Chaeto problem

[Breakthecycle2]

I cannot grow chaeto. Not only doesn't grow, but turns white after a little bit. I have it in a reactor i got about a week ago. Any ideas what's happening?

 

[ebushrow]

Seems like a stupid question but, do you have excess nutrients? Also, who makes the reactor (skimms, diy, etc)

 

[cracker]

it could be amount of flow the lighting or even low nutrients in the tank , maybe?

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Seems like a stupid question but, do you have excess nutrients? Also, who makes the reactor (skimms, diy, etc)

Nitrates are around 30. I've been having issues which is why I wanted the reactor. It's a DIY, but I've always had problems , even in a fuge

 

[ebushrow]

Are you using blue and white lights or red and blue lights? And what size pump do you have on it?

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Are you using blue and white lights or red and blue lights? And what size pump do you have on it?

Red and blue. It's a 360 gph. Dialed down to about half

 

[Breakthecycle2]

it could be amount of flow the lighting or even low nutrients in the tank , maybe?

Low nutrients?

 

[teller]

2 things may be happening:
- lack of iron, iodine(iodide?) or other micro trace element. If you are dosing balling/2 part with trace elements daily you have those. Otherwise it may help dosing iron and iodine, which are both used quite fast in the reef tank.
- you are currently running gfo or other absorbent of phosphorus. Or your previous nutrient removal made an unbalance between nitrogen and phosphorus.

 

[teller]

I don't buy the flow and light theory. In the worst case scenario you would see green hair algae growing all over the chaeto and kill it, it what happens sometimes. If this does not happen it is another sympthom/clue to your algae grow problem.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

2 things may be happening:
- lack of iron, iodine(iodide?) or other micro trace element. If you are dosing balling/2 part with trace elements daily you have those. Otherwise it may help dosing iron and iodine, which are both used quite fast in the reef tank.
- you are currently running gfo or other absorbent of phosphorus. Or your previous nutrient removal made an unbalance between nitrogen and phosphorus.

I'm dosing about 10 mls of Red Sea Coral colors program daily. I do run ROWAPHOS

 

[ebushrow]

Sounds like you have the right equipment working....my next suggestion would be to take the gfo offline. I am not sure what is in the coral colors program but bringing the phosphates online will def. help the cheato.

 

[Fritzhamer]

Is it white or light green? Is it tightly curled or growing straight? I keep about two gallon bags worth of cheato in my fuge and it doubles every 14 days. the cheato closest to the light (top most) is VERY light green and very straight. The cheato on the bottom is tightly curled and dark green. I sometimes flip the pad over and again the top most lightens and straightens, the bottom (not lit) turns dark green and tightly curls.

I blast my cheato with two 36 watt grow lights.

 

[teller]

Is it white or light green? Is it tightly curled or growing straight? I keep about two gallon bags worth of cheato in my fuge and it doubles every 14 days. the cheato closest to the light (top most) is VERY light green and very straight. The cheato on the bottom is tightly curled and dark green. I sometimes flip the pad over and again the top most lightens and straightens, the bottom (not lit) turns dark green and tightly curls.

I blast my cheato with two 36 watt grow lights.

Exactly what happens to mine.

 

[teller]

Sounds like you have the right equipment working....my next suggestion would be to take the gfo offline. I am not sure what is in the coral colors program but bringing the phosphates online will def. help the cheato.

Totally agree with you.

 

[Fritzhamer]

Exactly what happens to mine.

I think the white, straight growth is due to the high light levels. If yours is doing what mine is, I literally throw away a half garbage bag full every two or three weeks. Mine grows out of control. I'd try giving it some time to see if it's growing despite the light color.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Is it white or light green? Is it tightly curled or growing straight? I keep about two gallon bags worth of cheato in my fuge and it doubles every 14 days. the cheato closest to the light (top most) is VERY light green and very straight. The cheato on the bottom is tightly curled and dark green. I sometimes flip the pad over and again the top most lightens and straightens, the bottom (not lit) turns dark green and tightly curls.

I blast my cheato with two 36 watt grow lights.

It's a light/green white it looks like and straight.

 

[Fritzhamer]

In my experience, as mine doubles rapidly, it isn't indicative of lack of nutrients but rather of high light. Keep it going. I'd expect your mass of cheato to double rather quickly.

I had run an H80 before this and all I got was darker and darker green cheato with tight, tight curls that didn't change in size or mass. If anything its overall volume shrunk. The straight white in my experience is a very good thing.

 

[Fritzhamer]

Sounds like you have the right equipment working....my next suggestion would be to take the gfo offline. I am not sure what is in the coral colors program but bringing the phosphates online will def. help the cheato.

Totally! FWIW I stopped running GFO and carbon.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

What does it mean when it turns light green or white though?

 

[Fritzhamer]

That it's actively growing. There's an RC thread from 2008 where a guy talks about growing cheato in direct sunlight and under 400 watt 6500k metal halides. More light is faster growth which has less dense chloroplasts, according to the thread, which causes the lighter color.