refugium flow

[rob.holbrook]

So do I need to put a power head in where I have my cheato algea? it doesnt look like I have a lot of flow there

[killagoby]

Cheato likes to "roll". I would increase the flow somehow...

[mrwilson]

Is that true of caulerpa and other sorts of macro algae as well, that a gentle roll is best?

[rob.holbrook]

bump .... anyone else? swab? geo .... anyone

[itZme]

I have a 140g fuge with about 350gph going through it. There are 3 other powerheads inside to keep things from being stagnant. In my opinion it is best to have the water moving slowly through the areas where you are trying to remove nutrients so there is sufficient time to do so. There is an 8" sand bed and I have feather caulerpa and lots of chaeto in it. I do get some areas of slimy build up if there isn't any water movement so I keep things flowing around with a couple MJ900's and a wavemaker timer to kind of swish things back and forth instead of just constantly pushing it all in one direction.

The rolling idea is so that there is contact with all the macro for optimal nutrient export. If you have a spot where you will never be able to "roll" the macro then a constant gentle flow through all the areas of it would be great. Another reason it is nice to get it to actually tumble is so that light hits all areas and grows the ball of chaeto eaqually instead of having growth on the top and pale dying stuff underneath. If you have enough light and constant flow you won't necessarily need it to roll but it is a nice way to accomplish all those things.

These things are things I have learned over the years. They are not gospel and I haven't had some "professional aquarist" tell them to me. I just tried things and watched what happened and then adjusted my methods to achieve my goal. I hope they work for you but don't be afraid to go against anything that someone tells you if you think you may have a better method.

Hope that helps.

[lakee911]

Whenever I try to add a powerhead to make it 'roll' it just sucks up my macro algae.... lol My nutrients are so low that I get very very little growth anyhow.

[coralreefer2110]

I had the "powerhead sucking up chaeto" issue also and built a tiny pvc box with mesh screen and put the powerhead in it. Even when the chaeto rolls around it it just keeps moving. Good luck.