Why can't I keep Chaeto alive?

[Lasse]

My checklist when Chaeto not growing and using a decent light
1) Nitrogen and Phosphorous
2) Iron
3) iodine
4) Potassium

Potassium is tricky because it should not be overdosed

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Bryn]

Try to keep your Nitrate to Phosphate ratio 10 or higher, but below 20.

 

[gideon2086]

I upgraded to the Kessil fuge light.. seems to be working thus far.

Do you dose iron into your saltwater tanks? @Lasse

 

[Lasse]

I upgraded to the Kessil fuge light.. seems to be working thus far.

Do you dose iron into your saltwater tanks? @Lasse

Yes I dose 3 ml/day of Triton Iron for my 310 L system (around 75 Gallon)

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Tamberav]

They make a supplement called Chaetogro which really helped some of my macro's (it has the trace elements macro likes). Otherwise Caulerpa prolifera is not nearly as picky.

 

[Silly clownfish]

I have not been able to successfully keep cheato or calurpa in my fuge although calurpa does a little better. gHA grows well there. I think I finally found a macro that does well - Ulva From IPSF. That said, they might call it green tang heaven, but none of my fish, including foxface or coral beauty will eat it when I put it in the DT. my turbo snails like it though.

 

[Pistondog]

Try raising the chaeto to the surface to increase par, or get better light.
If it is sitting on the bottom, it might not get enough light.
I use rock to elevate mine.

 

[shakygator]

I never had luck keeping chaeto with clamp on style lights, tried multiple types of bulbs. After I got a "150W" (my apex shows it uses a fraction of this power, IIRC ~45W) UFO grow light off Amazon it started growing. I also learned I couldn't run this light for too long or the chaeto would turn white and die, I guess from burning/too much light. Reduced lighting to 8-10 hours.

 

[Pistondog]

I never had luck keeping chaeto with clamp on style lights, tried multiple types of bulbs. After I got a "150W" (my apex shows it uses a fraction of this power, IIRC ~45W) UFO grow light off Amazon it started growing. I also learned I couldn't run this light for too long or the chaeto would turn white and die, I guess from burning/too much light. Reduced lighting to 8-10 hours.

You can see it in the pic above, just off fuge top.
Light close to chaeto = growth

 

[Acros]

I just put together my Fiji cube diy sump. Will add chaeto and a Kessil H80 next week. Here is to hoping it grows. My tank is only 2 months old, however I started with live rock/sand and added bacteria.

 

[Letterkenny]

I’m in the same boat as those here. Dosed chaetogrow and still killed off my second batch. I tried with low flow and higher flow going into the Tunze 8152 Reactor and I also am able to grow GHA as others has. What photo period have you been using?

 

[bugaboo9495]

I have a 91g system with an 18g sump - it's a Red Sea v3 sump with a dedicated fuge chamber. I have bio balls on the base and a Tunze fuge light for growth. I run the light 12 hours, at night when the DT lights are off. The tank sits at about 10-15 no3 and 1.1-1.2 po4 (I know, it's high!). I've tried Chaeto three times now, each time it's died off. I added another hefty chunk of it last week and I can already see it starting to lose its color and die off. What gives?

Idk if you’re still having trouble but I found out my light was too hot for my chaeto. I had better results with no light at all.

I moved my light back a couple inches and I was finally able to grow chaeto with my light.

 

[ReefPig]

My checklist when Chaeto not growing and using a decent light
1) Nitrogen and Phosphorous
2) Iron
3) iodine
4) Potassium

Potassium is tricky because it should not be overdosed

Sincerely Lasse

I'm with Lasse on this.
I also run Triton, which gives you a good idea of how to grow macro algae due to the method.

I'd also add that Manganese can also help chaeto.

There are specific chaeto grow additives (brightwell and continuum), these are simply a mix of the above elements and good for people who are not running Triton.

These are easy to fix, but for me, the number one issue is not enough light, and sometimes flow (assuming nutrients are fine).
Chaeto can literally be blasted with light, don't be shy. If you can control the power of your light, turn it up (maybe not all at once, but over a couple of days). It basically cannot get too much light.

 

[shakygator]

It basically cannot get too much light.

I disagree. I've had to turn my photo period down otherwise chaeto would "burn" and turn white.

 

[schuby]

After my chaeto ball died (5-6 months after starting), I learned that trace iron is a requirement. I dose 2 mL of Ferrion once or twice a week. Iron seems to be the unknown nutrient that chaeto needs.

 

[schuby]

My belief, from my observation with constant light source and sufficient phosphate and nitrate levels, is that grey/white chaeto is dying chaeto from lack of nutrients (such as iron).

 

[uhgster1]

I use this light off Amazon. It’s a beast, especially for the price. I had a chaeto die off caused by using vibrant. After getting the system back to normal (stabilized), I couldn’t keep chaeto alive to save my life. So I conducted an experiment. I started a new ball of chaeto and kept it lit for 1 week 24 hours a day. It exploded in growth, so much that it floated to the top and started bleaching under the light. Then I scaled back the time to 12 hours on and everything has been excellent ever since. I am ASSUMING here, but I believe that the aquarium is outcompeting the refugium when you first start it out and a shortened light period does not help the chaeto establish itself. Again, this was MY experience and every tank is different, but I think it’s wise to try to use what you have, that was previously working, and see if you stumble upon the culprit before going out and investing into more equipment that you might not even need.

 

[S2G]

What I noticed is there seems to be 2 types of chaeto. The one ive been using with great success has thin strands and looks hairy. This new stuff I have has thick strands & looks like green spaghetti noodles. The thick stuff doesn't seem to as well for whatever reason

 

[jtf74]

What’s your flow like in the chamber the Chaeto is? That was my issue, I haven’t ordered any lately but if it’s not in a heavily flowing area it gunks up and dies from my experience.

A cheap LED has been plenty light for mine but when there was not enough flow in a hang on fuge I had mine died too.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

it could definitely be your iron. You should post some pics of your setup! ~Shaun K