Chaeto Experts Help!!

[ggNoRe]

Calling all chaeto experts. I got some chaeto online that had a delayed transport during the winter storm. Also I forgot to change the schedule on my refugium light the first day ‍. It's not looking to great at all at this point. Turning gray and has lines running through it. Is it worth keeping in the sump and trying to save. Or should I just count this as a $75 learning lesson and move on? Keeping it in mesh bag because if I don't strings of it fly all over my tank.

 

[ReefRy]

I think it can be saved. If you have chaetogrow or something similar I'd add that. I use it from time to time and within a few days my chaeto is BRIGHT green. You're gonna get a little die-off, but enough should survive to regrow into an effective mass.

 

[Miami Reef]

Who charged you $75 for cheato??

yes. Keep it. It should be fine!

 

[ReefRy]

Who charged you $75 for cheato??

yes. Keep it. It should be fine!

Yeah, and that. At that rate I have $324, 563 currently sitting in my sump.

 

[Jeffcb]

your good.

 

[ggNoRe]

I tried to be cheap and took a chance on some stuff on Amazon. Big mistake!! It was advertised as 2 cups with copepods. What I got was a lump a little bit bigger than a golfball, no copepods in sight, and a bunch of dead bristle worms.

Thank you all for the input. At least now I can feel better that it wasn't a complete waste.

 

[Miami Reef]

I tried to be cheap and took a chance on some stuff on Amazon. Big mistake!! It was advertised as 2 cups with copepods. What I got was a lump a little bit bigger than a golfball, no copepods in sight, and a bunch of dead bristle worms.

Copepods will naturally reproduce in your tank.
Can I ask why you need copepods? Do you have a dragonet mandarin fish?

if you have plenty of live rock the copepods will reproduce and will have shelter from fish.

if not, cheato or even bath poofs in the sump will provide copepods with shelter. Remember that copepods don’t actually eat cheato...they use it as shelter.

 

[Miami Reef]

If you still don’t have copepods (which usually hitchhike with corals and live rock) you can easily seed the tank with a bottle of copepods.

 

[ggNoRe]

Just trying to build a very diverse ecosystem. Right now I have a Copperband Butterfly. Plan to get a maderin in the future. Already got some copepods and phyto from Algaebarn but never see any in the tank. Ordered some more from BRS since I needed to order 2 part anyways. Just being a little over the top as this is more or less "my dream tank" I have been planning for over a decade.

Thanks for all the info!

 

[ReefRy]

Good for you. I'm also a big believer in getting my ecosystem to as close to self-sustaining as possible. Makes for happier fishies.

 

[Miami Reef]

I don’t ever see copepods running around in my tank either. I have a 300g tank but I know there’s copepods because my mandarin fish is thriving. I do get a bunch is my filter socks though.

how many gallons is your tank? And how long has it been running for? How much rock do you have in it?

 

[ggNoRe]

160G display 40G sump. Running for a little less than a month but I cycled the rocks for 3 months before setting up the tank. 80lbs of rock.

 

[Miami Reef]

You have plenty of rocks and a big enough tank to support a mandarin fish...even 2!

The best thing is to just wait. Your tank is still new and it takes time to populate the tank. Your tank will go through cycles.

do you have any fish? Are you dosing ammonia?

 

[ggNoRe]

Oh yea I'm in no hurry for mandarins it's just something I want to get eventually. Have a Copperband Butterfly fish and 4 Banggai Cardinals right now. The cycle was completed in 2 days, 4months ago when I first started cycling the rocks believe it or not. That Biospira works fast. Also dosed DrTims ammonia back then and used Microbacter 7. Ammonia has been 0 ever since.

I had a Biocube around 10 yrs ago and had a Mandarin then as well so it's not my first rodeo. Just have never seen chaeto turn gray and get stringy like that.