Help? Maybe?

[Omgitsjoe]

About 3 months ago I converted over to Triton method and bought some Chaeto from Algea Barn and a Kessil H80. Well Im getting hair algae in my DT and my Chaeto is not growing. Its not dying... or growing. The only thing growing is the hair algae in the DT. Can someone please tell me how to get the Chaeto to grow and the hair algae to stop!?

 

[Alex C]

What’s your light schedule for sump? I find that turning on the fuge light 1 hour before display lights go off and then leave it on until 1 hour after they come back on works pretty good. Also for the hair algae a Sea Hair Slug would do wonders.

 

[Omgitsjoe]

For the display tank I have 2 lights an orbit marine LED Bar and a T5 the schedule is:
T5: 11AM - 6pm
LED: Sunrise 8am - Sunset 8pm (Ramp up and all that pretty stuff)

Fuge:
9PM - 7AM

 

[Alex C]

Hmm your schedule seems pretty good... I have the kessil H380 and I can’t keep my chaeto contained... I’m not using the triton method though.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

You're going to have gha growth for a while. The best way to combat it is herbivores. At least until other export methods start to get going. Many reefers struggle with cheato. I think Fe maybe the limiting factor. I never had luck with it but am having really good success with different caulerpas.

 

[Omgitsjoe]

So from what I read some people dose Iron to help promote cheato growth. My question: Im running the Triton method, should I buy the triton iron or would any iron do? And how much/how often should I dose?

 

[Earl Karl]

NO3 and PO4 need to be in balance to stop gha growth. The ratio of NO3 and PO4 is around 16:1. Iron is pretty much mandatory ime if you want great chaeto growth for nutrient export. I dose Brightwell's Ferrion on every Tuesday and Saturday.

You should just buy the Triton Iron, stick to their method. How much you dose depends on on how much iron you have in your tank. You should have around 0.1 ppm Fe.

 

[Omgitsjoe]

NO3 and PO4 need to be in balance to stop gha growth. The ratio of NO3 and PO4 is around 16:1. Iron is pretty much mandatory ime if you want great chaeto growth and nutrient export. I dose Brightwell's Ferrion on every Tuesday and Saturday.

You should just buy the Triton Iron, stick to their method. How much you dose depends on on how much iron you have in your tank. You should have around 0.1 ppm Fe.

 

[Earl Karl]

Yeah you have no iron, need to dose some then retest.

 

[Omgitsjoe]

also latest test shows N03 : 20PPM P04: 0.01

 

[Omgitsjoe]

Yeah you have no iron, need to dose some then retest.

So if i buy the triton brand how much do I dose? With my ICP test iron was not on my list of corrective action

 

[Earl Karl]

NO3 and PO4 is way out of balance. That's a 2000:1 ratio, compared to NSW 16:1. Not big of a deal at all, unless you REALLY hate algae. Also, it's a weird ratio where you can't fix it with water changes or PO4 would just drop to 0. This will take some feedings to add PO4 so the chaeto can absorb the nutrients. Chaeto absorbs NO3 and PO4 at a 16:1 ratio, same ratio I mentioned earlier.

I don't do triton method, so I don't know how much to dose. If there are directions, which there should be, do the recommended doses and retest. Then adjust from there.

 

[Omgitsjoe]

NO3 and PO4 is way out of balance. That's a 2000:1 ratio, compared to NSW 16:1. Not big of a deal at all, unless you REALLY hate algae. Also, it's a weird ratio where you can't fix it with water changes or PO4 would just drop to 0. This will take some feeding to add PO4 so the chaeto can absorb the nutrients. Chaeto absorbs NO3 and PO4 at a 16:1 ratio, same ratio I mentioned earlier.

I don't do triton method, so I don't know how much to dose. If there are directions, which there should be, do the recommended doses and retest. Then adjust from there.

I just started feeding more heavily and putting some reefroids in. Should I keep this up and overtime they will balance out or is it not that simple?

 

[Thales]

I think herbivores, including you, are the key to algae control; there are plenty of examples of tanks with high nutrients with no algae problems and plenty of tanks with low nutirents that have alge problems.

But if you are given over to a particular method, ask them and do what they say.

 

[Thales]

This will take some feedings to add PO4 so the chaeto can absorb the nutrients. Chaeto absorbs NO3 and PO4 at a 16:1 ratio, same ratio I mentioned earlier.

Isn't that the ratio for phytoplankton? IIRC, for Chaeto it can be anywhere from 25:1 to 120:1.

 

[Earl Karl]

It should balance out over time. Probably be light on the reef roids but feed more frozen. Ofc don't over feed you'll shift the balance again. Triton method (unless using Triton's Other Methods) depends heavily on chaeto for nutrient export. Iron and Iodine help with chaeto growth.

My tank has balanced nutrients and I have zero algae. I also have zero clean up crew in my tank.

 

[Thales]

This tank has zero algae, last test at the beginning of the month showed .42 PO4 and 38 NO3-.

 

[Earl Karl]

Isn't that the ratio for phytoplankton? IIRC, for Chaeto it can be anywhere from 25:1 to 120:1.

It really depends, but usually 16:1 however. Remember you have different factors as well such as bacteria and other organisms that break down and consume NO3 and/or PO4, so it's never really 16:1 because the tank will always try to adjust to what you do for the tank.

However, I try to keep mine close to 16:1, good coral growth and no bad algae growth whatsoever.

 

[Omgitsjoe]

Looking at my ICP test I see that the Iron set point is 0.1 ug/l which is 0.0001PPM. Why does Triton recommend such a low amount of iron if its needed to grow Cheato? If this set point is not ideal for cheato growth what do you guys recommend I shoot for? @Randy Holmes-Farley any advice?

 

[Earl Karl]

Iron isn't that important in overall reef health, but for chaeto growth, elevated levels is ideal for fast growth especially in smaller tanks.

I shoot for 0.1 ppm Fe for my tank.