Refugium Grows Everything But Chaeto

[LJLKRL]

Double Amen Brother. I have the exact same issue.

I mean seriously fellas, I read tons of threads on chaeto-- and you get so many answering how to get it to grow with spending more money on special lighting- when you know the light you are using is proven to grow it, or they suggest getting it to grow by adding more supplements etc.. and then you tell all the stories of how you now have chaeto coming out the kazoo.. But all that stuff gets everything else growing as well it seems..and the chaeto may still not grow-- making a bad situation worse-- so in essence the underlying question is never really answered: At what point is your water chemistry such that chaeto is not worth having and better to work on the pods, algae issues some other way?? (n.b.. as a side note I read you could use rock in your fuge to house the pods instead of chaeto)

Now if some of you had zero nitrates and zero phosphates before you added chaeto, and are doing well with it, even just sustaining it with modest growth, then there is mystery there that is not yet solved. I do not buy the lighting thing, but perhaps somewhere you have something in your chemistry that is making it work.

I grow chaeto so my pod population has a place to live. I also have live rock in my sump.
I have zero algae in my display tank except for some film algae on the glass that I clean every 3 or 4 days. It gets just thick enough to bother me when I am looking at the tank in 3 or 4 days.
I do not know if the chaeto is keeping the algae out of my DT or not, but I like not having it in there.

 

[DamonG]

That's a good idea on checking your posts out first. Duh!! Thanks again for the input. I am going to give up on tumbling. It makes my pods dizzy, and makes me dizzy. My chaeto is growing like a beast, I will just pull it apart and spread it out across my chaeto area which is just a touch over 1 sqft. I am going to try to harvest once a week. I am getting hair algae mixed in with the chaeto, do you get this too??

Occasionally around the tub rim I get it, but it pretty much doesn't last.. It did more at first..

I don't use gfo anymore (at least I haven't in 7 months ),since i purchased the larger light.. And lol, I wouldn't even pull it apart.. Just let it grow on its own..

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[z3speed4me]

Well the red/purple light mentioned earlier on Amazon just got here... it is in the sump, but I have like on a few strands of chaeto I have attempted to gather up from any remaining remnants in the sump.

I'll see what happens over the next few days I guess. As far as rock, I still have rocks in the fuge section, just not TONS of it. Maybe 10 lbs.

 

[DamonG]

Double Amen Brother. I have the exact same issue.

I mean seriously fellas, I read tons of threads on chaeto-- and you get so many answering how to get it to grow with spending more money on special lighting- when you know the light you are using is proven to grow it, or they suggest getting it to grow by adding more supplements etc.. and then you tell all the stories of how you now have chaeto coming out the kazoo.. But all that stuff gets everything else growing as well it seems..and the chaeto may still not grow-- making a bad situation worse-- so in essence the underlying question is never really answered: At what point is your water chemistry such that chaeto is not worth having and better to work on the pods, algae issues some other way?? (n.b.. as a side note I read you could use rock in your fuge to house the pods instead of chaeto)

Now if some of you had zero nitrates and zero phosphates before you added chaeto, and are doing well with it, even just sustaining it with modest growth, then there is mystery there that is not yet solved. I do not buy the lighting thing, but perhaps somewhere you have something in your chemistry that is making it work.

I am one of those people.. Thus the larger lights to pull.. And I really don't think you guys that are commenting get the point.. Just like you like something, that's fine.. If you don't, that's fine too.. But don't knock us that do and can.. And yes, just like everthing else with this hobby.. And one doesn't have to "buy it".. Maybe you just can't do it. Maybe, just like you and the other person said, maybe you just don't get it.. And that's Ok..

But what your speaking of" that supposedly works", is pretty much accepted, and your saying that in actually doesn't work. It is a pretty widely know thing now that the traditional cheap approach isn't productive for nutrient export... Your complaint is that the display doesn't look well, and even the other person said he likes sps, and there should be more focus on that.. Well, it's not a secret anymore really, and there are different ways of getting low nutrients.. Growing plants fast is one.. Look at hydroponics, and there in lies the key.. It's just that people with aquariums are just getting our beginning to catch on.. You need light to power photosynthesis.. It's just that simple..

I guess I'm seeing a bit of I don't know envy or something.. And honestly, we use special and higher power lighting to grow coral, what is the difference?

If people accepted the stance and attitude you guys are taking, the hobby wouldn't be where it is today..

I, for one, find trying new things and expanding on what I know very fruitful and fun.. My latest project along with a buddy of mine is not only are we growing algea in our tubs, but with the same lighting, trying to grow out frags(sps and lps) and pieces.. Under the same lighting.. So it is not the end with just algea.. And there is always, always something to learn as long as a person isn't closed minded.. And I really have to say that we all know that no frag is going to grow under a low powered clip on light.. So, once again, it's being ahead of the game and trying new things..

I remember a few years ago when people said there was no way to grow up algea.. That the higher powered lights wouldn't work.. Well, maybe you guys are the remnants of that old regime, but a lot of people are looking for success and not failure and to the way to get things to actually work..

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[lousybreed]

Double Amen Brother. I have the exact same issue.

I mean seriously fellas, I read tons of threads on chaeto-- and you get so many answering how to get it to grow with spending more money on special lighting- when you know the light you are using is proven to grow it, or they suggest getting it to grow by adding more supplements etc.. and then you tell all the stories of how you now have chaeto coming out the kazoo.. But all that stuff gets everything else growing as well it seems..and the chaeto may still not grow-- making a bad situation worse-- so in essence the underlying question is never really answered: At what point is your water chemistry such that chaeto is not worth having and better to work on the pods, algae issues some other way?? (n.b.. as a side note I read you could use rock in your fuge to house the pods instead of chaeto)



Now if some of you had zero nitrates and zero phosphates before you added chaeto, and are doing well with it, even just sustaining it with modest growth, then there is mystery there that is not yet solved. I do not buy the lighting thing, but perhaps somewhere you have something in your chemistry that is making it work.

I agree that your comments seem almost to the point of That you hate macros. We don't spend tons of time growing chaeto. Maybe in the beginning to get it right. It's a nutrient export. A natural one at that. GFO has its own drawbacks. I know several very high end SPS growers that refuse to run GFO. The natural alternative to GFO is growing macros. Both of these guys have huge chaeto farms to keep phosphates at undetectable. And they feed hard. And their growth rates for SPS are off the charts. I would suggest to look more into this before you bash it. Mixed reefers are even shutting off their skimmers when their chaeto system is fully mature. The sponges and filter feeders explode with life.

 

[jandrew]

I am one of those people.. Thus the larger lights to pull.. And I really don't think you guys that are commenting get the point.. Just like you like something, that's fine.. If you don't, that's fine too.. But don't knock us that do and can.. And yes, just like everthing else with this hobby.. And one doesn't have to "buy it".. Maybe you just can't do it. Maybe, just like you and the other person said, maybe you just don't get it.. And that's Ok..

But what your speaking of" that supposedly works", is pretty much accepted, and your saying that in actually doesn't work. It is a pretty widely know thing now that the traditional cheap approach isn't productive for nutrient export... Your complaint is that the display doesn't look well, and even the other person said he likes sps, and there should be more focus on that.. Well, it's not a secret anymore really, and there are different ways of getting low nutrients.. Growing plants fast is one.. Look at hydroponics, and there in lies the key.. It's just that people with aquariums are just getting our beginning to catch on.. You need light to power photosynthesis.. It's just that simple..

I guess I'm seeing a bit of I don't know envy or something.. And honestly, we use special and higher power lighting to grow coral, what is the difference?

If people accepted the stance and attitude you guys are taking, the hobby wouldn't be where it is today..

I, for one, find trying new things and expanding on what I know very fruitful and fun.. My latest project along with a buddy of mine is not only are we growing algea in our tubs, but with the same lighting, trying to grow out frags(sps and lps) and pieces.. Under the same lighting.. So it is not the end with just algea.. And there is always, always something to learn as long as a person isn't closed minded.. And I really have to say that we all know that no frag is going to grow under a low powered clip on light.. So, once again, it's being ahead of the game and trying new things..

I remember a few years ago when people said there was no way to grow up algea.. That the higher powered lights wouldn't work.. Well, maybe you guys are the remnants of that old regime, but a lot of people are looking for success and not failure and to the way to get things to actually work..

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

In my case, I cloak no envy- I am admitting I could not get it to grow, and would like to.

Also I am not referring to how you chose to grow chaeto, or doubting your experience that a specific light worked for you-- but that your success in an already low nutrient enviroment will not necessarily de facto correspond to mine because I believe more variables are at play than just the lighting. My experience is I DID use a brand of LED lighting that according to a number of forum experts claimed to give them great success. Two rounds of chaeto died testing the lights at various heights. So I am choosing to look for solutions elsewhere. I am open to suggestions and I am sure the OP is as well.

Right now I think it is just that I do not have enough nutrient to support it, yet it seems hair algae in the fuge will grow just fine.

I think also you might be mixing my comments up with other posters arguing against chaeto per se which I am not doing at all. I never said anything about issues with my display. Its going just fine.

 

[jandrew]

I agree that your comments seem almost to the point of That you hate macros. We don't spend tons of time growing chaeto. Maybe in the beginning to get it right. It's a nutrient export. A natural one at that. GFO has its own drawbacks. I know several very high end SPS growers that refuse to run GFO. The natural alternative to GFO is growing macros. Both of these guys have huge chaeto farms to keep phosphates at undetectable. And they feed hard. And their growth rates for SPS are off the charts. I would suggest to look more into this before you bash it. Mixed reefers are even shutting off their skimmers when their chaeto system is fully mature. The sponges and filter feeders explode with life.

You quote me, but your commentary seems to deal with other posters. I am arguing for the sake of growing chaeto- clearly. Only that I do not think always going to lighting, as the issue, really works on the right side of the equation for the case of the OP and mine, i.e. in an already established near zero nitrates and phosphates enviroment at least. It could simply be the nutrients are too low or some other element. We need to be clear on that..

Now I could see in what you have said about the reduction of need for GFO, as possibly suggesting that by letting the chaeto take more of the phosphate load more success with it will be had. In short (my take away) let phosphate rise till chaeto starts growing. But it would confirm what we needed to know from the get-go. If you want to benefit from chaeto you need slightly more phosphates to get it going. Which is where I was with this issue, and looking to see if this has been confirmed by others experience.

 

[DamonG]

In my case, I cloak no envy- I am admitting I could not get it to grow, and would like to.

Also I am not referring to how you chose to grow chaeto, or doubting your experience that a specific light worked for you-- but that your success in an already low nutrient enviroment will not necessarily de facto correspond to mine because I believe more variables are at play than just the lighting. My experience is I DID use a brand of LED lighting that according to a number of forum experts claimed to give them great success. Two rounds of chaeto died testing the lights at various heights. So I am choosing to look for solutions elsewhere. I am open to suggestions and I am sure the OP is as well.

Right now I think it is just that I do not have enough nutrient to support it, yet it seems hair algae in the fuge will grow just fine.

I think also you might be mixing my comments up with other posters arguing against chaeto per se which I am not doing at all. I never said anything about issues with my display. Its going just fine.

You said a couple of things :forum experts, de facto, and lack of nutrient while hair algea grows.. Not to mention confusing you with others..

First, neither I or anyone else is a forum expert.. What is a forum expert, and usually, those that mention forum expert don't have (and don't get offended by this part) the expertise to know what is really going on... Do not follow forum experts, because usually, they have more knowledge than you, and knowledge is power, gain your own honestly.. I came to this by experience and most of all, frustration.. May I ask, what led light they suggested to you? And what exactly did the cheato do? Like color, texture, etc..

Next, de facto.. Simply, is there any defacto or golden standard to any of this? No.. And the presumption of that is a little aggressive.. I think a lot of what people with tanks do is over complicate with certain things.. I did it myself and still do.. Lol, I don't know about how defacto it is, but I know by experience from cheato that the spectrums are right in NM, and that while people can call hydroponics and gardening indoors under lights "Weed growing", if you apply its theoretical points to other forms of plants, you will shock yourself.. But.. You have to understand what your seeing.. And that requires time and patience.. And because you can grow a plant in near 0 tds water(which saltwater is no where near, and yes, depending on that plant also, it requires some power and knowledge also ), is the basis of my experiments.. Just the simple fact that your hair algea grows says you have enough nutrient.. No matter what a test kit says.. Theres something else missing in your equation and situation..

And with confusing you with others, I have a simple saying: you are judged by the company you keep.. In basically tailing the comments of someone as you did in a forum and elaborating on those comments, it's a pretty commonly accepted thing that you agree with and support them.. And the way you did it, and most do, that was how you phrased and wrote it, there was no confusion on my part in the context of what you wrote.. So maybe.. Nah.. Whatever.. You get the point..

In my case, I cloak no envy- I am admitting I could not get it to grow, and would like to.

Also I am not referring to how you chose to grow chaeto, or doubting your experience that a specific light worked for you-- but that your success in an already low nutrient enviroment will not necessarily de facto correspond to mine because I believe more variables are at play than just the lighting. My experience is I DID use a brand of LED lighting that according to a number of forum experts claimed to give them great success. Two rounds of chaeto died testing the lights at various heights. So I am choosing to look for solutions elsewhere. I am open to suggestions and I am sure the OP is as well.

Right now I think it is just that I do not have enough nutrient to support it, yet it seems hair algae in the fuge will grow just fine.

I think also you might be mixing my comments up with other posters arguing against chaeto per se which I am not doing at all. I never said anything about issues with my display. Its going just fine.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[z3speed4me]

So, HI.... OP here.

This is all definitely super informative, but is anyone that grows this stuff like the weeds in my backyard willing to send me a ball of their incredichaeto?? Maybe it's got some special sauce in its DNA

 

[aquamann183]

So, HI.... OP here.

This is all definitely super informative, but is anyone that grows this stuff like the weeds in my backyard willing to send me a ball of their incredichaeto?? Maybe it's got some special sauce in its DNA

Haha. Nice way to "calm" the conversation down, lol.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[LJLKRL]

Well the red/purple light mentioned earlier on Amazon just got here... it is in the sump, but I have like on a few strands of chaeto I have attempted to gather up from any remaining remnants in the sump.

I'll see what happens over the next few days I guess. As far as rock, I still have rocks in the fuge section, just not TONS of it. Maybe 10 lbs.

I bought a bag of pods like this from my LFS http://www.orafarm.com/product/pods-tisbe/ and took the little ball of chaeto out of it and put it in my sump.
It has been growing like crazy under that led light you bought.

 

[DamonG]

So, HI.... OP here.

This is all definitely super informative, but is anyone that grows this stuff like the weeds in my backyard willing to send me a ball of their incredichaeto?? Maybe it's got some special sauce in its DNA

I don't know about the DNA, lol but I'm more than willing to share.. Only problem is, shipping.. I tried one to shop some and it lost a lot of the animals in transit.. So maybe there is something I don't know..???

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[roli112]

So, HI.... OP here.

This is all definitely super informative, but is anyone that grows this stuff like the weeds in my backyard willing to send me a ball of their incredichaeto?? Maybe it's got some special sauce in its DNA

Where are you located?

 

[z3speed4me]

NJ, so unfortunately across the country

I've purchased from a few LFS before, just figured I could try some of the magic balls that grow for you guys! I "think" my system can do it, just wasn't trying proper lighting before.

The one setup that was posted earlier is nice, but really don't know if ANOTHER 300w is desired.

 

[d2mini]

300w is desired.

Of course it is.

Here I am culling mine down after a few weeks growth, when I was still running the HPS bulb before switching to the Mars Hydro 300.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJR4A7796G0&t



And here I am again with the new tank and the Mars... this one is goofy but illustrates the same point.
Unfortunately, not long after this, my water got stripped of nutrients and the refugium crashed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7nk_NUXx0s&t=7s

 

[DamonG]

Lol, or in my case, 600! [emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1]

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[z3speed4me]

IT JUST KEEPS COMING OUT!!! OK wow that's just insane, like a big green waterfall!

OK maybeee I'll rethink the light thing, but I really don't need that crazy much trying to grow in a fuge area that's only like 12x16x16

 

[d2mini]

IT JUST KEEPS COMING OUT!!! OK wow that's just insane, like a big green waterfall!

OK maybeee I'll rethink the light thing, but I really don't need that crazy much trying to grow in a fuge area that's only like 12x16x16

The display was 200g.
No filter socks, no gfo, no biopellets... just some Rox .08 Carbon.

 

[aquamann183]

The display was 200g.
No filter socks, no gfo, no biopellets... just some Rox .08 Carbon.

I just subscribed, you've helped me on and off in the past, never knew you had a channel, I'll be looking around on your YouTube channel! I have a question but I'll pm you so I don't hijack.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[Reef Dude]

I had the same issue multiple times in the past. I finally just let it go and all the other algaes overtook the refugium. Whatever algae grows in the fuge will house pods, so as long as you don't care about it looking pretty, I'd just let it go and let whatever algae is growing take over and be a home for the pods.