Chaeto

[nitro069]

I have some chaeto in my sump that is doing good (not growing to fast nor dying). should chaeto tumble in the sump or will it being stationary be ok. when i go to remove some and make it smaller do i just rip it apart or use scissors or does it matter.

 

[unibob]

Some tumble some don't, I just have my return from my reactor with gfo going into my fuge/liverock area where chaeto is and it grows at a decent rate.

I found mine grew the quickest when my hair algae died off.

 

[Duke]

if you ever want to try some calupera, stop by. i find it grows really fast for me, i have cheato too but its never really taken off.

 

[spyd]

If your chaeto is not growing fast, that is a GOOD thing! It feeds off nitrates. So, if you have a lot of growth, you have a lot of nitrates. It is recemmended that the chaeto tumbles, but it is by no means necessary. When removing some of the chaeto, just use scissors and snip away. Chaeto collects a ton of little critters so if you have any thought that there may be bristle worms, fire worms or anything of the sort, I would wear rubber gloves when doing it.

 

[TORX]

if you ever want to try some calupera, stop by. i find it grows really fast for me, i have cheato too but its never really taken off.

Same here. I just through away some caulerpa last night actually. But I am sure I will have tons again in no time. Cheato slowed to no growth once caulerpa was introduced.

 

[nitro069]

[quote author=Duke link=topic=4112.msg37075#msg37075 date=1358815060]
if you ever want to try some calupera, stop by. i find it grows really fast for me, i have cheato too but its never really taken off.

Same here. I just through away some caulerpa last night actually. But I am sure I will have tons again in no time. Cheato slowed to no growth once caulerpa was introduced.
[/quote]
Thhanks, I may take you guys up on that some time

Is caulerpa the stuff that goes asexual with no lights on and a pain to get rid  if you ever wnat to remove?

What's the benifits of caulerpa over chaeto?

 

[Duke]

[quote author=Torx link=topic=4112.msg37129#msg37129 date=1358857843]
[quote author=Duke link=topic=4112.msg37075#msg37075 date=1358815060]
if you ever want to try some calupera, stop by. i find it grows really fast for me, i have cheato too but its never really taken off.

Same here. I just through away some caulerpa last night actually. But I am sure I will have tons again in no time. Cheato slowed to no growth once caulerpa was introduced.
[/quote]
Thhanks, I may take you guys up on that some time

Is caulerpa the stuff that goes asexual with no lights on and a pain to get rid  if you ever wnat to remove?

What's the benifits of caulerpa over chaeto?
[/quote]


the kind i have is just leafy, it doesnt go asexual, i only have it in my sump.. my tangs love to eat it.. so i toss clumps in my display tank and its never taken hold in there. i think its pretty non evasive stuff. Not sure the benifits over cheato.. but i do know it grows like crazy for me where chaeto just sits dormant and i have no nitrates or phosphates in my tank, i cant see it hurting anything.. my sump is FULL of life, so it must be doing something. Thats how i look at it.. lol  ;D

 

[chuckm]

What kind of lighting do you have over the chaeto?
Some people add iron supplement to their tanks to encourage macro algae growth, i would not recommend this in your case.
Try not to re introduce the algae for tangs on a regular basis, your defeating the purpose really, the algae is their to take up nutrients, and when you feed it back to the tangs, you start the cycle again, not eliminating those nuitrients from your closed system.

 

[Duke]

What kind of lighting do you have over the chaeto?
Some people add iron supplement to their tanks to encourage macro algae growth, i would not recommend this in your case.
Try not to re introduce the algae for tangs on a regular basis, your defeating the purpose really, the algae is their to take up nutrients, and when you feed it back to the tangs, you start the cycle again, not eliminating those nuitrients from your closed system.

i have heard that theory also but if you think about the cycle of plant growth it doesn't really add up.. Plants are using the nutrients up to make growth along with light, so it is true they take in nutrients.. but personally i think those nutrients are spent during growth and thats eliminating them from the plant matter but im really not sure. thats just my thinking behind it all.

 

[chuckm]

You may be right......

 

[nitro069]

I use a 26w ge energy smart daylight bulb at 6500k with 1600 lumens in my sump. the chaeto seems to like it and i have coralline growing pretty good down there. I only run the bulb 12 hrs/day when my main lights are off. when my bulb blew it went without light for about 3 days and i could see the chaeto dying, it was clear and flimsy chaeto.