Can not grow chaeto

kenc87

kenc87

New member
So I'm getting a little frustrated with macro algae. I keep putting some chaeto in my refugium and it keeps on dying. I have nitrates so it should grow but I just can't seem to get it to do anything. Any ideas? I'm running a cfl bulb if it matters (can't remember the exact specs as I'm at work)
 
Don't feel bad. I've tried every light bulb known to man without luck. Just gave up and tossed it. The only place it did grow was in the DT.
 
Lol ya well I want to improve my nutrient transport. I asked my girlfriend to check the bulb and it's a 2700k 23 watt cfl. Should I try something else?
 
What about phosphates? Chaeto needs some of that too. I couldn't keep chaeto alive while I was running GFO because it was pulling all the phosphates out of the water.
 
i had the same problem . i was running an 18 watt 5k cfl. i switched about a month ago to an 18 watt(90 watt equivalent) par 38 5k led spotlight from home depot. my cheato came back from nothing to soccer ball sized. i have already trimmed it once. little pricey($37), but i love the results
 
I'll have to look into a led bulb but I need to do something. I don't run gfo so I know I have some phosphates.
 
How old is your tank? If it's new, there may not be enough nutrients to support the chaeto. It took me 9 months to make it work.
 
I got at 29w 4500k LED par 38 bulb from lowes for $30, works great.

Cheato is easy just keep it spinning and It will really take off
 
Used to have a 13w (actual, not equivalent) 5000K, bumped up to a 2700K 23w and the chaeto really took off. Before that the only thing I could grow was cyano on the chaeto.
 
how is this a bad thing?

if you are trying to keep SPS then not being able to grow algae is a great thing. if you are trying to keep a mixed reef, then there is not enough inorganic phosphates in the water column to support the macro.

nitrates can be caused by many issues, very seldom is it a real problem though. nitrates being a problem is back from the days before being able to test phosphates in the 0.001ppm range. nitrates were blamed for poor water quality when in fact it was the phosphates. nitrates are just a heck of a lot easier to test for.

G~
 
Well looks like I'm going to be trying out a couple different bulbs to see if one maybe works. To answer how old this tank is its about 6 months but was upgraded to from a 1.5 year old tank.
 
mikeyVR4 said:
Not talking about bulbs..talking about chaeto. Use other things such as LR. My LFS doesn't use chaeto and I do not use it and have been going quite well so far.
Click to expand...

Chaetomorpha is the easiest, cleanest most natural way to remove nutrients from a marine aquarium.
 
You can not harvest the growth from live rock. Live rock will only support so much bacteria and that quantity diminishes over time as the pourosity of the rock fills with debris. Also bacteria grows and dies thus releasing its bound neutrients back into the system. Cheato grows and you remove the extra growth. Physically removing the bound neutrients from the system. Not trapping them for later release into the system.
 
mikeyVR4 said:
Not talking about bulbs..talking about chaeto. Use other things such as LR. My LFS doesn't use chaeto and I do not use it and have been going quite well so far.
Click to expand...

Welcome to RC there is a lot to learn here.

First lesson. Don't trust the LFS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Can’t keep overflow box balanced
Replies
2
Views
177
Cruzersmith
C
R
some random questions
Replies
1
Views
235
SantaMonica
S
S
Nutrient Export
Replies
0
Views
2K
SantaMonica
S
E
What's Old is New Again
Replies
2
Views
495
Uncle99
Uncle99
Guygettnby
If not for bad luck...
2
Replies
30
Views
7K
leebca
L
Back
Top