Having trouble growing chaeto

Eagle aquatics315 · Sep 8, 2018

Hey everyone, I have a refugium in my sump and my chaeto never seems to grow in my system, I bought the aquamax chaetomax refugium LED in hopes it would grow more but nothing. I know its not dying because its is still nice and green but its the same size as when i bought it. All my parameters are good just tested again today, no nuisance algae of any kind in my MD, Other thing i noticed is there is algae growing in my sump in the baffles and glass but not in my main display. Thanks for answers.

legionofdoon · Sep 8, 2018

Maybe you don't have enough nutrients.

Crabs McJones · Sep 8, 2018

Eagle aquatics315 said:
Hey everyone, I have a refugium in my sump and my chaeto never seems to grow in my system, I bought the aquamax chaetomax refugium LED in hopes it would grow more but nothing. I know its not dying because its is still nice and green but its the same size as when i bought it. All my parameters are good just tested again today, no nuisance algae of any kind in my MD, Other thing i noticed is there is algae growing in my sump in the baffles and glass but not in my main display. Thanks for answers.

What are your nutrient levels? It could just be that there are simply no nutrients there for your chaeto to consume and grow or that the algae thats growing in your sump is outcompeteing it for those nutrients. Manual removal of the pest algae would be best to give your chaeto a fighting chance.

cracker · Sep 8, 2018

This happened to me in the beginning.Lot's of hair algae in the fuge but no cheato would grow . I cleaned out all the ha & dosed a"little" no3 ,Po4. The chaeto took over & no more HA. What are the nutrients in your tank?

Eagle aquatics315 · Sep 8, 2018

Crabs Mcjones said:
What are your nutrient levels? It could just be that there are simply no nutrients there for your chaeto to consume and grow or that the algae thats growing in your sump is outcompeteing it for those nutrients. Manual removal of the pest algae would be best to give your chaeto a fighting chance.

Alright, just tested my water: Phosphates appear to be .03ppm (salifert), pH is 8.0-8.1 (salifert), Nitrates 0-3ppm (API) Also my tank isnt that old at about 4 months

Eagle aquatics315 · Sep 8, 2018

cracker said:
This happened to me in the beginning.Lot's of hair algae in the fuge but no cheato would grow . I cleaned out all the ha & dosed a"little" no3 ,Po4. The chaeto took over & no more HA. What are the nutrients in your tank?

Alright, just tested my water: Phosphates appear to be .03ppm (salifert), pH is 8.0-8.1 (salifert), Nitrates 0-3ppm (API) Also my tank isnt that old at about 4 months.

cracker · Sep 8, 2018

well your numbers sound good. I'm not an expert by any means but I'll take a shot . Your numbers are low but still good. Could be, seeing how the tank is new, nutrients are low compared to a lot of tanks. Could be the little bit of Ha is hogging it all before the chaeto can get a hold. You could remove as much of the other stuff & see what happens. You could dose more but this is dangerous ! Too much & Bam algae in the display & nobody wants that.
Best to wait it out & Good Luck !

rkpetersen · Sep 8, 2018

Your nutrient levels should be okay to grow chaeto. How long is your light on and how far is it from the water surface? I'd suggest keeping it on 18 hours a day, on a reverse cycle to your DT, and low close to the water surface (but obviously still where it won't get flooded if a pump stops.) Also, does your chaeto move at all or just sit there? If it just sits there, you can try turning it over every couple of days. Third thought is that you could dose a small amount of iron into your system, which sometimes will kickstart macroalgae growth.

Eagle aquatics315 · Sep 8, 2018

cracker said:
well your numbers sound good. I'm not an expert by any means but I'll take a shot . Your numbers are low but still good. Could be, seeing how the tank is new, nutrients are low compared to a lot of tanks. Could be the little bit of Ha is hogging it all before the chaeto can get a hold. You could remove as much of the other stuff & see what happens. You could dose more but this is dangerous ! Too much & Bam algae in the display & nobody wants that.
Best to wait it out & Good Luck !

Thanks a lot, I was going to add some of my turbo snails from my MD and have mow down what i cant get, I will try it thanks so much for the info!!

Eagle aquatics315 · Sep 8, 2018

rkpetersen said:
Your nutrient levels should be okay to grow chaeto. How long is your light on and how far is it from the water surface? I'd suggest keeping it on 18 hours a day, on a reverse cycle to your DT, and low close to the water surface (but obviously still where it won't get flooded if a pump stops.) Also, does your chaeto move at all or just sit there? If it just sits there, you can try turning it over every couple of days. Third thought is that you could dose a small amount of iron into your system, which sometimes will kickstart macroalgae growth.

Cool, I actually am running my light 24/7 at the moment cause my timer brock, My chaeto is just sitting there i will try turning it every day, and I also have the light mounted flush with the rim of my sump. We shall see how that works, thank a lot for the info!!

ZoWhat · Sep 9, 2018

https://www.amazon.com/Thinklux-Gro...ight+par38&dpPl=1&dpID=51OCDl6ys9L&ref=plSrch

I use this light and its growing a baseball size of Chaeto into a basketball size in 6 weeks.

I couldnt be HAPPIER with this light. It ROCKS