Next step to control hair algae

[willjeff]

I have had a hair algae battle for many months now, after thinking about it I think it started when I hooked a scwd to my return line. I'm thinking that this is restricting my flow quite a bit. Tomorrow I will disconnect the scwd and see if this helps.
Also I plan on starting a fuge in my sump. I have a 110w power compact laying around so that will be my light source. Planning on buying some chaeto. The sump will have to be divided in the middle chamber, thinking of egg crate to separate my skimmer and fuge area.
Will chaeto grow well without a sand bed or is one nescassary. Also is it a good idea to have live rock in the fuge area.
Sorry I don't have a digital camera, it probably sounds confusing. Any thoughts or suggestions would be good.

 

[willjeff]

I don't think that 110w of pc will be too much, or will it. It will be 6" above the water line.

 

[Samala]

Hmm, its a good question. Seems that lots of people are growing Chaeto under much much lower light, even just normal fluorescent strips. I remember a few posts back some people were having issues with it turning very light colors and almost white/brown - but never nailed it down to too much light. I like to experiment, and Chaeto is kinda cheap and easy enough to replace, so just give it a whirl and report back if it doesnt do well under that much light.

What you really might want to consider, especially in a fuge situation where the water will be forced through, is that there are lots of reports that Chaeto likes to collect detritus floating in the water, and it can get kinda dirty. You'll likely be harvesting quite a bit of it anyway but its something to consider, another management quirk.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure you dont need a sand bed, though it might help along a critter population in the fuge. I dont think more live rock in the sump/fuge would really help things much, there will be plenty of surface area to boost a pod population in just the Chaeto leaves/strands.

>Sarah

 

[willjeff]

Thanks samala for the info, what is involved with harvesting chaeto. Just pulling it out? And what is involved with keeping it clean.
Should I worry about chaeto going sexual?
The sump is fed by two 1" drains and then returned via mag9.5

 

[ridinfast03]

Chaeto is really cool and good for a fuge, I would try to harvest it entirely to a fuge instead of main tank, unless of course you like a green heaven!

 

[dbates]

i dont beleive that you have to worry about chaeto going sexual like caluerpa, it is a very safe and effective macro for fuges! many pods and critters take refuge in it, you can even shake them out to get them into the water column and into your display, (periodically, not too often or you would dessimate the population)