Is dying chaetomorpha bad for the tank

[Uncle Salty 05]

No one is saying copper effects chaeto, just that once it is used on sand and rock they cannot be put into a reef tank. (just a warning)
What type of lighting are you using on the chaeto?

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

How old is your bulb?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Copper is toxic to macroalgae, although I do not know how much cupramine it takes to kill Chaetomorpha. I agree that is a possible cause, however. This paper shows that even 0.1 ppm of ionic copper reduces the growth of one macroalgae studied:

http://oceandocs.org/bitstream/1834/787/1/mamboya_p185-192.pdf

 

[mskvarenina]

Thanks Randy, while the study was done on Padina boergesenii, the same principals and findings may apply also to chaetomorpha.

The chaeto is looking a little more grey today but the copper appears to completely removed (except for trace levels I suspect) according to my Seachem test kit.

So the last question I think, which is really just reasking the original question, is dying chaeto toxic to the tank? If it's just going to fall apart and be caught by the mechanical filter then I'm thinking I'll leave it there in case it comes back. If however it's truly toxic, then I'll certainly pull it out and try again in a few weeks.

Phosphates are down from 0.35 to 0.32 per the Hanna checker.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I doubt it is toxic (not nearly as toxic to inverts as the copper), but it is likely releasing nutrients.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

Dead and/or dying tissue in a closed system is never a good thing, if you suspect it is dying I would remove it.

 

[mskvarenina]

I pulled the remaining chaeto out this evening. Funny thing is I purchased a clump maybe a month ago from eBay. It wasn't growing so I purchased 1/2 lb from Liveaquaria. The Liveaquaria turned grey and died within a week of being in the water, the original eBay clump while still the same size is still nice and green and firm. I'm hoping with the better waterflow, removal of all the copper, high nitrates and good light, it starts to grow.