Cheeto dying while nutrient levels increasing.
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Randy Holmes-Farley
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Really? Most people do not see it, even when they are dosing and have plenty.
Others include:
vanadium
manganese
molybdenum
zinc
maybe cobalt, chromium, nickel
Merv49
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Just had ICP tests done via Trident
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Just double check that there is an actual number for all of those. I can't recall ever seeing a Trident result with a measurable value for all of those.
Are you dosing a lot of trace elements?
TinyChocobo
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I have a RSR XL425 which is a 88G DT and 24G Sump. I believe I'm pushing ~900 GPH through it but not sure how I could measure it - using a Reef Octopus VarioS-4 Pump rated at 1060 but I obviously don't get the full rated flow.
What kind of flow do you recommend for this sort of thing?
TinyChocobo
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How would one make sure they have the trace elements chaeto needs?
Don’t overthink this simple fix! You have a great light, nitrates and phosphate to feed the cheato, and the proper light height and run time on the light, i am betting if your tank is doing great except your cheato problem, you got a bad batch of cheato! Its that simple
I think what randy is referring to is that icp testing or any test available to a hobbyist is not sensitive enough to detect nsw levels of most of those trace elements. Iron in the ocean is something like .000006 ppm (dont quote me on that number lol) icp testing can only see like .1 ppm accurately,
(again that number might be off dont have an icp data sheet in front of me, recalling from memory)
(again that number might be off dont have an icp data sheet in front of me, recalling from memory)
Randy Holmes-Farley
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To be clear, aside from iron, which macroalgae seem to benefit from dosing, I’m not sure macroalgae have any special needs that corals and other photosynthetic organisms don’t have. They all need the elements I listed, but we have little useful info on what concentrations they need in the water.
An ICP tear can give some good info, although some, such as iron, cannot be detected at NSW levels.
Experimenting with a trace element mix is a fine thing to do to see if it helps.
ShadowR55
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I am having the same problem. I have tried 4 different batches of chaeto from all different sources and it just keeps dying and leaching even more nutrients back into my tank. I’m using the Skimz MBR157 Algae Reactor. When I look at the chaeto, it looks like it melted away in a dark mass full of detritus. I tried decreasing flow, increasing and still the same result. I ended up buying the algae turf scrubber surf4x from Santa Monica filtration to give that a try. I’m still running the algae reactor and was told by my aquarium maintence guy to turn the ohtoperiod down to 4 hours and slowly increase every couple of weeks to 12 on. We’ll see if that works. I am also waiting on an ICP test result. Are you running the triton method as well?
I've run a full Zeovit system for 18 months now and never had one string of hair algae. You shouldn't run a fuge with Zeovit. The Zeolite media is you nutrient export so your chaeto and zeolites are competing now.
It looks like the zeolites are winning and the dying chaeto is adding extra nutrients to your tank. I would stop the fuge and stop dosing zeofood until you get it under control. Also, when was the last time you replaced your zeolites? I can tell when mine need to be replaced because I have to clean the glass more frequently.
It looks like the zeolites are winning and the dying chaeto is adding extra nutrients to your tank. I would stop the fuge and stop dosing zeofood until you get it under control. Also, when was the last time you replaced your zeolites? I can tell when mine need to be replaced because I have to clean the glass more frequently.
I have had chaeto in my sump for 7 years and about half that time my nitrates were at 40. I ran a 6000k incandescent bulb 24 hours a day with no issues with the chaeto at all. Now I'm using a Kessil H80 and all parameters are under control. It seems like intensity is the issue, not distance or the length of time the light is on. Try turning the light down a bit.
stevieduk
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the flow thru your sump should be higher than the flow thru your skimmer
Forsaken77
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You have two things that are separate...
All the flow through the filter is good if you don't have an inline refugium (not separated via manifold or a reactor). But you do.
That's also where powerheads come into play, to increase flow in the tank. It's the tank turnover you should be more concerned with and let the powerheads do their job. You may be exceeding what the tank turnover should be, between the filtration and powerheads. Maybe dial back the return pump and increase the powerhead speed? Make sure to adjust any reactors accordingly.
Also, if you had GHA growing on the chaeto I would suggest a small counter-current powerhead in the sump to rotate it so the GHA has a tougher time adhering to it, giving the water by the chaeto more exposure instead of flying right by, and exposing more of the chaeto to light.
Also try to keep the light as directly over the chaeto as possible to avoid micro algae. If your whole sump is lit up the GHA will out compete the chaeto in no time. Maybe lower the light and turn down the intensity if possible.
When starting chaeto it's best to start with 6 hours/day reverse lighting cycle. The algae needs darkness as part of the photosynthetic process and has to acclimate. After it's growing successfully, you can play around with slowly increasing the lighting, but always on a reverse photo-period from the tank and not more than 12 hours on for best results.
Your levels are not out of range for chaeto to grow. I've never had experience with that Kessil, but I've always had easy success growing chaeto with a light anywhere from 3000K-6500K, which is white light.
I would see if you can plumb in an external fuge via manifold so it has slower flow rates like your reactor. I would say to try a chaeto reactor with 6500K lights, but I know you paid a lot for that light and want to use it.
Chaetomorpha linum can be curly or straight. It can be a free-floater or attach to surfaces. There are different growth patterns and sub-species though. If you spent $120 on it, was it a pound from algae barn? Because that's too much to start with. It's not getting light to most of it if it's stationary because it's so much. I would've recommended the softball size to start out.
That's all I got and my recommendations with the experience I've had with it. I've never had the straight variety before though. Some types of the straight prefer to be planted, as far as I've read. Maybe find out exactly what chaeto it is so you know how to better address it.
AbsoluteZer0273
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I had a similar issue, and then I came across an article on the Redfield ratio. After some google searching I decided my phosphate was too low. I know that’s not the case here, but the Redfield ratio might help. This was my thread on this issue. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...-lower-my-nitrates.334179/page-4#post-4360323
Listen to Randy! He helped me a lot! I didn’t see anything about your potassium level. I tend to look at cheato as a plant that need fertilizer like you lawn would anymore. That being said if the tank is happy I wouldn’t be overly concerned with the cheato. After all we aren’t in to have a nice looking ball of cheato, just happy corals!
Listen to Randy! He helped me a lot! I didn’t see anything about your potassium level. I tend to look at cheato as a plant that need fertilizer like you lawn would anymore. That being said if the tank is happy I wouldn’t be overly concerned with the cheato. After all we aren’t in to have a nice looking ball of cheato, just happy corals!
Gungo
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I had the same problem before.. tried with many different chaeto but none worked out. A local reefer gave me a small ball from his healthy tank in December and this one didn't die! I was using a 6500k standard bulb and growth was ok but bought 30$ ufo eBay and chaeto started growing like weed to the point that it started to die because it was getting blasted combined with no nutrients left in the tank, even my sps went pale.. went back to my 6500k light, now with an ai prime hd and everything is under control... Find a local reefer to give you some healthy macroalgae and that might help. careful with light intensity chaeto doesn't like to be blasted.. you'll know if its getting blasted if the color is turning pale also
