Red stuff all over fuge

[lickyricky]

My cheto is dying but I got plenty of whatever this red stuff is! Good? Bad? Ugly for sure

 

[jrwoltman]

That is cyanobacteria, a symptom of overfeeding, poor flow, old bulbs, or a combination of the three. Siphon it out with a turkey baster. Water changes will also help a little, until you determine the cause. If it gets insane you can use Chemiclean. https://www.amazon.com/Boyd-Enterprises-CC02-Chemi-Clean-2/dp/B00025YRJS It will take care of it, but is a temporary solution. Good luck!

 

[lickyricky]

But 1) I only feed a small amount and actually had zero nitrates so started feeding more. 2) it’s in my sump fuge which has flow 3) it’s a brand new sump light So what would you suggest?

 

[jrwoltman]

How old is the tank? I lot of young tanks (9 months or less) go through a period of cyanobacteria. Turkey baste out and dump in toilet, it siphons out very easily.

 

[lickyricky]

How old is the tank? I lot of young tanks (9 months or less) go through a period of cyanobacteria. Turkey baste out and dump in toilet, it siphons out very easily.

4 months old. Can I leave it or necessary to take it out?

 

[jrwoltman]

It is alive and will continue to grow and spread, remove it. It is going to take a lot of time to get it all, have patience, and just remove as much as you can each day.

 

[lickyricky]

So I tried to siphon it out and it seems to of made it worse, any other suggestions

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

I think this tends to happen in fuges with not enough water flow in them and also insufficient lighting. You can start by adding a small powerhead to increase flow. You've got the light on for 12-14 I'm assuming? I would siphon out the Cyano if you can.

 

[lickyricky]

I think this tends to happen in fuges with not enough water flow in them and also insufficient lighting. You can start by adding a small powerhead to increase flow. You've got the light on for 12-14 I'm assuming? I would siphon out the Cyano if you can.

The fuge is built into my Trigger cube and all the tank water goes through there. Still not enough flow? I was having issues with cheto dying so I turned the light down to only 5 hours a day, too little?

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

The fuge is built into my Trigger cube and all the tank water goes through there. Still not enough flow? I was having issues with cheto dying so I turned the light down to only 5 hours a day, too little?

No, not enough. Ideally, you'd have enough flow to get a ball of chaeto suspended and rolling at a decent speed. It doesn't have to be rolling, but still you need some decent flow in there.
Think of it like this, Chaeto is a plant, a saltwater plant, but a plant nonetheless. Plants need three things to grow: light, water, and nutrients. Decreasing the light will only harm the plant. Suggestion is to increase it to 12 hours on a timer, that is reversed cycle from your tank light, this will help maintain a more stable Ph throughout a 24 hour day. You might need to start with a new healthy ball of chaeto or at least rinse that bunch well to get any algae and cyano off of it.

 

[lickyricky]

No, not enough. Ideally, you'd have enough flow to get a ball of chaeto suspended and rolling at a decent speed. It doesn't have to be rolling, but still you need some decent flow in there.
Think of it like this, Chaeto is a plant, a saltwater plant, but a plant nonetheless. Plants need three things to grow: light, water, and nutrients. Decreasing the light will only harm the plant. Suggestion is to increase it to 12 hours on a timer, that is reversed cycle from your tank light, this will help maintain a more stable Ph throughout a 24 hour day. You might need to start with a new healthy ball of chaeto or at least rinse that bunch well to get any algae and cyano off of it.

Well I originally had a large ball but it died off probably because my nitrates are low. Just don’t want it to die off again. When I first got it I ran the lights 12 hours per day but it became translucent and disintegrated