Please help!!! My chaeto is dying!!

[Flippers4pups]

My nitrates are 30.
Phosphates are high at 0.48
Alk is 10
Calcium 420
Salinity is 1.026

Okay, what's your source water? RO/DI?

I would reduce your light schedule to 6 hours max. Reverse running your refugium light to that of the display tank. Display lights on, refugium light off. Display light off, refugium light on.

You could be overlighting the chaetomorpa, causing it to pale. Corals, macro algaes need no more than 6-8 hours of light. Dark periods allow tissue and cells to repair themselves.

 

[Natescorals]

That’s crazy because I have been running my main display lights for 13 hours

 

[Natescorals]

How do I slow down the lighting period without shocking my coral

 

[tehmadreefer]

How do I slow down the lighting period without shocking my coral

rhe light over the cheato not dt

 

[Natescorals]

So 13 hours of full intensity light is okay for my coral?

 

[Flippers4pups]

That’s crazy because I have been running my main display lights for 13 hours

On the natural reef, there is only around 6-8 hours of direct sunlight hitting a reef. I've ran around 8 hours over reefs for decades. Grow coral like crazy.

Here's a awesome presentation on light.....

 

[tehmadreefer]

13 hours is a bit long lol

 

[Natescorals]

So how should I go about reducing the lighting period?

 

[Natescorals]

Should I just go from 13 hours to 8 hours immediately?

 

[Sirspeedy77]

Split by a few days, 12 hours for a few, then 11 etc

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

Looks like you could use better flow in the fuge? Are there any baffles to force the water through the chaeto?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Add a little Iron

 

[Natescorals]

Looks like you could use better flow in the fuge? Are there any baffles to force the water through the chaeto?

There aren’t any baffles at all

 

[Natescorals]

Add a little Iron

How do I add iron?

 

[Dom]

So I’ll start running the refugium light at night

Run it opposite your "Daytime" lighting schedule.

 

[Natescorals]

Run it opposite your "Daytime" lighting schedule.

Is it okay if a little bit of fuge light shines through the tank?

 

[Dom]

So 13 hours of full intensity light is okay for my coral?

Probably more than you need. I run 12 hours with 2 hour ramp up, then 8 hours full, then 2 hour ramp down for a total of 12 hours.

 

[Natescorals]

My light doesn’t have a ramp up or down feature. So I run full intensity for 13 hours

 

[Natescorals]

I’m trying to achieve fast and noticeable growth and i feel like I have all the right tools in front of me but I’m utilizing them all the wrong way

 

[Dom]

My light doesn’t have a ramp up or down feature. So I run full intensity for 13 hours

Ok... so reduce your lighting to 8 hours at full intensity and that's it.