help, can't grow cheato

[robert teseo]

lifereef sump with 9 gallon fudge.i,m running 150 gallons an hour thru the fudge, plus a maxi 400 powerhead pump in it. 6500 cf lighting. the chaeto doesn.t rotate much because it gets caught on some bottom rubble[there"s a mantis living in the rubble] I have some other algea in there that grow fine, but the cheato just slowly melts away. what am I doing wrong?

 

[robert teseo]

should have added about 9 hrs of lights on, after main tank is off

 

[JoshH]

Could just not be enough nutrients in the water to support growth. Size of system? Water parameters? feed schedule? other forms of nutrient export? all play a huge role, also your other forms of algae could be out competing the cheato for food.

 

[TbyZ]

lifereef sump with 9 gallon fudge.i,m running 150 gallons an hour thru the fudge, plus a maxi 400 powerhead pump in it. 6500 cf lighting. the chaeto doesn.t rotate much because it gets caught on some bottom rubble[there"s a mantis living in the rubble] I have some other algea in there that grow fine, but the cheato just slowly melts away. what am I doing wrong?

Hi RT; from the spectrum graphs I've looked at for cfl 6500 K, the following seem typical -

you need plenty in the RED spectrum to grow algae, 660nm to be exact.

A warmer cfl would help -

and don't scringe on the watts...

 

[cracker]

Hello RT, I kinda have the same thing going. My refugium is growing good hair algae .There is a sorry looking little piece of chaeto also that just wont grow. I think The HA is taking up all the nutrients faster than the cheato can.

 

[Ocean Lotion]

Yep. Kill your ha with fluconazole and then your chaeto will grow.

 

[robert teseo]

main tank is a 75, sump about 25. I guess I should have included it's a tbs rock tank and I do have some red, green and brown algae's growing in there as well.[wanted of course]

 

[robert teseo]

more info. the tank set up is 6 weeks old. nitrate was just checked at around 50. guess it's time for a water change as well. cheato continues to break up. the rest of the algeas growing.. lots of critters in the tank, a few corals and 1 fish

 

[Scorpius]

Don't feel bad. I have a happy sps dominate mixed reef and I can't grow Chaeto either.