MY chaeto is dying (or going sexual??!)

[joelsaxton]

My chateo used to be tough like brillo pad but now it is turning white and it feels like overcooked angel hair pasta. The red gracillaria in my fuge seems to have taken root and seems fine. My water parameters are all fine:

ph: 7.9 - 8.3
temp: 77-82
salinity: 1.025
Mg: 1200+ mg/L
Ca: 390-430 mg/L


miracle mud in fuge - the high iron content seems to help the red gracillaria grow quickly, but the chaeto is not a rooted algae and I wonder if it is starving for something. Or maybe it has a plant disease?

There is some red slime in there but it is not overgrowing.

[z28cam]

Well i dont have much to tell you except that I believe Cheato does not go sexual. So its something else.

[joelsaxton]

can red slime or other cyano or algae release chemicals that could harm it?

I figured it wasn't sexual. I may decide to just go with a variety of caulerpa and gracillaria instead. I think I will definitely have to dump out the chaeto if it keeps declining like this.

[joelsaxton]

i should add that this is in an ecosystem 3616 which is about 40g. There is 40 lbs miracle mud and the flow looks to be about 1100-1200 gph through the fuge.

[sjvl51]

Algae needs 2 things to grow - food and light. I don't know how much food (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates & phosphates) are in your system but the fastest growing plant (chaeto, caulerpa, gracillaria, coraline algae) will/can use all the food before other, slower growing plants can.

For chaeto, caulerpa and gracillaria, the more light the better. Some people use their old MH bulbs and have fantastic growth.

I have had chaeto, mangroves, ulva, caulerpa (2 varieties) and gracillaria growing in my system at one time. I say had, since the gracillaria wasn't growing fast enough (to feed to my tangs) so I removed it and ulva to a special grow out tank for food. The chaeto, mangroves and caulerpa (now 1 variety) grow very slowly - some in the sump/grow out tank and some in the refuge tank.

I am using the lights recommended here - http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=313318 I plan on putting my old MH bulbs over the sump/grow out tank. That should make a big difference in lighting.

My chaeto has never gone white - I have had it decrease in size due to being eaten by worms/pods, etc. Usually, when plants go white, it is a lack of light but since your gracillaria is growing, I'm not sure that is a problem.

Vickie

[joelsaxton]

Wouldn't an Iwasaki 6500k be a better fuge light? Or maybe a hamilton 10k?

[joelsaxton]

Originally posted by sjvl51
Algae needs 2 things to grow - food and light. I don't know how much food (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates & phosphates) are in your system but the fastest growing plant (chaeto, caulerpa, gracillaria, coraline algae) will/can use all the food before other, slower growing plants can.

For chaeto, caulerpa and gracillaria, the more light the better. Some people use their old MH bulbs and have fantastic growth.

I have had chaeto, mangroves, ulva, caulerpa (2 varieties) and gracillaria growing in my system at one time. I say had, since the gracillaria wasn't growing fast enough (to feed to my tangs) so I removed it and ulva to a special grow out tank for food. The chaeto, mangroves and caulerpa (now 1 variety) grow very slowly - some in the sump/grow out tank and some in the refuge tank.

I am using the lights recommended here - http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=313318 I plan on putting my old MH bulbs over the sump/grow out tank. That should make a big difference in lighting.

My chaeto has never gone white - I have had it decrease in size due to being eaten by worms/pods, etc. Usually, when plants go white, it is a lack of light but since your gracillaria is growing, I'm not sure that is a problem.

Vickie

I wonder if the 10k PC lamps that come with the Ecosystem are not strong enough - ah I doubt it.

[woodstockaz]

Wait a minute. I was just about to post a question about this. I have chaeto in my sump with a 20W flourescent in my tank and my chaeto is getting nothing but smaller. Is this not enough light?

[joelsaxton]

what kind of light and what color temp? how big is the sump?

[woodstockaz]

20 watt standard all glass aquarium flourescent light. The kind that comes with every fish tank.

[joelsaxton]

Originally posted by woodstockaz
20 watt standard all glass aquarium flourescent light. The kind that comes with every fish tank.

ok, but what is the color temp of the bulb you are using? It should be around 6500k for growing plants. I just checked the bulbs on the pc lamps on my Ecosystem and they actually are 6500k. I still cannot find replacements for them on the net.

[joelsaxton]

normal output flourescents at 20W might not be enough - but it all depends on the size of the tank you are using.

[woodstockaz]

I'll try a 10k bulb or a nutrigrow freshwater bulb.

[joelsaxton]

try to find a 6500k or even a 5100k.

[ostrow]

No miracle mud in mine but I use those HD lights, 2 of htem, plus one LoA fixture in teh middle. My fuge is an AGA 75. Nasty turf algae is growing in the tank, but my chaeto is turning white.

Any ideas anyone?

[bigal20874]

Don't need MH to grow Cheato. I am using floodlight from homedepot and it costs like $8. I light it 24/7 and my cheato grow very fast from a hand full to almost like basket ball size in just two weeks.

[kmk2307]

Do you test your nitrates? Perhaps the chaeto is nitrogen starved. Iron limitation is also a possibility. Phosphate limitation is unlikely unless you run a phosphate remover heavily.

Kevin

[joelsaxton]

I just added even more fuge lights and they are starting to grow a *little* faster now. But still kinda slow. I have never had to harvest any algae since my tank started 9 months ago. I have 11 fish and I only have an ASM G3 skimmer so I have no idea why the algae is not going crazy. Maybe the DSB is converting all the NO3 to N2 before the plants can get to it.

[ostrow]

mine tested 20

[joelsaxton]

Once I started periodic small iron supplementation, the chaeto got really healthy.

[ostrow]

how much, how often. it's helping mine but wonder ho reg to dose

[joelsaxton]

I dose very little, very unscientifically, whenever I happen to remember.

I think not changing my water results in nearly iron-free water. Saltwater should be iron-poor, but not iron-free. But it really needs very little IMO, and too much could be a lot worse than too little.

Do you change your water regularly?

[ostrow]

sort of. i htink i had a bad batch of io. but do at least 15% once a month.