I have my chaeto in a 60 gallon tank that I surge (Carlson Surge Device) every 4 minutes or so.. meaning it empties the tank and leaves the chaeto mostly out of the water for a few moments while the tank refills. At one end I have my tanks overflow causing massive turbulance and causes large amounts of air into the water column.. this in turn pushes alot of air bubbles up thru the chaeto as well. I have had this tank running for a while now and my cheato is growing like never before.. really really well. My question / idea is.. as the chaeto is getting blasted with tons of air the way I have it set up now.. was to place the chaeto up out of the water completely on egg crate and mist the heck out of it with nozzels. This would keep it soaking wet but would also give it more air than ever before (which is why I think its doing so well now) and also keeping all un-nessessary detritus from settling in the cheato... thoughts on doing this
Chaetomorpha algae grow ?
- Thread starter RonD
- Start date
I have intentions of having it above the water and misting it heavily from above but have now changed gears and am working on a 5 gallon salt bucket with a beckett injector blowing tons of air into it from the bottom and have a light directly over it. My current tank has loved the air and turbulance from the overflow blasting into it.. it has made the Chaeto dark green, very coarse and grows like mad. Perhaps supercharging the flow of both air and water may do more.. will keep you all posted.
Well I took a look at my current Chaeto tank and chose to incorporate the beckett foam head into it. Its doing what I wanted it to do.. so the proof will be in the growth. I took a golf ball size piece of chaeto out and weighed it.. 2 grams.. and tied it to the side of the tank and will check to see what I get from it over time. The tanks water is completely flushed out every 4 plus minutes with the CSD still in place as well, so it has tons of turn over and the air bubbles are boiling up thru the chaeto really well.. anyhoo, here is some pictures of how things look today.
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No, its a 60 gallon alright. and yes I do have a nice crop growing right now.. its taken me along time to get the hang of growing it and this hopefully will take it to the next level as I have a rather high bio load to deal with... every little bit helps
I have been doing some reading in one of Samala's posts about dosing CO2. has anyone tried this with chaeto? being as I have the beckett blasting air into it.. I might snag a line off of the Ca reactor and push a little thru the chaeto as well. thoughts anyone ?
I have been doing some reading in one of Samala's posts about dosing CO2. has anyone tried this with chaeto? being as I have the beckett blasting air into it.. I might snag a line off of the Ca reactor and push a little thru the chaeto as well. thoughts anyone ?
johnmaloney
In Memoriam
it can only help I would imagine, it seems you have it diffused afterward too...regulator for it anyway, and safeguards?
saltystix said it best I think. I would just be super nervous and watch the ph like a hawk for awhile...you know...just in case.
saltystix said it best I think. I would just be super nervous and watch the ph like a hawk for awhile...you know...just in case.
backtokeys
New member
I'm in the process of stocking my Fuge, just wondering about your lighting, looks like florescent reflectors from your pics, what bulbs do you use???
they are 26w 6400k 's with clip on reflectors from HD. And prior to setting up the CSD on the tank and having the turbulance from the overflow blowing tons of air into the water did I ever have such good growth from it. years of messing with differant senario's didn't get me anywhere near what I have gotten from the way its set up now.. which is why I am messing with it now .. must keep tweaking.. must keep.....
Discontiued testing.. Chaeto was breaking down and getting stringy in appearance.
Changed gears once more and am trying a controlled test to see how long it takes for 2 gallons of current tank water to become nitrate free. If you see this test as flawed... please pipe up and offer some advise.
Test started March 13.
I have added 3 grams of chaeto (towel dried) to a 2 gallon bucket of my currect tank water. Added in a 50 GPH power head and am lighting it 24/7. Nitrates are 30. Water is room temp.. approx 76 - 78
Retested today - Chaeto is now 4 grams and is visibly bigger. Nitrates are basically unchanged
Changed gears once more and am trying a controlled test to see how long it takes for 2 gallons of current tank water to become nitrate free. If you see this test as flawed... please pipe up and offer some advise.
Test started March 13.
I have added 3 grams of chaeto (towel dried) to a 2 gallon bucket of my currect tank water. Added in a 50 GPH power head and am lighting it 24/7. Nitrates are 30. Water is room temp.. approx 76 - 78
Retested today - Chaeto is now 4 grams and is visibly bigger. Nitrates are basically unchanged
Do you think that the growth you are seeing is the result of the wet/dry exposure or is it one of keeping it clean and maximum light exposure (air vs. water) etc?
From what I have experienced so far it appears that to much air causes the Algae to die off as I have just witnessed with the beckett blasting huge amounts of air thru it.. but I also have seen really good growth with large amounts of air bubbles from the over flow blasting thru it as well. So there has to be a happy medium somewhere in the mix.
The keeping it clean part is important as I have viewed the Chaeto getting clogged with detritus and it dying off quickly (I pull it apart to prevent that.).. so yes good flow thru it is a must. I don't let it ball up like others do. I prefer it to be a mat on the surface, about 3-4 inches thick with the bubbles and flow coming up thru it. This makes more sense to have it as a mat for light penetration as well.. if it were a dense ball, light could not pass thru it and it dies as well .. with it only being a few inches thick .. light will pass fairly easily. I made a diffuser for the over flow so it spreads the water move evenly over the entire area in the main chaeto tank. Lots of air being introduced and gentle flow so it doesnt blow the chaeto apart. Keep in mind the entire tank basically drains out every 5ish minutes and all the water is replaced
The keeping it clean part is important as I have viewed the Chaeto getting clogged with detritus and it dying off quickly (I pull it apart to prevent that.).. so yes good flow thru it is a must. I don't let it ball up like others do. I prefer it to be a mat on the surface, about 3-4 inches thick with the bubbles and flow coming up thru it. This makes more sense to have it as a mat for light penetration as well.. if it were a dense ball, light could not pass thru it and it dies as well .. with it only being a few inches thick .. light will pass fairly easily. I made a diffuser for the over flow so it spreads the water move evenly over the entire area in the main chaeto tank. Lots of air being introduced and gentle flow so it doesnt blow the chaeto apart. Keep in mind the entire tank basically drains out every 5ish minutes and all the water is replaced
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Ok thanks for the post.
For about 2 years I grew cheato very well in a 12 x 12 x 12 section of my sump. I did nothing special to it but during the last year it quit growing even when my fish load was higher than during the time it grew well.
I tried all the normal techniques: tumble a ball, thin horizontal mat, 24/7 vs. 18/6 lighting, iron dosing, numerous bulbs in the 6400K range both CFL twisted, flood and even LEDs, and it basically just did zero.
I have some new coming this week and I hope that it takes off again.
I plan on running 2 x 26 watt CFL 6400K bulbs in HD reflectors a few inches from the water's surface and having more of a mat probably 12 x 12 x 6 egg crate compartment with a PH blowing underneath to keep it clean.
Please keep reporting your experiment results.
For about 2 years I grew cheato very well in a 12 x 12 x 12 section of my sump. I did nothing special to it but during the last year it quit growing even when my fish load was higher than during the time it grew well.
I tried all the normal techniques: tumble a ball, thin horizontal mat, 24/7 vs. 18/6 lighting, iron dosing, numerous bulbs in the 6400K range both CFL twisted, flood and even LEDs, and it basically just did zero.
I have some new coming this week and I hope that it takes off again.
I plan on running 2 x 26 watt CFL 6400K bulbs in HD reflectors a few inches from the water's surface and having more of a mat probably 12 x 12 x 6 egg crate compartment with a PH blowing underneath to keep it clean.
Please keep reporting your experiment results.
I read about it and asked Randy some questions before I tried it.
Honestly it did not do anything for me but I believe that my cheato was basically hanging on by a thread and that Mr. Miyagi could not have brought it back.
It is very simple dosing and pretty cheap. I got the iron from walgreens and it was buy 1 get one free so for $6 US I have around 500 pills. You can also order it online too and I am pretty sure there are Canadian pill houses.
You take a pill and dissolve it in some RO/DI. I cannot remember the exact amount but I think I used a 100 ml beaker. Let is soak over night and pour off the liquid leaving the tablet powder behind and then dose.
I would think that with healthy cheato it should make a difference.
Perhaps after your first experiment run a second one but dose with iron and see if the nitrates drop any faster.
Honestly it did not do anything for me but I believe that my cheato was basically hanging on by a thread and that Mr. Miyagi could not have brought it back.
It is very simple dosing and pretty cheap. I got the iron from walgreens and it was buy 1 get one free so for $6 US I have around 500 pills. You can also order it online too and I am pretty sure there are Canadian pill houses.
You take a pill and dissolve it in some RO/DI. I cannot remember the exact amount but I think I used a 100 ml beaker. Let is soak over night and pour off the liquid leaving the tablet powder behind and then dose.
I would think that with healthy cheato it should make a difference.
Perhaps after your first experiment run a second one but dose with iron and see if the nitrates drop any faster.
johnmaloney
In Memoriam
Fergon is the brand from CVS/Walgreens
Day 5
no real change
Color was a bit lighter
Weight 4 grams towel dried
Nitrates about 30
Day 10
it has spread out, alot more growth wise and not as dense
Color is shades lighter than before and starting to turn white in certain areas
Weight is 14 grams towel dried.. so we have had an explosion in growth
Nitrates about 20
Re picture ..
Right side ball is the test bucket sample.
Left side ball is what the color is of the original colony in my sump is
no real change
Color was a bit lighter
Weight 4 grams towel dried
Nitrates about 30
Day 10
it has spread out, alot more growth wise and not as dense
Color is shades lighter than before and starting to turn white in certain areas
Weight is 14 grams towel dried.. so we have had an explosion in growth
Nitrates about 20
Re picture ..
Right side ball is the test bucket sample.
Left side ball is what the color is of the original colony in my sump is
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Day 15.
no real change
Color same as last time
Weight same 14 grams towel dried
Nitrates about 12
My guess is that the cheato has stalled in growth due to lack of other nutrients in the water. It is still consuming Nitrates and will continue to do so. I am finding it interesting that in the bucket, it has grown faster than in my fuge. It has the same amount of light and good flow from the power head. Wondering if the bucket itself being white inside is reflecting the light better, thus producing more growth all round ?
no real change
Color same as last time
Weight same 14 grams towel dried
Nitrates about 12
My guess is that the cheato has stalled in growth due to lack of other nutrients in the water. It is still consuming Nitrates and will continue to do so. I am finding it interesting that in the bucket, it has grown faster than in my fuge. It has the same amount of light and good flow from the power head. Wondering if the bucket itself being white inside is reflecting the light better, thus producing more growth all round ?
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