Nuvo 10 Refugium, Chaeto turning clear :(

[ISFNick]

Hello,
I recently got some chaeto in the 2nd chamber of the Nuvo 10.
I attached an Innovative Marine Chaeto Max LED Light to the back of the tank.

A couple days after I added the chaeto, I checked on it and found some of it had turned clear.

My phosphates hover around .02-.03.
Nitrates around 5-10 ppm.

I should note that I added the chaeto a day or two before transfering my clownfish pair from QT to my DT.

Nitrates hovered around 5ppm from feeding coral, now they've risen to just under 10ppm. On a side note, I cannot wait for the Hanna Nitrate Checker!

Pics of my setup:

 

[shwareefer]

Light to nutrient imbalance I would guess. Is it dimmable?

 

[ISFNick]

Light to nutrient imbalance I would guess. Is it dimmable?

It is not. Maybe I’ll get the small tunze light

 

[New&no clue]

It is not. Maybe I’ll get the small tunze light

You can try running the light for less time. Try running it for only a couple hours, and increase as needed.

 

[ISFNick]

You can try running the light for less time. Try running it for only a couple hours, and increase as needed.

I've been running it overnight. I turn it on before I go to sleep and off when I wake up

 

[PR_nano]

It happen to me the first time. I thought it was low nutrients, the second time it took off. I have a 20 but the same caddie/light. You could try feeding a bit more but monitor nutrients closely especially in a nano. My nitrates are around 5 and phosphate around .05.

 

[ISFNick]

Do you know why it worked better the second time?
Also any tips on chaeto getting everywhere inside the tank?

 

[intricate_reefer]

I bet it’s getting too much light. I would pick up a timer or WiFi outlet and start at like 4 hours. Test your nutrients and adjust the photo period to try and keep them in your desired range. Cheato doesn’t need much light at all to live. I have two all in one tanks and right now one is on for 1 hour and the other 2 hours.

 

[ahiggins]

Best bet for keeping it out would be to line the thing with course filter pads you can cut to size. I do that with the first chamber when I use carbon in that drop in filtration

 

[ISFNick]

It happen to me the first time. I thought it was low nutrients, the second time it took off. I have a 20 but the same caddie/light. You could try feeding a bit more but monitor nutrients closely especially in a nano. My nitrates are around 5 and phosphate around .05.

Do you know why it went better the second time? What different things did you do?

And I hope I understood that you say you use the same light?

Lastly, what is your lighting schedule for chaeto growth?

 

[PR_nano]

@AyeNick The one thing I remember was second time I had excessive nutrients. My N03 were around 40 not sure if that did it, maturity on the tank or something else.

I do have the CheatoMax light and currently run 12 hour cycle 8pm to 8am. My display light runs 8:30am to 6:30pm.