Quarantine Macro Algae?

Hugh Mann · May 28, 2020

I picked myself up a little ball of chaeto to test in my diy reactor, but then I had a thought.

Should macro algae be quarantined prior to adding to the DT?

If so, how long?

How would one keep it alive? My current QT only has one tiny little clownfish that I doubt produces enough waste to fuel chaeto. I'd rather avoid exposing my clown to anything if possible too.

I was thinking put it in a plastic container and floating it in my tank, as I hear chaeto does better with flow, but doesn't really require it, and every so often add the nutrient rich water from my tank to it.

Spare time · May 28, 2020

I guess it depends on where you got it from. If it is from another tank, you can freshwater dip it. Where did you get it from?

Hugh Mann · May 29, 2020

Spare time said:
I guess it depends on where you got it from. If it is from another tank, you can freshwater dip it. Where did you get it from?

A place called Canada Corals. Buddy of mine picked it up so I'm not sure that the tanks were like, but he said the corals were super healthy.

FW dip sounds like a good idea. Probably solves most of the potential problems. The usual no longer than 5 min I am guessing?

alimac122 · May 29, 2020

Hugh Mann said:
A place called Canada Corals. Buddy of mine picked it up so I'm not sure that the tanks were like, but he said the corals were super healthy.

FW dip sounds like a good idea. Probably solves most of the potential problems. The usual no longer than 5 min I am guessing?

do you have extra pods? pods won’t survive a five minute FW dip

Hugh Mann · May 29, 2020

No I do not. Well, not that I am aware of at any rate. I'm not overly concerned about pods at the moment, as the destination for this chaeto is a tank that has just one eel in it. More of a test run to see if the reactor works than anything.

Spare time · May 29, 2020

I would ask the seller how they keep their chaeto (ie separate from fish or coral tanks). However, I imagine a freshwater dip is fine. If they have a good reputation, you shouldn't have to worry about bad hitchikers. If they have a good reputation, you probably don't even need to dip

alimac122 · May 29, 2020

Spare time said:
I would ask the seller how they keep their chaeto (ie separate from fish or coral tanks). However, I imagine a freshwater dip is fine. If they have a good reputation, you shouldn't have to worry about bad hitchikers. If they have a good reputation, you probably don't even need to dip

i second this. Also, reef cleaners has $5 tennis sized balls of chaeto that are seeded with a good amount of pods. I just started my tank two months ago. Got my chaeto in a week and a half ago, and yesterday I was cleaning the DT and there were a healthy amount of pods on my glass already. I didn’t dip or quarantine the chaeto.

Gordonm · May 30, 2020

Hugh Mann said:
I picked myself up a little ball of chaeto to test in my diy reactor, but then I had a thought.

Should macro algae be quarantined prior to adding to the DT?

If so, how long?

How would one keep it alive? My current QT only has one tiny little clownfish that I doubt produces enough waste to fuel chaeto. I'd rather avoid exposing my clown to anything if possible too.

I was thinking put it in a plastic container and floating it in my tank, as I hear chaeto does better with flow, but doesn't really require it, and every so often add the nutrient rich water from my tank to it.

Last time i dipped my macro and put back it all melted on me.

Hugh Mann · May 30, 2020

Well, I picked up a golf ball sized chunk of chaeto, and set it up in a separate bucket of tank water with a heater, water pump and grow light, then a couple things happened.

Heater broke and mildly electrified the water. (Bonus, I now Know what stray voltage feels like).

A tiny brittle star crawled out of the chaeto.

With no spare heater, I guess I'll just have to chuck it in my eel only system and hope for the best.

Spare time · May 30, 2020

Gordonm said:
Last time i dipped my macro and put back it all melted on me.

I am thinking more of a freshwater shake. Any pests typically let go in milliseconds so you can see what is in it

sixty_reefer · May 30, 2020

Freshwater dip will kill/stress the macro algae for quarantine id recommend you to do the same as you would do for any other coral you add to the tank.