Problem with not trimming cheato?

[JoeMomma]

Any ideas?

I have not trimmed my cheato in months. I have the room for it to grow so I don't see the need to cut it away. Its about the size of 2 footballs now.

Is it good to leave it as is or do I need to cut it to get rid of dying parts?

 

[abulgin]

You definitely need to remove dying/bleached parts. Mine didn't grow until I decided to try thinning it out. It took off like mad and now fills my entire 30g fuge. I trim it by half once a week (and get $10 from my LFS) and it regrows the next week.

I also switched my lights. I was using cheap Wal-Mart lights from Lights of America. I was in Home Depot one day and saw 18W "saltwater aquarium bulbs", figured I'd give them a try. That was the magic touch.

 

[JoeMomma]

What if I don't see any bleaching parts? How can I tell if some of it is dying? Will it just crumble in my hands?

I doubt my HD has "saltwater aquarium bulbs". You are lucky!

 

[abulgin]

When it starts to die, the part that is dying will be a light green or yellow, compared to the very dark green of the live/healthy portion. When you trim it, make sure you do so by pulling it apart. Do not cut it.

Even if nothing is dying, it is still probably worthwhile to pull the Chaeto apart to reduce its density.

As to the saltwater bulbs, I was surprised to see them too. They were in the section with all the other flourescent bulbs. They come in a navy blue cardboard package that says "saltwater aquarium bulb" and make some claim that they are great for corals or something. They are 24" and 18W. They are T10. They don't list the bulb temperature, but they are way brighter than the grow lamps I was using and seem to have made a real difference.