BB: cheato or no cheato?
- Thread starter Patio
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JMBoehling
Premium Member
I use it in my BB Refugium for exporting PO4 and Nitrates from my BB reef.. Just make sure you use a Filter Sock over the incoming water to the refugium holding your Chaeto, or it will get filled with Detritus. I have noticed since adding a sock a few weeks ago, my Chaeto is Detritus free and growing like mad again...
Serioussnaps
New member
mine filled with deitrus because i didnt put a filter sock around the drain tube coming from the main tank into the sump....it basicaly became a trap so i got rid of it with my BB philosophy
i run a GFO in a phosban reactor now so chaeto becomes pointless for me...i say you need some sort of phophate export and i find GFO's to be far superior to chaeto however you must be careful using a gfo as it has its drawbacks
i say ditch it....however it is good for pods and such
i run a GFO in a phosban reactor now so chaeto becomes pointless for me...i say you need some sort of phophate export and i find GFO's to be far superior to chaeto however you must be careful using a gfo as it has its drawbacks
i say ditch it....however it is good for pods and such
Sorry, I should have also mentioned...it (the 29G) has a 1" sand bed and about 40# of LR. The fuge has miracle mud and LR rubble about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom, and a built-in skimmer. Here's a pic of the tank (can't get one of the HOB at the moment...):
Edit: Two weeks ago, it was fully covered in hair algae. Since adding the chaeto, along with doing weekly 4-gallon water changes, getting a medium-sized sea hare (who hides during the day) and borrowing a friend's lawnmower blenny, it's dropped to what you see here. I've held off on a phosphate reactor, as of yet.
Edit: Two weeks ago, it was fully covered in hair algae. Since adding the chaeto, along with doing weekly 4-gallon water changes, getting a medium-sized sea hare (who hides during the day) and borrowing a friend's lawnmower blenny, it's dropped to what you see here. I've held off on a phosphate reactor, as of yet.
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Serioussnaps
New member
Id get the phosphate reactor by looking at your tank.... a DSB would be feasible as well for your nutrient issue. Also, I would keep the chaeto until then. Ever considered going BB...i would go DSB or BB and that would really help....add some flow by the way
Serioussnaps
New member
Id get the phosphate reactor by looking at your tank.... a DSB would be feasible as well for your nutrient issue. Also, I would keep the chaeto until then. Ever considered going BB...i would go DSB or BB and that would really help....add some flow by the way
I've got a PH with rotator at the above left, an empty Eheim 2213 with the outflow positioned there in the above middle (with the flare output), the output for the 'fuge, and another powerhead behind the rock at the bottom right, aimed along the back wall. I'll look into the reactor, though.
johnnstacy
Premium Member
I have a bb tank with chaeto in the fuge and have done so for years. Regardless of whether you use a filter sock or not, if you have pods, worms etc (and that would be a good thing) in your chaeto, you are going to have detritus. They have to eat too and they will creat waste. Just like if you were raising copepods, the bottom has to be cleaned periodically. Personally I use a brine shrimp net which works good. It is never totally clean but my PO4 and nitrates test zero so I am not worried about collecting a little detritus.
As a whole though, I think it is healthy to have chaeto or other macroalgae. I use it mainly to create a home for microfauna for the tank. Especially (but not in your case) if you have a bb main tank it is more important since there is no sandbed for them to grow in.
As a whole though, I think it is healthy to have chaeto or other macroalgae. I use it mainly to create a home for microfauna for the tank. Especially (but not in your case) if you have a bb main tank it is more important since there is no sandbed for them to grow in.
