Chaeto... Too efficient?

[Wunderpus]

I always struggled to understand how a chaeto refugium could be TOO efficient. Well, the last chaeto fuge I had was using crappy CFL bulbs... After using a LED with my newest fuge, I've learned they can in fact be WAYYY too efficient... The golf ball size chaeto has grown to about the size of 1 and a half footballs in about 3 weeks... PO4 was 0.00 and nitrates are 0... Corals looked a bit ticked off... Thank god I tested the water before adding the GFO reactor I just bought.

Anyway, long story short, I removed about 3/4 of the chaeto and reduced the photo period by about 20%...

Do you guys think I should feed a BIT more, increase my Reef Energy dosing or both?

Still crazy that chaeto can be THIS efficient, as I wasn't underfeeding by any means...

 

[Larry L]

Seems like you just need to dial in the amount of chaeto you have to keep the levels you want, it's not that different from dialing in 2-part dosing to match your tank's calcium/alk consumption. Prune it back to e.g. baseball size, and then let it get to softball size, and see how your levels look. If they're ok, then stick with that pruning regimen, if not then either go bigger or go smaller as needed. In the short term maybe feed a little more to get some nutrients back in the water.

 

[hyla84]

What kind of light do you use?

 

[Wunderpus]

Seems like you just need to dial in the amount of chaeto you have to keep the levels you want, it's not that different from dialing in 2-part dosing to match your tank's calcium/alk consumption. Prune it back to e.g. baseball size, and then let it get to softball size, and see how your levels look. If they're ok, then stick with that pruning regimen, if not then either go bigger or go smaller as needed. In the short term maybe feed a little more to get some nutrients back in the water.

Yep, that's the plan!

@hyla84 it's a PAR38 LED, not sure of the brand...

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

what are desiarble levels i never understood this like what are the cons to more chaeto and what do i need to look for water parameter wise. just tryna get learnt

 

[mikus]

I am having the same issues! My tank finished cycling a few weeks ago. Its a 120 dis w/ 55 gal sump. I have 1 damsel 2 clowns and 2 shrimp for cuc. I excessively over feed flake and frozen. So much that a majority of the food ends up at the bottom of the dis (bare bottom) or in the fuge (once feed cycle turns off). Between bacteria and cuc, left overs don't last more than a day or two at most at the bottom. Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, and Nitrate = 0. I still have not gotten ANY detectable results!?!? I went through 2 bacteria blooms during the cycle, the first lasting a week or so, the second only about 2 days and have never had any diatoms at all. Tank is now crystal clear and still ZERO nutrients. My research prior to building the system led me to having a large fuge w/ a lot of good lighting, so prior to beginning the cycle, I added a kessil H380 to my fuge. I ordered chaeto and pods from algae barn 2 weeks ago fully expecting that by the time it would arrive, I would have enough nutrients in the tank for the chaeto to remove. In fact, its been the opposite. I still have ZERO! I guess that's a good sign that my bio filter is healthy, but I would really like to implement chaeto as part of the system. Soooo... I kept my skimmer running (RSK300), but instead of removing the skimmate, the rsk300 has a nifty skim cup over flow hose w/ ball valve that I recirculated back into the fuge. I closed the gate valve to 3/4 close and run the skimmer wet so it produces a steady flow of skim back to the system while still creating quite a bit of foam in the cup. My thought is that the skimmer will still produce good gas exchange in the system without actually removing the waste and route the nutrients back to the chaeto to consume. The chaeto looks a bit healthier in the last day or so, but there is still some die off. Not sure if it would be best to increase my photo period or decrease?? I ramped up from 2 hrs to currently 5 hrs, increasing by 1 hr per night. Is it better to run a lower photo period when less nutrients are available? Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated!! thanks fellow reefers!

 

[Wunderpus]

I am having the same issues! My tank finished cycling a few weeks ago. Its a 120 dis w/ 55 gal sump. I have 1 damsel 2 clowns and 2 shrimp for cuc. I excessively over feed flake and frozen. So much that a majority of the food ends up at the bottom of the dis (bare bottom) or in the fuge (once feed cycle turns off). Between bacteria and cuc, left overs don't last more than a day or two at most at the bottom. Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, and Nitrate = 0. I still have not gotten ANY detectable results!?!? I went through 2 bacteria blooms during the cycle, the first lasting a week or so, the second only about 2 days and have never had any diatoms at all. Tank is now crystal clear and still ZERO nutrients. My research prior to building the system led me to having a large fuge w/ a lot of good lighting, so prior to beginning the cycle, I added a kessil H380 to my fuge. I ordered chaeto and pods from algae barn 2 weeks ago fully expecting that by the time it would arrive, I would have enough nutrients in the tank for the chaeto to remove. In fact, its been the opposite. I still have ZERO! I guess that's a good sign that my bio filter is healthy, but I would really like to implement chaeto as part of the system. Soooo... I kept my skimmer running (RSK300), but instead of removing the skimmate, the rsk300 has a nifty skim cup over flow hose w/ ball valve that I recirculated back into the fuge. I closed the gate valve to 3/4 close and run the skimmer wet so it produces a steady flow of skim back to the system while still creating quite a bit of foam in the cup. My thought is that the skimmer will still produce good gas exchange in the system without actually removing the waste and route the nutrients back to the chaeto to consume. The chaeto looks a bit healthier in the last day or so, but there is still some die off. Not sure if it would be best to increase my photo period or decrease?? I ramped up from 2 hrs to currently 5 hrs, increasing by 1 hr per night. Is it better to run a lower photo period when less nutrients are available? Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated!! thanks fellow reefers!

Yes, I would definitely stick to 5 hours for now and make sure you're feeding the tank appropriately. I'd invest in nitrate and phosphate tests, so you can test daily or every other day for a bit. You'll find your happy place soon, but likely you'll be pruning the chaeto in order to keep SOME nutrients in the tank.

The LEDs are crazy for chaeto growth... Too good in some cases, like my own. Luckily, I caught it before there were any issues. A few of the goniaporas were a bit less "fluffy" but that's about it.

 

[NS Mike D]

I feed my corals and let the cheato self regulate. I run the cheato lights on from 5pm to 10am.

I ffed LRS Reef Frenzy, Reef Nutrition ROE, and Reef Roids and they love it. I do target feed a few but it's mainly broadcast along with frozen mysis and brine.

I don't run a skimmer, but I have a 29 gal nano - I would add one if I had a larger system, but that is where I would want to watch for over skimming and dial up of down accordingly.

I used to dose Reef Energy but found the above cocktail less expensive and more comprehensive.