Cheato or calerpa

[jelly]

What's really makes cheato better then calerpa besides not turning asexual?. Dose It reduce nutrients faster? My cheato never grows and just melts away. And i run a h380 kessil light over my sump.

 

[Crabs McJones]

What's really makes cheato better then calerpa besides not turning asexual?. Dose It reduce nutrients faster? My cheato never grows and just melts away. And i run a h380 kessil light over my sump.

How far away from the light is your cheeto? If your cheeto isn't growing under that light the light isn't the problem. You most likely have low nutrients or not enough iron in your system.

 

[jelly]

I put the light at the recommended height 12 inches over the fug. I don't think iron would than issue I do automatic water changes daily of 1.5 gallons.

 

[madweazl]

I use both. Actually, I started with caulerpa only but some rogue chaeto hitchhiked in on some of it apparently. It was incognito for about a year and then started to take off and has snuffed out about half the caulerpa. I much prefer the look of caulerpas, there is some really cool stuff to choose from. I started with three species and it has been really cool to see them grow; one will be dominant for about six months and then another will take over. This has happened consistently over the past two years.

Edit: and like Randy just posted, I've had no issues with it going sexual.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I've used both, and caulerpa will outcompete chaeto over time.

Caulerpa is more efficient (IME), but the big risk is it getting established in the main tank and becoming a terrible pest, requiring a fish like a foxface to keep it under control.

The sexual reproduction issue is not a concern, IMO. I've never heard of a tank that actually had a problem when that happened. I had a type (Caulerpa racemosa peltatta) that did it fairly often over the years and never had any problem and think it probably just provides food for filter feeders.

 

[BigHildy53]

Will caulerpa work well in an enclosed algae reactor?

 

[lion king]

I've found caulerpa perform better for me as well. As much as you hear about caulerpa going sexual online, I've never found anyone in person where that has happened. I've had several conversations that even included lfs owners and we have all concluded that although this may happen, it likely doesn't occur as often as internet post may indicate.

 

[blanc88]

I wish my caulerpa would out perform my cheato!

 

[skim]

I've used both, and caulerpa will outcompete chaeto over time.

Caulerpa is more efficient (IME), but the big risk is it getting established in the main tank and becoming a terrible pest, requiring a fish like a foxface to keep it under control.

The sexual reproduction issue is not a concern, IMO. I've never heard of a tank that actually had a problem when that happened. I had a type (Caulerpa racemosa peltatta) that did it fairly often over the years and never had any problem and think it probably just provides food for filter feeders.

+1. The other thing I like about using Caulerpa is you can always take some from the sump and put it in the display for the Tangs, they just love the stuff.

 

[lion king]

Will caulerpa work well in an enclosed algae reactor?

Yes you can use it in a reactor, I combine macros in my reactors just like in a refugioum. I have chaeto, caulerpa, gracillaria, and bits and pieces of whatever.

 

[BigHildy53]

Yes you can use it in a reactor, I combine macros in my reactors just like in a refugioum. I have chaeto, caulerpa, gracillaria, and bits and pieces of whatever.

What type of caulerpa do you use?

 

[RobertP]

I use both chaeto and grape caulerpa? (the one with balls, not the feathery leaves ) well but typically the chaeto outgrows it. I am always amazed when it looks like it is so thick that nothing can move in the fuge, the caulerpa is still nice and green. I also feed the caulerpa to my fish occasionally....my foxface and naso just tear it up!

 

[lion king]

What type of caulerpa do you use?

Various kinds, I was running a macro display for a while. I just harvested a combo to run in a new reactor, I run reactors on all my tanks now, I ditched the refugiums and scrubbers. Reactors work on my tanks best and I find the maintenance to be a snap as well as a real plug and play setup.

 

[ca1ore]

The issue with caulerpa as noted above is the possibility of it over-running the display. I had huge issues with that many years ago and will never again put a frond of it into my system.