Trimming chaeto

agfish12 · Jan 19, 2016

Trimming chaeto
So I just did a wc on my 25g lagoon and I have one of the compartments as a fuge. I have not trimmed it since setting this tank up about a month ago. The chaeto is growing really well and there tons of amphipods and even a bristle worm or two in there. I'm wondering how I should handle it best to remove some chaeto, if I even need to. Should I just pull a bit off the top and keep at it that way? How much should I be removing? In my 10g I removed too much at one point and that allowed cyano to grow all over it and get back into the tank.

Thanks for your help!

saltyfilmfolks · Jan 19, 2016

you got it. trim a little.
go slow. give it to a friend

melev · Jan 20, 2016

If the area is full, you can remove 25% or more. Once you do tug some off, pull the ball apart slightly to improve flow through the algae.

wpeterson · Jan 20, 2016

We grow a lot of chaetomorpha in a refugium in our sump. You should work to remove the least healthy portions first (whiter, falling apart) and keep a solid mass of the healthy, dark green chaeto. If it tumbles or has a lot of flow, it should all be about the same color and health. If you have an area that gets less light or flow and the chaeto is less healthy, trim that portion first.

agfish12 · Jan 20, 2016

Here is a picture of where I have the chaeto growing

I have a magnafuge led light that is on 24/7. The issue I have with pulling out the chaeto is that the dead part is the part closest to the light and to get that out have to tear apart the chaeto and then I get strands all stuck in my return pump and power heads and floating all over the tank. How often should I be taking some off the top?

wpeterson · Jan 20, 2016

agfish12 said:
I have a magnafuge led light that is on 24/7. The issue I have with pulling out the chaeto is that the dead part is the part closest to the light and to get that out have to tear apart the chaeto and then I get strands all stuck in my return pump and power heads and floating all over the tank. How often should I be taking some off the top?

If your goal is nutrient export, you want to remove the dead chaeto so you're exporting all the nutrients bound up inside the body. Otherwise it'll be decomposing into the water column and releasing those nutrients back into your tank.

I would see how fast it grows in your sump and prune it often enough that it isn't overgrowing. If it fills up the entire space or blocks out access to your fuge light for parts of the chaeto mass, it's a good idea to trim it to keep it happy. For me, that means about once a month. If you have more growth, you may need to do it more frequently. If you have less growth, it might be every two months.

If you're worried about bits of chaeto breaking off and getting into your return chamber or display tank, you can add a course sponge filter between the refugium chamber and the outlet, like this guy:

http://www.amazon.com/Filter-Bio-Sponge-x2-36-Biochemical-Sponge/dp/B0131W9CD4/

I have a baffle between my refugium and return chamber and I have a few media racks and a foam filter like this on top to help keep critters and chaeto in the refugium.