Does chaeto need a lot of light?

[Cease565]

I have an in tank refugium and I’d like to know if you guys think my aquarium lights are enough for my chaeto or should I buy a separate light for it? I have a 72in marineland light that is designed for planted aquariums. The light however does not sit right above the chaeto I will post some pictures. Thanks in advance!

 

[ZoWhat]

do I see a canister filtration system hose?

forget the chaeto question.... I hope you plan to thoroughly clean the canister 2-3 times a month. if not.....no amt of chaeto is going to control your NO3/PO4 outbreaks

just being r e a l

 

[Cease565]

My Fx6 has done fine so far. I’m also running a reef octopus 2000 skimmer plus I have very low livestock at the moment. I have not had any problems with my water so far plus isint the chaeto supposed to help with nitrates anyway?

 

[ZaneTer]

do I see a canister filtration system hose?

forget the chaeto question.... I hope you plan to thoroughly clean the canister 2-3 times a month. if not.....no amt of chaeto is going to control your NO3/PO4 outbreaks

just being r e a l

I completely disagree with this. Are you trying to suggest that a canister will somehow spontaneously produce excessive NO3/PO4?
I would pay to see the laws of physics broken!

@Cease565
I would probably go with a little led just above the chaeto. That also gives you the option of running it on an opposite lighting schedule from the rest of the display. Chaeto is fantastic at nutrient control...sometimes a little too good.

 

[Hitman]

I would recommend getting a Kessil H80 for that setup.

 

[Goodair]

Shift the light over so the chaeto gets some. That or move the box to the back center and watch it for a bit. Hopefully that should be enough before you buy anything else.

 

[bluprntguy]

I completely disagree with this. Are you trying to suggest that a canister will somehow spontaneously produce excessive NO3/PO4?
I would pay to see the laws of physics broken!

Well, not spontaneously, but detritus builds up in canister filters, breaks down, and eventually creates nitrates/phosphates. If you clean your canister weekly, it may not be a problem, but most people don’t take their canisters apart weekly because it’s a PIA, hence they are considered “nitrate factories” when installed on reef tanks.

For OP’s original question, yes, chaeto generally needs lots of light and I don’t think you’ll get much growth the way you have it currently.

 

[KrisReef]

I run a cheap 6000kelvin LED from Home Depot over chaeto I have growing in a barrel with (dirty) live rock in it. No heater, in the garage, and manual on-off for the light. I left the light off for a week (vacation) and the chaeto looked fine and is still growing with that neglect. I've decided the stuff is indestructible but some folk have trouble in tanks with other forms of nutrient export.

A little more light might make it grow faster, which would improve export.

 

[ZaneTer]

Well, not spontaneously, but detritus builds up in canister filters, breaks down, and eventually creates nitrates/phosphates. If you clean your canister weekly, it may not be a problem, but most people don’t take their canisters apart weekly because it’s a PIA, hence they are considered “nitrate factories” when installed on reef tanks.

For OP’s original question, yes, chaeto generally needs lots of light and I don’t think you’ll get much growth the way you have it currently.

Very true but the original post I replied to implied that one day a tipping point would be reached that would send nutrients skyward. We all know that is not the case.

In essence a filter canister is no worse than a filter sock. Both require cleaning in regular intervals.

 

[bluprntguy]

Very true but the original post I replied to implied that one day a tipping point would be reached that would send nutrients skyward. We all know that is not the case.

In essence a filter canister is no worse than a filter sock. Both require cleaning in regular intervals.

To clean a filter sock, you pop it out and put a clean one in. Throw them all in the washer once every week or two.

To clean out a canister filter, you disconnect the filter hoses, unplug the canister, drag the canister to your bathtub, open the canister up, remove all the media, wash out the canister, wash out the media, reassemble the canister, drag the canister back to the tank, reconnect the canister to the tank, plug it back in, mix up new saltwater to replace what was lost during cleaning, prime the pump, and restart the canister filter.

BRS did study this and found that detritus and food start breaking down and raising nitrates after about three days. I can’t imagine anyone that would be interested in cleaning their canister filter on that schedule but many people swap their socks that often because it’s very easy. So yes, canister filters are worse than filter socks and yes, there will likely be a tipping point where nutrients go skywards because very few people are interested in doing the maintenance required to keep that from happening when running a canister.

The point was that OP’s tiny ball of chaeto was unlikely to counterbalance the amount of nitrates that are likely going to be produced by the chosen filter system. That’s a basic fact.

 

[ZaneTer]

To clean a filter sock, you pop it out and put a clean one in. Throw them all in the washer once every week or two.

To clean out a canister filter, you disconnect the filter hoses, unplug the canister, drag the canister to your bathtub, open the canister up, remove all the media, wash out the canister, wash out the media, reassemble the canister, drag the canister back to the tank, reconnect the canister to the tank, plug it back in, mix up new saltwater to replace what was lost during cleaning, prime the pump, and restart the canister filter.

BRS did study this and found that detritus and food start breaking down and raising nitrates after about three days. I can’t imagine anyone that would be interested in cleaning their canister filter on that schedule but many people swap their socks that often because it’s very easy. So yes, canister filters are worse than filter socks and yes, there will likely be a tipping point where nutrients go skywards because very few people are interested in doing the maintenance required to keep that from happening when running a canister.

The point was that OP’s tiny ball of chaeto was unlikely to counterbalance the amount of nitrates that are likely going to be produced by the chosen filter system. That’s a basic fact.

There is one fundamental flaw with your thinking, you cannot PRODUCE nitrates with a filter. It is physically impossible. You can only raise nitrates by adding them to the tank yourself.

 

[bluprntguy]

There is one fundamental flaw with your thinking, you cannot PRODUCE nitrates with a filter. It is physically impossible. You can only raise nitrates by adding them to the tank yourself.

You are the only person in this thread that used the word “produce”. Everyone understands that food is fed to the tank, gets eaten by the fish and turns to waste, which then eventually gets turned to nitrate. That’s the whole point of the nitrogen cycle.

 

[Cease565]

Shift the light over so the chaeto gets some. That or move the box to the back center and watch it for a bit. Hopefully that should be enough before you buy anything else.

I can’t believe I never thought of this. Great idea thanks!

 

[ZaneTer]

You are the only person in this thread that used the word “produce”. Everyone understands that food is fed to the tank, gets eaten by the fish and turns to waste, which then eventually gets turned to nitrate. That’s the whole point of the nitrogen cycle.

The second post states that OP must be prepared for nutrient outbreaks. Where could these come from? You can’t blame a canister filter for that.

The idea that anything is a nitrate factory is a load of ********, unless of course they actually do manufacture various forms of nitrate for sale. The BRS video you quoted said they recommend changing out filter socks every few days because their effectiveness deteriorated after that.

 

[specwar]

I use a USB powered light bar from ebay and it rocks the back of my Fluval EVO 13.5 center column that is a mini refugium. I've got 3 of them in 2 different sizes! Compact and lightweight - no heat at all.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Full-Spectrum-Greenhouse-USB-Plant-Lamp-Grow-Light-Bar-18Red-9Blue/233194407290?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649



As a matter of fact I'm going to run on on my HOB Skimmer that will have Chaeto in it as well. Here's a link to the light - dude its works for me! $6.83 - delivered! They have diff sizes. Im thinking about making it an underwater in tank light by vacuum sealing the unit so the light bar can be submerged into the refugium.

 

[bluprntguy]

The second post states that OP must be prepared for nutrient outbreaks. Where could these come from? You can’t blame a canister filter for that.

The idea that anything is a nitrate factory is a load of ********, unless of course they actually do manufacture various forms of nitrate for sale. The BRS video you quoted said they recommend changing out filter socks every few days because their effectiveness deteriorated after that.

Yes. Exactly. After three days, leaving detritus in a filter sock stops “being effective” at managing nitrates and the nitrates in your tank start increasing. Same thing happens with a canister filter that isn’t cleaned out regularly.

If you want to debate whether canister filters are nitrate factories, feel free to make your own thread about it. The OP was asking about chaeto not about their canister filter anyway. Do you have anything to add about growing chaeto?

 

[ZoWhat]

In essence a filter canister is no worse than a filter sock. Both require cleaning in regular intervals.

most ppl change their filter sock(s) at least twice a week. I do...

hate me if you wanna.... canisters will never been seen around my $5,000 reef bc there are way more reasons not to use them over reasons to use them


.

 

[Cease565]

most ppl change their filter sock(s) at least twice a week. I do...

hate me if you wanna.... canisters will never been seen around my $5,000 reef bc there are way more reasons not to use them over reasons to use them

Just FYI I am aware of the nitrate factory claims. For this reason I only feed once a day and when I feed I unplug my filter until I see the fish have ate all the food then turn back on. This way I know no food gets sucked into the canister. Regardless I know nitrates build up due to fish waste so I clean my canister every two weeks. It’s worked for me so far.

.

 

[ZaneTer]

Yes. Exactly. After three days, leaving detritus in a filter sock stops “being effective” at managing nitrates and the nitrates in your tank start increasing. Same thing happens with a canister filter that isn’t cleaned out regularly.

If you want to debate whether canister filters are nitrate factories, feel free to make your own thread about it. The OP was asking about chaeto not about their canister filter anyway. Do you have anything to add about growing chaeto?

Yes I do, it could virtually grow under candlelight. Remember to dose just a tiny amount of iron once in a while and always keep an eye on nutrient levels, chaeto can be more efficient than most people think at stripping nutrients from the water column. Almost any light will work. The most effective in my own experience has been cheap read and blue led grow lights from amazon. Don’t waste money on an expensive grow lamp.

 

[ZaneTer]

@Cease565

Would you be willing to devote 1 foot to making a larger refugium? A divider between the sections coupled with plenty of live rock that the fish can’t get to could help build a great pod population. In a 6x2x2 I found a cubic foot of chaeto was more than sufficient to strip away nutrients.