Chaeto algae

[groho]

I’ve recently had a spike in the phosphate level in my tank(92 gallon). I’ve tried more frequent water changes, which lowers the level for a few days, but then it creeps back up. I’ve tried putting GFO in a mesh bag in the tank. That’s not working either. I’ve been researching chaeto algae and everything I read on it says it works good. I’m running a sump and was wondering if I could put the chaeto in my sump with a light? Basically turning my sump into a sump/refugium. Are there any problems with this?

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

What do you have for a tank and sump?

 

[JBKReef]

I"m surprised to see that GFO is not working. What are you feeding/dosing? How much Phosphate are you observing? How big are your water changes? Have you tested your source water?

 

[JBKReef]

I"m surprised to see that GFO is not working. What are you feeding/dosing? How much Phosphate are you observing? How big are your water changes? Have you tested your source water?

 

[SPR1968]

The GFO can’t not work if used and changed correctly but i think it’s effectiveness is considerably reduced in a bag, rather than using it in a dedicated reactor which is the best way to use it. I think having it in a bag is your problem.

You could try Chaeto as well which is another option, but personally I would get a reactor for the GFO.

There are many ways of doing things, I’ve looked at Chaeto etc., and for me it just seemed more potential maintenance with changing it etc. Once GFO has reduced phosphate it only needs changing every 4 weeks or so

 

[GoVols]

The GFO can’t not work if used and changed correctly but i think it’s effectiveness is considerably reduced in a bag, rather than using it in a dedicated reactor which is the best way to use it. I think having it in a bag is your problem.

You could try Chaeto as well which is another option, but personally I would get a reactor for the GFO.

There are many ways of doing things, I’ve looked at Chaeto etc., and for me it just seemed more potential maintenance with changing it etc. Once GFO has reduced phosphate it only needs changing every 4 weeks or so

(lol)
Love me some rowaphos simmering in it own reactor...

 

[Orm Embar]

I have been running a Red Sea Reefer 170 for about a year and a half using the main sump chamber for chaeto. I bought some $2 black plastic canvas mesh (for sewing) from Michael's arts & crafts to keep the chaeto from going through the bubble trap to the return chamber, and I use a 36w PAR38 grow bulb on a gooseneck which runs opposite my tank light for refugium lighting. No skimmer, no filter sock, no GFO, possible trace carbon dosing (see below). It works very well at maintaining low nitrates and phosphates, even with some deliberate overfeeding. It's also very convenient for lazy reefers such as myself, as I literally haven't harvested it for months (I really should, to be honest, but it's forgiving). Lastly, it's as cheap a method of filtration as I can think of - $10 of chaeto, a $30 bulb, a $10 timer, and a bulb holder ($10-50). The cheapest solution I saw was SBReef's refugium light, which was $50 for the bulb and gooseneck, which struck me as a really good deal. I use https://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Lights-Hydroponics-Organic-Applicable/dp/B01HPIPM70.

I do use Tropic Marin one-part solution which is calcium formate, so there may be a bit of carbon dosing, but that's relatively recent and as I haven't seen any changes in the tank I suspect that it's not really carbon dosing per se (at a high enough level to be significant comparatively). I don't have hard data to back up my assertion, though.

In short, I am a huge fan of algal filtration for overall nutrient control (refugium/reactor/scrubber; I've only used refugia). I have mixed feelings about adding a small skimmer for gas exchange; I may add one and just not collect any skimmate.