chaeto growing like weeds

[outy]

well im lucky in that i guess lol

it is gowing a more yellow green color and not as tight and curley

its been just a hair over a week and its doubled in size but a little more stringy and not near as bright green as the stuff i put in. the original stuff on the bottom is still bright green just the new growth doesnt look as nice.

im using 1 100W spotlight no idea on the kelvin its probably 8" above water level

im not sure i have a problem just curious about its growth

 

[jimmyray]

Mine is similar, the new growth is always brighter than the older stuff. I occassionally "fluff" up the ball and mix it around so the greener stuff gets some light too.

 

[graveyardworm]

100 watts seems like alot of energy wasted to grow cheato. The changing color could indicate a nutrient deficiency of some sort. Have you tested Nitrate and PO4 lately, also you may want to consider dosing iron.

 

[outy]

nitrates undetectable same for phos

 

[outy]

oh cant be too much light its only 1500 lumen,s

im ordering the 23w 1250 lumen light they should be here soon

 

[graveyardworm]

nitrates undetectable same for phos

This could very well be the reason for the loss of color.

 

[Ryanqk]

yeah chaeto needs at least some nitrate and phos to thrive doesnt it?
Ryan

 

[bigcdc]

I used to do hydroponics and I would definatly say that your plants are getting to much light and not enough nutrients, yellowing of the leave is a sign that your plants need more nitrogen

Chris

 

[outy]

you have to look at it this way, allthough trates and phos are undetectable i do feed my fish they eat, poop ect there are nutrients my skimmer does not get it all.

there also not getting to much light 1500 lumins is almost nothing, another fact that we dont even know the kelvin

the fact that the growth rate would have stunned you the first week and its still growing at a good clip , says volumes.

the cheato came from a sps tank so the water was cleaner then mine with much stronger lighting in his fuge.

ill study somemore and ill talk to the guy i got it from. im betting that it has to do with the low light intensity as well as the kelvin

oh ya im running 14 hours, opposite display tank lighting.

i also messured and the light was 12"above the water as well the cheato was 5" deep . but i did lower it to 6" and the cheato has hit the surface already lol so from 17" to 6" but that hasnt givin me any greener growth.

 

[outy]

[bugs bunney] full of myself wasnt I [yesterday was a busy day with a new baby girl 8lb 9 oz]

the chaeto has actually greened up but not the dark green i would like to see. now you can see the small dark green center with green going everywhere. i think it was the very rapid growth that made it light and stringy [not curly enough] with my weak wrong colored light.

but then again what do i know,,, when it comes to macro im a 3 on a 1- 10

if you need pointers on HA im your man a total 10 !