Chaeto care

[max1221$]

So , I have added I chaeto to my Refugium with some Fiji mud and some small pieces of live rock get them from my DT and add 36 watt led and small wave maker , so my questiones are that ,
Is adding a live rock was good or bad idea ??
The 36 watt light is enough or need more or less??
Can I run the lights for 24/7 if not why ??
What are the things to keep the chaeto happy and healthy??
What are the things to avoid ??
Medium flow should be ok or it’s need high flow ??

Please share your experience with chaeto and how I can keep it happy
Thanks in advance

 

[ReefEco]

Chaeto is pretty forgiving - though it will need some nutrients to "grow", that being said it can probably limp along on very little. The 36 watts will sustain it, but you might need more wattage if you really want it to take off and be used for nutrient export. Adding live rock to the fuge is irrelevant when it comes to keeping the chaeto alive. You "can" light the fuge and chaeto 24/7, but like all things in your tank, their biological function is designed around normal day/night cycles, so it will be abnormal for them (the same reason you don't like your corals 24/7) - especially if you are keeping pods and other inverts in the fuge. 18/6 is perhaps a good balance of utilizing the chaeto as much as possible, while still giving it and other bugs in the fuge some night. Medium flow is probably fine, though not sure what that means for you or your fuge... most fuge flow is on the lower end, so detritus settles out and is processed there. That is one side of the spectrum - others go bare bottom and put a lot of flow through specifically to keep particulates suspended and able to be skimmed out or removed with mechanical filtration. So, your choice. If you can get your ball of chaeto to turn in the flow, which lights it more evenly, that is ideal - but a bonus and not really necessary.

 

[max1221$]

Chaeto is pretty forgiving - though it will need some nutrients to "grow", that being said it can probably limp along on very little. The 36 watts will sustain it, but you might need more wattage if you really want it to take off and be used for nutrient export. Adding live rock to the fuge is irrelevant when it comes to keeping the chaeto alive. You "can" light the fuge and chaeto 24/7, but like all things in your tank, their biological function is designed around normal day/night cycles, so it will be abnormal for them (the same reason you don't like your corals 24/7) - especially if you are keeping pods and other inverts in the fuge. 18/6 is perhaps a good balance of utilizing the chaeto as much as possible, while still giving it and other bugs in the fuge some night. Medium flow is probably fine, though not sure what that means for you or your fuge... most fuge flow is on the lower end, so detritus settles out and is processed there. That is one side of the spectrum - others go bare bottom and put a lot of flow through specifically to keep particulates suspended and able to be skimmed out or removed with mechanical filtration. So, your choice. If you can get your ball of chaeto to turn in the flow, which lights it more evenly, that is ideal - but a bonus and not really necessary.

Thanks alots for the info
So is it good to start with36 watt then when it’s start growing I can pick it up to 90 watt ??

 

[pdisner]

So I have a related question. Ive got a 3 -4yo 140+40 sump. Ive never had good luck growing chaeto period, no matter what ive tried. In my previous tank, I had plenty of it and then some. I only used a cheap compact fluorescent...40wat I think, Nothing special. So is there a trick other than the obvious? My phosphates, nitrates/nitrites always test zero with the API kits. So is it a LACK of nutrients?

 

[max1221$]

So I have a related question. Ive got a 3 -4yo 140+40 sump. Ive never had good luck growing chaeto period, no matter what ive tried. In my previous tank, I had plenty of it and then some. I only used a cheap compact fluorescent...40wat I think, Nothing special. So is there a trick other than the obvious? My phosphates, nitrates/nitrites always test zero with the API kits. So is it a LACK of nutrients?

Well , I think the API test kits is not that accurate I had the same problem before
A always have my nitrates at zero then when I switch to Red Sea test kit my nitrate was 20 ppm .

In the other hand the chaeto need nutrin to grow I don’t think it will grow without them

Last I have read before one guy had the same problem tell he use iron ( GFO ) then it’s start growing ( the chaeto need iron to grow next to nutrins)

Good luck with that and hope that will help you

 

[Lynchdude]

Well , I think the API test kits is not that accurate I had the same problem before
A always have my nitrates at zero then when I switch to Red Sea test kit my nitrate was 20 ppm .

In the other hand the chaeto need nutrin to grow I don’t think it will grow without them

Last I have read before one guy had the same problem tell he use iron ( GFO ) then it’s start growing ( the chaeto need iron to grow next to nutrins)

Good luck with that and hope that will help you

The iron is a huge thing people miss. You really can’t test for it and we are told if you can’t test for it don’t dose it. Well I’m suppose to do regular water changes also which I don’t. Long story short my nutrients were on the rise and my chaeto refused to grow did. Had plenty of nitrates testing around 10-15 and phosphates creeped up past .6 bulb was a 40 watt Phillips led 6000k flood light that use to grow the chaeto amazingly. Replaced bulb no change. Did research and happened along an article about iron for macro algae. used some Kent Marine Iron and Maganese and low and behold wishing 3-5 days the chaeto was brighter and growing and in about 3-4 weeks my nitrates were down to .5 and phosphates around .08. I use the Kent product weekly now at about 1/2 recommended dose with a kessil h150 now and I harvest every two weeks now. Flow is not important as long as it has enough to keep other algae’s from growing on the chaeto. I do the bare bottom high flow but that’s just me.

 

[max1221$]

The iron is a huge thing people miss. You really can’t test for it and we are told if you can’t test for it don’t dose it. Well I’m suppose to do regular water changes also which I don’t. Long story short my nutrients were on the rise and my chaeto refused to grow did. Had plenty of nitrates testing around 10-15 and phosphates creeped up past .6 bulb was a 40 watt Phillips led 6000k flood light that use to grow the chaeto amazingly. Replaced bulb no change. Did research and happened along an article about iron for macro algae. used some Kent Marine Iron and Maganese and low and behold wishing 3-5 days the chaeto was brighter and growing and in about 3-4 weeks my nitrates were down to .5 and phosphates around .08. I use the Kent product weekly now at about 1/2 recommended dose with a kessil h150 now and I harvest every two weeks now. Flow is not important as long as it has enough to keep other algae’s from growing on the chaeto. I do the bare bottom high flow but that’s just me.

Well do you think the iron which is come form the GFO reactor is not enough , so do I need to start dose by using Kent product ???

 

[Lynchdude]

Well do you think the iron which is come form the GFO reactor is not enough , so do I need to start dose by using Kent product ???

GFO is ferric oxide which it’s chemical formula is Fe2O3 or Iron(III)oxide. The type of iron is highly stable and does not readily break down in water into ions unless exposed to UV radiation. Kent iron uses Ferrous oxide which is Fe3O2 or iron(II)oxide which readily ionizes in water. Do you mix your own water? What brand of salt do you use? How often do you do water changes? How new is the tank? What are your nitrate and phosphate levels? Dosing may or may not be needed every system is different. Iron just happens to be overlooked and GFO does not provide usable iron to a system in any meaningful amount If at all. So if your ball doesn’t start to grow try a small dose of Kent iron weekly for a few weeks and test your data to see if it helps. There is a lot of science in the hobby but also a lot of it just works and we can’t prove the data without Equipment only labs have and we hypothesize. If you’re worried of over dosing maybe try switching to the Triton method which has macro growth additives and also do their ICP testing every 3-6 months.

 

[pdisner]

Well , I think the API test kits is not that accurate I had the same problem before
A always have my nitrates at zero then when I switch to Red Sea test kit my nitrate was 20 ppm .

In the other hand the chaeto need nutrin to grow I don’t think it will grow without them

Last I have read before one guy had the same problem tell he use iron ( GFO ) then it’s start growing ( the chaeto need iron to grow next to nutrins)

Good luck with that and hope that will help you

Interesting....I never thought about the GFO adding iron. Makes sense.

 

[pdisner]

I have used Kent salt mix for the last year or so. I mixed that with water changes using refined sea water from LFS. I have been using the rd sea color system for last 4mos, one of the elements is iron. My Tank is about 4 years old. I have live rock with a good mix of coral and fish. I keep a close eye on water quality. I log my results. I’ve always tested zero for ammonia, nitrate/nitrite levels always zero. I do a 10 percent every 1-2 weeks.

 

[max1221$]

GFO is ferric oxide which it’s chemical formula is Fe2O3 or Iron(III)oxide. The type of iron is highly stable and does not readily break down in water into ions unless exposed to UV radiation. Kent iron uses Ferrous oxide which is Fe3O2 or iron(II)oxide which readily ionizes in water. Do you mix your own water? What brand of salt do you use? How often do you do water changes? How new is the tank? What are your nitrate and phosphate levels? Dosing may or may not be needed every system is different. Iron just happens to be overlooked and GFO does not provide usable iron to a system in any meaningful amount If at all. So if your ball doesn’t start to grow try a small dose of Kent iron weekly for a few weeks and test your data to see if it helps. There is a lot of science in the hobby but also a lot of it just works and we can’t prove the data without Equipment only labs have and we hypothesize. If you’re worried of over dosing maybe try switching to the Triton method which has macro growth additives and also do their ICP testing every 3-6 months.

That’s such an awesome info
Yes I mix my own water and I use RedSea pro salt 4 days ago I did 25 gallon water change out of 150 gallon total volume
The tank is 5 years old but it’s the first time I run chaeto I use to dose carbon now I switch to Refugium I just get the chaeto 3 days ago but I am welling to know everything about it my nitrate is at 10 ppm and my phosphate is at 0.6 ppm and I just change my GFO couple house ago



Now the important think I have the output of the GFO reactor next to the 36 watt coralife UV ( X12 turbo twist ) is that can help break down the GFO (fe2o3 to fe3o2 ) is this gonna work if it’s pass through the UV light .

And one more thing come to my mind is adding iron might help the bad algae to grow ??? Since the iron helping algae growing

 

[Lynchdude]

That’s such an awesome info
Yes I mix my own water and I use RedSea pro salt 4 days ago I did 25 gallon water change out of 150 gallon total volume
The tank is 5 years old but it’s the first time I run chaeto I use to dose carbon now I switch to Refugium I just get the chaeto 3 days ago but I am welling to know everything about it my nitrate is at 10 ppm and my phosphate is at 0.6 ppm and I just change my GFO couple house ago



Now the important think I have the output of the GFO reactor next to the 36 watt coralife UV ( X12 turbo twist ) is that can help break down the GFO (fe2o3 to fe3o2 ) is this gonna work if it’s pass through the UV light .

And one more thing come to my mind is adding iron might help the bad algae to grow ??? Since the iron helping algae growing

The GFO has to have contact for extended periods with UV light to go through a redox reaction. For example being exposed to direct sunlight while being tumbled and even that is slow. So the UV sterilizer won’t break it down. You don’t want it to decompose either or it would release all the PO4 it bonded with. I no longer use Red Sea coral pro. I switched to regular Red Sea and dose to the levels I need. My 90 gallon is a mixed tank but both my nanos are sps dominant so I tend to run a lower alkalinity 9.5dkh. With high PO4 like you have you should grow chaeto fine at first but it will deplete the iron as it grows. .6 going down to normal levels of near .03 will deplete the iron as most salt mixes iron is only .00005ppm (might have messed up a zero) but it’s low because it’s a trace element. Between my fuge and my algae reactor (run opposite of each other) I no longer carbon dose or use GFO and rarely use carbon(doesn’t do much anyways in my tank). My levels remain stable and don’t rise. Tested PO4 today with my Hanna checker and was at .04 and .05 (always test twice) nitrate was 3ppm and I haven’t done a water change in about 2 months. I use all Red Sea foundation a b and c and coral colors a b c d to maintain traces but it does not have enough iron for chaeto also as Red Sea recommends 10% water changes weekly to maintain those levels.

Side note I will be switching to Triton Method as I pretty much do it now. Just need a 4 head doser. Gonna get a jebao dp-4 as they work better than $3-400 dosers

 

[Lynchdude]

Interesting....I never thought about the GFO adding iron. Makes sense.

No it doesn’t release usable iron. Ever notice the orange biuld up in the skimmer body or sump walls? That is GFO that precipitate out of solution and stuck to those surfaces because it is hydrophobic ( not soluable in water).

 

[max1221$]

The GFO has to have contact for extended periods with UV light to go through a redox reaction. For example being exposed to direct sunlight while being tumbled and even that is slow. So the UV sterilizer won’t break it down. You don’t want it to decompose either or it would release all the PO4 it bonded with. I no longer use Red Sea coral pro. I switched to regular Red Sea and dose to the levels I need. My 90 gallon is a mixed tank but both my nanos are sps dominant so I tend to run a lower alkalinity 9.5dkh. With high PO4 like you have you should grow chaeto fine at first but it will deplete the iron as it grows. .6 going down to normal levels of near .03 will deplete the iron as most salt mixes iron is only .00005ppm (might have messed up a zero) but it’s low because it’s a trace element. Between my fuge and my algae reactor (run opposite of each other) I no longer carbon dose or use GFO and rarely use carbon(doesn’t do much anyways in my tank). My levels remain stable and don’t rise. Tested PO4 today with my Hanna checker and was at .04 and .05 (always test twice) nitrate was 3ppm and I haven’t done a water change in about 2 months. I use all Red Sea foundation a b and c and coral colors a b c d to maintain traces but it does not have enough iron for chaeto also as Red Sea recommends 10% water changes weekly to maintain those levels.

Side note I will be switching to Triton Method as I pretty much do it now. Just need a 4 head doser. Gonna get a jebao dp-4 as they work better than $3-400 dosers

You really help me alots , now I got everything right
I will keep doing water changes , and watch out the chaeto how it’s going if it’s not growing well I will dose Kent iron product

Thanks a lot and wish you all the best