caulerpa vs. chaeto

[MAreefer]

caulperpa is more work but does it actualy suck up more nutrients? If so do you have any info to back it up?

Browsing through the forum and the top 2 macros that came up were chaeto and caulperpa but I couldnt find any info on wich one actualy sucked up more nutrients just stuff like caulperpa looks better but chaeto is easier to take care of ect.

 

[Chad Vossen]

i started out with a small handfull of chaeto, and equal amount of caulperpa which grew very nice and fast. well after alittle over 2 months, i have more chaeto than i know what to do with and the caulperpa is haveing a hard time surviving. it grows a nice leaf then it goes sexual shortly after.

im about to put a massive portion of chaeto on ebay. i simply have to much lol id say its better than caulperpa because it has outgrown it.

 

[Fishfreak218]

cheato is better than Caulerpa.. there is no fear of cheato going sexual... and i think it is really good at exporting nutrients

 

[CELACANTHr]

I have had better luck with caulerpa than with chaeto, JME

 

[reefnewbie54321]

anyone proven which actualy exports more?

I think chaeto, it grows faster and therefor exports more

 

[Fishfreak218]

even if caulerpa does do a better job at exporting i think that its prone-ness (is that a word??) to release those nutrients back into the water makes it alot worse then cheato...

 

[Plantbrain]

Duplication is very tough in hobbyists' tank to compare the rates.

You also need to take into accounts any denitrification/DBS variables.

Over all and this is justa relative figure, the Chaeto is about 1/4 faster.

Chaeto has more surface area and is able to tolerant a wider range of NO3 levels than Cauplera. Caulerpa does not tolerant low NO3 levels well and they starvation signalling upregulates spore production and it goes sexual, much like plants do when spring rains come and they pop up flowers.

If you add a little more KNO3, the Caulpera will be fine.
Adding KNO3 will also drive PO4 levels down FYI.

Limiting PO4 has few negative effects on weeds.

But overall, the Chaeto is a superior choice for it's wider effective range more so than the uptake rates, biomass needs to be standardized if you make comparisons, and actually patch clamping the cell membranes from the protoplast and measuring the flux in the concentrations across is one of the best ways to measure the relative uptake rates of various ions.

The other method is using N15 or the nutrient isoltope of choice and tracing how much is utilize by the plant with enriched N15 etc.
Requires a mass spect and some other not so cheap equipments and a lab tech that does not mind you using their mass spect with enriched higher levels of N15 which makes the natural measurement back ground level testing a pain if you go back and forth. I think they hate me :bum:


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[icyuod2]

i've had both the grape caulerpa and cheato in my aquariums for over a year. i've had my caulerpa go sexual once in that time (one strand)

my cheato is 3 times the size it was a year back (given away a few handfuls) my caulerpa has taken over all my sumps, most of my planted tank and i've given away grocery bags full of it ( at least 5 probably more)

im not says caulerpa is the better exporter, but in my case it has been. the growth rate alone leads me to believe its sucking out alot more nuteriants than the cheato. the caulerpa has out grown my cheato 10 fold, in all my systems.

i dont dose my tanks, just regular water changes.

 

[reefnewbie54321]

I think peopel dont like caulperpa becuase it goes sexual and it can easily starve but witha big fish load it does amazing although I still woulod coose chaeto over caulperpa. Chaeto is less work and I would say more efficient due to the fact that most peoples caulpera either dies of starvation, goes sexual, infests display, also has to run lights 24/7 wich is more electricity used.

Why do you think ecosystem uses caulperpa though?

 

[dalbrecht]

In my tank, the caulerpa racemosa out grows the chaeto by leaps and bounds. It also forms denser matts.

 

[taflaw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7182383#post7182383 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by armagedon48
i started out with a small handfull of chaeto, and equal amount of caulperpa which grew very nice and fast. well after alittle over 2 months, i have more chaeto than i know what to do with and the caulperpa is haveing a hard time surviving. it grows a nice leaf then it goes sexual shortly after.

im about to put a massive portion of chaeto on ebay. i simply have to much lol id say its better than caulperpa because it has outgrown it.

Email me if you are interested in selling some chaeto. Also, if you don't mind me asking, how do you get it to grow so well? I had a small handful of cheato from Florida that doesn't seem to grow in my sump under 80 watts of PC lighting (dual 6700K * 10k bulbs).