Cheato = Phosphates????? *EXPERIMENT*

[greenbean36191]

Not to mention the plasticizers from the bucket itself may have been the source.

[snuggle2me]

Maybe you could repeat the experiment again but add the cheato to the bucket of water after the water has aged with a powerhead and heater and a light source just like if it were actually in your tank or referum. And then see if it has increased phosphates. The reason why i am saying to add a light source and heater is because if you placed anything into a bucket of saltwater without the above mentioned things wouldnt it have die off because its not reproducing the same conditions as it would if it were in your tank.

[funlap]

I think the problem could be that this guy isn't harvesting often enough....causing his macro to leech

[Pmolan]

Maybe he can do this experiment in a 10 gallon glass tank instead of a used spackle bucket.

[pezcubano]

Funlap - What is "harvesting enough" and how do you harvest? Do you cut off the bottom layers of cheato and leave the upper part which is fresh growth?

I like where Pmolan is going with this (replicating the same conditions as the tank).

[Criminal#58369]

Interesting! I trimmed back my cheato and it cleared up my algae problem, i guess it had deturis in it.

[llama72]

could I wash my chaeto with tap water and put it back in my fuge?

[neepsync]

This maybe a stupid question.... Does chaeto actually absorb phosphate or does it consume and process it into something else? Kind of like the nitrite/nitrate cycle. Because if it actually consumes and processes the phosphate how could the chaeto leach phosphate back into the water? Unless it is just full of detritus.

[HBtank]

Originally posted by neepsync
This maybe a stupid question.... Does chaeto actually absorb phosphate or does it consume and process it into something else? Kind of like the nitrite/nitrate cycle. Because if it actually consumes and processes the phosphate how could the chaeto leach phosphate back into the water? Unless it is just full of detritus.

Ding ding ding

[barrman]

afaik, chaeto doesnt 'leech phosphates' back into the water. that's like saying that plants leech co2 back into the air if you don't trim them.

chaeto uses phosphates, co2 and nitrates as fuel for its structures to grow. it doesnt suck phosphates out of the water and store them in little pouches until it's old, only to spit them back out. once the phosphates and nitrates are used, they arent coming back... at least not from the chaeto.

... and while trimming chaeto is a means of nutrient export, the more chaeto you have, the more phosphates, co2 and nitrates that it'll need to use to maintain its existing structures and for new growth.

the most likely cause is that, first off, you probably had trapped detritus in the chaeto, and the decay of that detritus added phosphates. second, if you left the chaeto in a bucket with no light, then the chaeto was unable to photosynthesize, which means it couldnt really use the phosphates in the water anyways.

[Jimbo327]

Ummm...so what becomes exactly (chemicals) of dying chaeto???

[JonnyD91]

Originally posted by davidryder
You may have killed some of the chaeto putting it in water not established - whether it shows signs of die-off or not.

Besides that every type of food you feed contains phosphates - it's unavoidable.

How can you tell if Cheato is dead?

[barrman]

i'm assuming that dead/dying chaeto would release the same things that many dead organisms would release in our tanks... phosphates, nitrates, etc, but that's dead or dying chaeto. old chaeto won't release anything back into the tank, unless it too is dead or dying.

dead/dying chaeto looks brown, and breaks apart very easily.