Fuge with cheto filled with detritus??

[MattL22]

Ok I just added a 60 gal tank to my system about a month and a half ago to try and help bring nutrients down mostly having cyano issues and cyano is growing on top of my cheto I was thinking I should remove cheto and rinse the cheto of all the detritus ??
It's filled with a lot of detritus not sure if it's over feeding or normal or what ???

How do guys with lg tanks and a lot of fish manage their fuge?

 

[MattL22]

Pics of fuge

 

[MattL22]

Pic of display to see cyano

 

[MattL22]

Am I right to just let nuisance algae grow in my fuge or do I need to try and keep it out of fuge also?

Btw it's cheto on top and a ball of dragons breath on bottom

 

[Phishy McGee]

Cyano isn't algea its a bacteria, you don't want to keep it in the fuge. I'd rinse out your algae in that fuge if it were mine. I run a filter sock before my fuge and so far I have almost no ditritus in my fuge.

 

[MattL22]

Hind site I would have set the sump up for filter socks but the way it's set now can't really use them wish I could

 

[ihavecrabs]

Matt, I did the same on one of my early systems not setting it up for filter socks. I got a couple hook screws and attached it to the stand and hung a filter sock using that with the return line draining into it. Works just fine until you redo your sump if you plan on it.

 

[MattL22]

I have been running filter floss through my media tray !

Anyone have advice on nuisance cyano/algae in fuge just leave it or try keep it clean? At this point the display on issue is cyano I'm contemplating chemi clean ?

 

[ihavecrabs]

Just be ready for your skimmer to go like crazy for a while. It works well.

 

[MattL22]

Does cyano use nitrate and po4 to grow like other nuisance algae/bacteria if yes I'm wondering why not just leave in the fuge?

 

[ihavecrabs]

Since it is a bacteria it will continue to infest your main display if you leave it in the fuge

 

[MrDJeep123]

I would not clean it off. Why? Because whatever is in there is food for something else like pods which in turn, feed the main tank. I would put some sort of filter sock or tray before the water hits the fuge.

 

[jt17]

If you put a powerhead in the fuge and tumble the chaeto the algae won't grow on it. Some macroalgaes grow faster if theres more water movement. By tumbling the macro all sides get exposed to light plus its cool to watch.

 

[Reef Junky150]

My fuge has rocks in left chamber were the drain is, sand on bottom and ball of chaeto in left. I have a small ph in left poking through a hole to right chamber which keeps the chaeto spinning. I also run very low flow in and out of fuge. Simple setup. I noticed the chaeto grows a lot fast when spinning than stationary. Fwiw you said people with larger systems. Mine isn't large.

150gal dt, 70gal sump with lr, 15gal fuge. I run a 7" filter sock from tank ovrrflows to sump.

 

[MattL22]

Was trying to keep fuge simple it's feed by a mag 7 and drains right back down into my sump
If I lift the cheto up so much debris falls out it can't be good
I'm gonna clean fuge out next wc ill rinse the cheto maybe just need to make rinsing it part of my wc every week I run filter floss in my sump so not sure why I get so much detritus in truth I always have it floating at top of display also I guess I really need to figure out a way to add socks to both my main drains but the way this sump was built makes it tough I'll get a pic later

 

[NanaReefer]

Although they're a tiny hassle to change out, filter socks have been a great addition to my sump. I don't even have a sock holder-lol. I just rest the sock ring on the rim of the tanks trim, between that and the drain pipe, it's held in place I'm telling ya, after 4-5 days the sock is nasty.

 

[Cory]

I'd rinse your chaeto in a bucket of saltwater. In fact I do it regularly with mine.

I read a scientific study about low nutrient water supporting macroalgae because of the detritus and dirt it trapped creating a micro environment, which supplied it with no3 and po4.

 

[Aquatic Gardener]

I've got the same issue. Running a CPR hob fuge with a semi deep sand bed, one piece of live rock (of the very few pieces of live rock in my tank) and two mangroves. Just added some chaeto because I got cyano in there like crazy and some of that weird white clumpy fungas lookin stuff as well. Shut the pumps off the other day and performed water change, somewhat cleaned the walls of the fuge and the trunks of the mangroves. However the cyano is still on the live rock and sandbed and some of the lower parts of the walls.

Try to manually remove it the best you can. Shut off the pumps, scrape, scrub, pull it out. I've still got some reading to do on how to remove it without using chemicals, but I think we are in the same boat.

 

[uppermost]

If you want to fall back to chemicals I'd you decide your tired of the cyano battle I k ow chemiclean will fix tour problems on a matter of a couple days. The local Petco had the worst cyano outbreak I've ever seen, smothering corals, just horrible. They treated it with chemiclean and there tanks were crystal clear almost overnight

 

[uppermost]

Sorry for the typos. **** smart phone...