first time using cheato

gatorlover

gatorlover

New member
Hi Guys and gals.
I just bought some cheato from my lfs and added it to my sump. The fuge part if you will is in the center of the sump. I used a piece of eggcrate to block the cheato from going into the return pump area. I have a clip light with 6500k bulb which runs opposite of the display lights. The cheato just sits against the eggcrate due to the flow pattern of the sump. Should I try to place a power head in there to move it around some or maybe just flip it over every couple of days manually?
 
It will grow much better if it tumbles. If it's not allowed to tumble many areas won't get light and you'll also get dead spots. Most people just throw a small powerhead in there, works like a charm.

It also need some iron to grow properly, so if you're not dosing with something that has some in it I'd do so.
 
jerseygurl said:
It will grow much better if it tumbles. If it's not allowed to tumble many areas won't get light and you'll also get dead spots. Most people just throw a small powerhead in there, works like a charm.

It also need some iron to grow properly, so if you're not dosing with something that has some in it I'd do so.
Click to expand...


I do run gfo in a reactor....would that count as iron?:hmm3: Also getting ready to start using kalk. This will be my first attempt at it.
 
We've been using a new product from Seachem called Fuel, it doses trace elements including Iron, so far it's working pretty good.
 
I suppose your right Big Country74. Its a fowlr and my nitrates are running about 20-30 right now. I added this as an experiment to get experience with it and see if it drove down the nitrates. My phosphates of course right now are undetectable with the api test I have.

Humuhumunuku
Thanks for the article. Very interesting read. So it appears it does add ferric iron but, in a particulate form not soluble.***I also didn't realize it has a negative affect on the alk in the tank. I have struggled with this and have tried using a product my lfs sold me by Red Sea called I believe, coralline enhancer which raises the alk. Just ordered some kalk from brs which will be here today.
Only I'm still trying to wrap my head around whether I will need to use something else to get the alk levels up to say 8.5 to promote growth. It is my understanding that kalk is used to maintan the levels you currently have. Maybe I have that wrong.....

My goal is to get the tank to a state where I can start trying a few beginner corals.
The tank itself has been up and running for 2 yrs.


90 gal display
20 gal sump
reef octo skimmer
brs dual reactor w\gfo and carbon
about a total of 80lbs of LR between the sump and display
reefkeeper light controller
mag 9.5 return
4- sicce model 3 powerheads for flow.
brs ro/di 5 stage
oceaonic salt mix

recent test results
ph 7.9-8.1
sal 1.26
cal 520
alk 7
nitrates 20-30
phosphates undetectable
just got a mag test kit so need to test that.

Bio load is fairly small right now. And before you say it, some of the fish I have will be traded for reef safe fish as well.:twitch:

Dragon Wrasse
Niger Trigger
perc clown
blue damsel
misc inverts-herms, snails, conchs

Next big expense for me will be lights. I'm currently running a retro-fit kit of 2 96watt compacts. So only 192 watts of total lighting. Bulbs are about 2 months old.

Tank in general looks pretty good other than a little cyano that comes and goes.
Can't think of anything else and I realize that was long winded but, thought I'd share the info for insight.

Thanks everyone. I welcome any thoughts on anything I mentioned.
 
yeah I tried chaeto and could not get it to grow. my phophates like yourself, were undectable so I am assuming it had no fuel to grow. i replaced with it an algae scrubber (another cheap fun experiment hehe). but that's acquiring algae very very slow. i guess that's a good thing so I am definitely not complaining. my main problem is coralline. it grows very well in my tank (rocks, glass - it's growing on my sand in the corner of the tank for crying out loud)...I am considering putting rock frags in that corner and growing coralline and trading it maybe for people who are wanting it in their tank (just trying to find my trading niche I guess since I do not have any coral to frag yet! lol)..

look into LED for your lighting. I cannot say enough good things about it. :D

like yourself, I have nitrates at 20-30 which is what I am focusing on. I just started vodka dosing (another experiment! :D) 4 days ago. hoping that will bring down the nitrates.
 
Last edited:
BigCountry74 said:
yeah I tried chaeto and could not get it to grow. my phophates like yourself, were undectable so I am assuming it had no fuel to grow. i replaced with it an algae scrubber (another cheap fun experiment hehe). but that's acquiring algae very very slow. i guess that's a good thing. my main problem is coralline. it's growing on my sand in the corner of the tank for crying out loud...haha

I have nitrates at 20-30 which is what I am focusing on. I just started vodka dosing 4 days ago. hoping that will bring down the nitrates.
Click to expand...


Man! I wish I could get coralline to grow! Thats what I'm using as my gauge right now for growth since I'm fowlr. I have some, it just doesn't seem to spread very well.
The algae scrubber thing is very interesting. I've read some about them on here but, never really tried to figure out how to build one, let alone, intergrate it in my setup. I hear nothing but great results from those reviews that I have read.

Jerseygurl
I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the tip. The big thing with me is the cost of all these darn supplements!!! Hopefully, I can save money here and there with some of the different ideas on here.
 
the scrubber was pretty easy to build. 19 dollar waterfall pump I bought at Lowes, plumbed into a 6 dollar frame built out of 3/4 inch pvc pipe. cut some roughed up knitting screen (1 dollar) and zip tie it to the pvc frame. drill holes into the top pipe of the pvc frame so water trickles down onto the screen. shine the light on it like you do the chaeto. some people use 2 lights (1 on each side facing each other) but I am only using 1 for now to experiment. the whole thing sits vertically in the fuge etc
 
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