Is my cheato dying

[R.W.]

i have had some cheato in my fuge for the past 2 months. it has doubled in size but the colour to me seems off. It is green with brown spots all over it. It has been like this since i can remember. It looks like a zebra with all the stripes.
I am wondering if this is a normal colour for it?
also what would be better?
1. fuge light on 24/7 (which is what i have been doing)?
2. fuge light on opposite to my tank, so for 16hrs?

 

[HammerDude33]

i say opposite of the tank...12 hours on 12 off..like a regular day schedule in the ocean.

 

[HammerDude33]

btw..those "zebra" brown spots are not from leaving the light on too long.
unfortunately, i dont know what it is from. are you sure it's not cyano or something getting a foothold on the chaeto?

 

[Aquarist007]

Re: Is my cheato dying

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11916285#post11916285 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefdavaj16
i have had some cheato in my fuge for the past 2 months. it has doubled in size but the colour to me seems off. It is green with brown spots all over it. It has been like this since i can remember. It looks like a zebra with all the stripes.
I am wondering if this is a normal colour for it?
also what would be better?
1. fuge light on 24/7 (which is what i have been doing)?
2. fuge light on opposite to my tank, so for 16hrs?

its time to go back to 16 hours a day. I would also turn the lights off for 48 hours and crank up the flow through there for 24 hours

Have you been rotating the chaeto ball. As grows the ball gets denser and denser so the bottom areas don't as much light

When I kept the lights on 24/7 for two months I started getting a build up of corraline on the surface chaeto and some cyano

What I did above cured that. You have probably found like I did that you will have enough chaeto in there to last a life time

 

[Aquarist007]

--with rotating the chaeto ball I always harvest the cheato from the top before I rotate it to the bottom. If it is cyano like mine gets from time to time then it is because of lack of flow and a whopping pile of phosphates being collected in the chaeto because of its density

nice cheato:

chaeto needing to be rotated and the flow increased:

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11916396#post11916396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HammerDude33
btw..those "zebra" brown spots are not from leaving the light on too long.
unfortunately, i dont know what it is from. are you sure it's not cyano or something getting a foothold on the chaeto?

if it is cyano--and i am sure you have called it right--- you should be able to skimm it off with your hands and when you pick up a handle it will look zebra striped

 

[HammerDude33]

ahh..from lack of light under the cyano?

 

[R.W.]

the cheato ball tumbles a lot in my tank, ill post a video and some pictures to show you what my cheato looks like.

 

[R.W.]

ok here is some pictures of it. sorry for the quality.. camera phone....

This is a little under 2 months ago.

this is the present size.

If you look closely you can see the discolourations within the strand.

Here is a video of the tumbling action.

 

[ihopss]

Do you have any phosphate or nitrate in the water(tank).If no that could be your prob.

 

[demonsp]

Whats the water source and the readings?

 

[R.W.]

the water source is from my tank, which i use ro/di water. The readings are all zero. i am using a api testing kit for salt water.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11916758#post11916758 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefdavaj16
ok here is some pictures of it. sorry for the quality.. camera phone....

This is a little under 2 months ago.

this is the present size.

If you look closely you can see the discolourations within the strand.

Here is a video of the tumbling action.

that's defintely not cyano. It just could be some old chaeto well on the way out of its life cycle.
Since you don't have that much chaeto yet you are not going to run into problems with it yet as it gets denser
IMO I would leave it be for a while--it it turns all brown then you need to harvest it

I would continue to keep the light on it 24/7 and get it growing faster.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11916870#post11916870 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ihopss
Do you have any phosphate or nitrate in the water(tank).If no that could be your prob.

one of the reason for having the chaeto is for it to uptake nitrates and phosphates. when it does it doesn't change colour like that pictured--rather it turns very dark green and healthy lookiing due to photosynthesis.
Granted phosphate will cause browning of corals if this is what you are referring to

 

[Aquarist007]

oops bad post I'll try again since I can't delete it

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11916758#post11916758 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefdavaj16
ok here is some pictures of it. sorry for the quality.. camera phone....

This is a little under 2 months ago.

this is the present size.

If you look closely you can see the discolourations within the strand.

Here is a video of the tumbling action.

as a suggestion I would increase your sand bed to 6-7 inches and and some reef rubble. this will allow for a greater variety of inverts and good bacteria to be produced who live in those areas

 

[R.W.]

i am going to take that sand out, i was slowly doing it hah. I prefer a BB fuge. its much easier to clean.

 

[R.W.]

another question i had was

my cheato looses a lot of strands. Is it suposed to be so brittle and not clump together because i get a lot that goes through my eggcrate and up into the display.

 

[demonsp]

I used a 4 inch mineral mud base with a 3 inch gravel with cheap home depot light fixture left on 24/7 and it grows like crazy.
I think you may need more flow ,atleast an exchange of 100 gallons per hour. Also type of bulb used.

 

[pikachusalad]

Any chance you can ditch that piddly little clump and get a nice new green one (see Capn H's pictures above)? (Not trying to make fun..just what I would do).

I keep my lights on 24/7. I have to trim (and throw out considerably more than you have pictured)... I dunno...maybe monthly?

Next time you drive to Minneapolis, bring me a couple cases of Molson Ice and I'll give you a couple big bunches...

Also...what lightbulb are you using?