Cheato Question

reefpaddy · Sep 29, 2017

Just setting up a fuge on my system and had a some cheato delivered today. I have a 150w HPS lamp over my 20l fuge tank.

Do I need to acclimate the cheato to a longer photo period over time or can do I just let it on full reverse photo period for 10 hours from the get go?

Larry L · Sep 29, 2017

You can just go ahead and blast it, it will be fine.

BlueCursor · Sep 30, 2017

I rinse it in RO water then drop it in. Never been an issue. Plants aren’t really parameter sensitive.

Katrina71 · Sep 30, 2017

I did not acclimate mine for reverse lighting. It has been fine.

Miguel50 · Mar 15, 2018

How long should i leave lights on for cheato ive been leaveing mine on 24/7
200w grow light

shaggydoo · Mar 15, 2018

No need to acclimate. Also no need for that much light (200 watts of light should be able to light 200 gallons of chaeto). Get a cheap hydroponics/plant grow light off amazon. I've grown chaeto with ease with as little as 5 watts of LED light. I upgraded (just to see if more was better) to a beefier 12w plant light that is overkill for my chaeto growing in a 20g sump. I was getting just as good of growth with the much smaller bulb. Also, I've experimented with different light cycles. Most of the time I leave it on 24/7, but when I remember, I click the light off during the peak of my main tank's lighting cycle to give the chaeto some dark/down time. I've read cheato does better with about 6-8 hours of dark, but I haven't noticed this to be true.

timnem70 · Mar 15, 2018

Just run a 6500k home depot light bulb and run it opposite your DT schedule with a few hours of overlap if you want. Simple as that. 12-14hrs daily is just fine.

shaggydoo · Mar 15, 2018

timnem70 said:
Just run a 6500k home depot light bulb and run it opposite your DT schedule with a few hours of overlap if you want. Simple as that. 12-14hrs daily is just fine.

This is how I used to do it on past tanks, but the LED lights are specifically designed for plant growth and use a lot less energy. If you are going for a 24/7 light cycle, having as low wattage as possible will benefit you greatly in the long run. Example: 60 w bulb from home depot uses about 525 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year while my 12 w LED uses 105 kWh. That is pretty significant. Not to mention the longevity of LED vs standard bulbs.

hoppy · Mar 15, 2018

I run an old power compact fixture I had- uses 2 96watt bulbs in a 40gal fuge, I run this opposite my DT with good results.

timnem70 · Mar 15, 2018

shaggydoo said:
This is how I used to do it on past tanks, but the LED lights are specifically designed for plant growth and use a lot less energy. If you are going for a 24/7 light cycle, having as low wattage as possible will benefit you greatly in the long run. Example: 60 w bulb from home depot uses about 525 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year while my 12 w LED uses 105 kWh. That is pretty significant. Not to mention the longevity of LED vs standard bulbs.

Its an LED 6500k bulb in a home depot clip fixture.