing, and I mean nothing, grew like the sodiums(with the exception of heavily modified and fairly costly led fixtures). So I can understand your scepticism.. But, please, please, try it before you knock it..

And for you, this is something you will love.. I challenge you to try a small sodium(just a 79.00 on your mangroves(thank me later) tank. I love them myself, and on my previous tank, red(I think they were red), I was constantly getting leaves. In less than a year, all of the starts I had(i purchased 10 from Amazon that were bare rhyzomes), went from between 5 inches to approximately 15, full of leaves.. Try it! It's a small price to pay for the crazy growth..

And I no longer have the space, but try a cheato tank with a sodium and give it a month to two.. Not just any hid source, and it really needs to be a sodium. Not a massive heat kicker, just a small 150 watt unit. I strongly feel like, and am glad you in particular chimed in. You carry the clout that could open eyes. I just ask you to try it.. I think you will be pretty amazed yourself at what they really do, and the effect they have on everything in your system.

It really, I believe will make you think twice.. Just go in with an open mind. Don't dose the iron, or anything.. Just regular saltwater mix..

 

[Damon]

Same here, dont really see a big difference from higher or lower lighting. There is a difference but not big enough to increase temps in my sump or increase electricity costs.

Your using the wrong amount of light and probably light source then. My sump and tank stay the exact same temperature. Without a chiller, and even without a fan. I put a small fan on by sump to increase evaporation(get more kalk into the system, with all its inherent benefits). And my system "stays" between 77.9 and 78.4 in the summer time.. The whole goal is to increase positive effects without increasing negative effects. If a 150 watt sodium is increasing the heat in your sump, you either don't have adequate ventilation or air circulation, which can and will bring about a whole litany of other problems. Also, same thing with electricity costs, as it's a small bulb. HID yes, but not at all like even a 250 watt system whether it is halide or sodium. No where near the heat or electricity cost..

I, just like everyone else I have read and discussed with, that use these systems(i thought I was crazy and only discussed with a few people previously), we experience the same crazy results: cheato growth goes insane, pods grow insane, nutrient levels literally plummet, and ph stays pretty much constant.. All because of a little 60 to 70 dollar purchase..


And the thing is, with this hobby, I have been doing it long enough with the basic "theories", that at some point I decided "do what you know".. And I know plants.. Extremely well.. With a tiny bit of practical application, different, but related, principles(horticulture above and below the root zone, freshwater plants that have co2 infection, and saltwater systems, in which we're trying to honestly scrub co2 from the system), applied to similar objects(in this case plants that both take in co2, transpire and give off oxygen in their metabolic processes), yield fantastic results in both arenas!

It's a very, very complete solution or at least massive aid in aquarium nutrient control and overall health.. Much like an algea scrubber(similar principle), with the exception, that it's below the water column..

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

Your using the wrong amount of light and probably light source then. My sump and tank stay the exact same temperature. Without a chiller, and even without a fan. I put a small fan on by sump to increase evaporation(get more kalk into the system, with all its inherent benefits). And my system "stays" between 77.9 and 78.4 in the summer time.. The whole goal is to increase positive effects without increasing negative effects. If a 150 watt sodium is increasing the heat in your sump, you either don't have adequate ventilation or air circulation, which can and will bring about a whole litany of other problems. Also, same thing with electricity costs, as it's a small bulb. HID yes, but not at all like even a 250 watt system whether it is halide or sodium. No where near the heat or electricity cost..

I, just like everyone else I have read and discussed with, that use these systems(i thought I was crazy and only discussed with a few people previously), we experience the same crazy results: cheato growth goes insane, pods grow insane, nutrient levels literally plummet, and ph stays pretty much constant.. All because of a little 60 to 70 dollar purchase..


And the thing is, with this hobby, I have been doing it long enough with the basic "theories", that at some point I decided "do what you know".. And I know plants.. Extremely well.. With a tiny bit of practical application, different, but related, principles(horticulture above and below the root zone, freshwater plants that have co2 infection, and saltwater systems, in which we're trying to honestly scrub co2 from the system), applied to similar objects(in this case plants that both take in co2, transpire and give off oxygen in their metabolic processes), yield fantastic results in both arenas!

It's a very, very complete solution or at least massive aid in aquarium nutrient control and overall health.. Much like an algea scrubber(similar principle), with the exception, that it's below the water column..

Thanks for the detailed reply, I have never tried a sodium nor a MH. Il definatley try a sodium after your explanation. ive tried mostly, different types of Leds, Cfls, Power compacts and even some t5s all at lower and higher wattage and intensities to find a very small difference in growth. Ill i will definatley try out a sodium though. Which bulb or fixture you reccomend?

 

[Damon]

Thanks for the detailed reply, I have never tried a sodium nor a MH. Il definatley try a sodium after your explanation. ive tried mostly, different types of Leds, Cfls, Power compacts and even some t5s all at lower and higher wattage and intensities to find a very small difference in growth. Ill i will definatley try out a sodium though. Which bulb or fixture you reccomend?

Check Amazon. I run the sunlight supply fixture with the stock bulb. When it is time to change out the bulb,I will probably try the hortilux bulb in my fixture. Just for experimentation. But I still have a while before I need to do note that I think of it, probably a good 7 to 8 months left)..

Sun System 900490 HPS 150 watt Grow Light Fixture with Ultra Sun Lamp https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KM1EXXW/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_4weZvb1GE0NZ8

 

[TheEngineer]

I'd sooner try something like this LED grow light: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GNWK2XO?psc=1

The question in my mind is how much benefit do you get per watt? If I'm dumping 100W of electricity into one approach and 10W into another, I want at least 10x improvement in performance for the 100W system. Otherwise, I don't think it is worth it.