Cheato Harvesting....When and.....

cashman95 · 10/14/2007, 03:00 PM

When do you usually harvest your cheato from your refugium? AND could the cheato be the source of some of my phosphates if left growing too long?

I had a bad problem with Phosphates after getting some live rock and CHEATO from a friends tank after he shut it down. I since bought a phosban reactor and have tried to rid my tank from PO4. I even went as far as taking out MOST of the rock he gave me to keep it from leaching, but I still have the cheato. Could the Cheato be leaching phosphates back into my water? I took the phosban reactor off line after thinking that it was "used up" and waited 3 weeks to see if the levels rose any. They apparently did,Salifert Kit .01, because yesterday I put in new phosban and my SPS IS already Coloring up VERY well........

I am just trying to find the source of my phosphates!?!?!?!?

Another good friend of mine has pretty much the same setup as me, feeds the same food as me, and has about the same bioload as me, and he has NO problem with PO4!?!?!?!?

Comments Please!!!!!

MattG · 10/14/2007, 04:03 PM

Well i would usually thin mine out when it filled the fuge up. I think the most important part of maintenance with cheato is to occasionally swish it in saltwater to free the detritus. I would usually do this when i did water changes (~2 weeks).

It is amazing how much crud it traps.

cashman95 · 10/14/2007, 04:05 PM

Yes I have noticed, but how much do you thin it out?
softball size?

MattG · 10/14/2007, 04:47 PM

i had a 90 gallon fuge. I would let it fill up and then toss 80% of it. Id say i would leave a basketball size chunk. Its hard to suggest how much to throw out because i dont know how much you have

cashman95 · 10/14/2007, 07:53 PM

Thanks...anyone else?

AquaReeferMan · 10/14/2007, 10:00 PM

After mine fills the fuge I remove 3/4 of it and then start over.

wrott · 10/14/2007, 10:06 PM

Just cut it w/ scissors when it doubles in size or becomes too much. Unless it dies, it won't release nutrients back.

Sangogo · 10/15/2007, 12:31 AM

Once mine grows so large that it's pretty much blocking the light and parts of it are in danger of dying and releasing the nutrients back, I remove about 2/3s of it and start over.

Aquarist007 · 10/15/2007, 07:29 AM

I rotate the ball once a week and pull it apart. Cut off any brown cheato and or cheato covered in corraline.
This is how you remove the nitrates from your system and prevent them from reentering the water column when the cheato dies.

cashman95 · 10/15/2007, 08:03 PM

Thanks Everyone!

10/14/2007, 03:00 PM	#1
cashman95 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Greenville, S.C. Posts: 810	Cheato Harvesting....When and..... When do you usually harvest your cheato from your refugium? AND could the cheato be the source of some of my phosphates if left growing too long? I had a bad problem with Phosphates after getting some live rock and CHEATO from a friends tank after he shut it down. I since bought a phosban reactor and have tried to rid my tank from PO4. I even went as far as taking out MOST of the rock he gave me to keep it from leaching, but I still have the cheato. Could the Cheato be leaching phosphates back into my water? I took the phosban reactor off line after thinking that it was "used up" and waited 3 weeks to see if the levels rose any. They apparently did,Salifert Kit .01, because yesterday I put in new phosban and my SPS IS already Coloring up VERY well........ I am just trying to find the source of my phosphates!?!?!?!? Another good friend of mine has pretty much the same setup as me, feeds the same food as me, and has about the same bioload as me, and he has NO problem with PO4!?!?!?!? Comments Please!!!!!

10/14/2007, 04:03 PM	#2
MattG Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Waco, TX Posts: 3,216	Well i would usually thin mine out when it filled the fuge up. I think the most important part of maintenance with cheato is to occasionally swish it in saltwater to free the detritus. I would usually do this when i did water changes (~2 weeks). It is amazing how much crud it traps. __________________ Matt Current Tank Info: 215 mixed reef

10/14/2007, 04:05 PM	#3
cashman95 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Greenville, S.C. Posts: 810	Yes I have noticed, but how much do you thin it out? softball size? __________________ SPS Tank with sump in the garage, 400watt Radium/Lumatek ballast,ReefKeeper2 controlling it all!! VHO actinics in the works! Current Tank Info: 24x24x20 Rimless Cube

10/14/2007, 04:47 PM	#4
MattG Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Waco, TX Posts: 3,216	i had a 90 gallon fuge. I would let it fill up and then toss 80% of it. Id say i would leave a basketball size chunk. Its hard to suggest how much to throw out because i dont know how much you have __________________ Matt Current Tank Info: 215 mixed reef

10/14/2007, 07:53 PM	#5
cashman95 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Greenville, S.C. Posts: 810	Thanks...anyone else? __________________ SPS Tank with sump in the garage, 400watt Radium/Lumatek ballast,ReefKeeper2 controlling it all!! VHO actinics in the works! Current Tank Info: 24x24x20 Rimless Cube

10/14/2007, 10:00 PM	#6
AquaReeferMan Got Reef? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Under the Sea, Pa Posts: 4,593	After mine fills the fuge I remove 3/4 of it and then start over. __________________ Couple SPS/Zoanthid tanks and a couple of FW planted tanks. Current Tank Info: 5 pieces of glass with some silicone and plastic frames holding them together

10/14/2007, 10:06 PM	#7
wrott Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,912	Just cut it w/ scissors when it doubles in size or becomes too much. Unless it dies, it won't release nutrients back. __________________ OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt

10/15/2007, 12:31 AM	#8
Sangogo Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 351	Once mine grows so large that it's pretty much blocking the light and parts of it are in danger of dying and releasing the nutrients back, I remove about 2/3s of it and start over. __________________ 355 In the Tokyo/Kanto area? Looking for fellow reef enthusiasts to join our reef club! PM for more details. Current Tank Info: 130g reef tank with sump/fuge and skimmer/chiller/algae scrubber/carbon reactor set up

10/15/2007, 07:29 AM	#9
Aquarist007 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hamilton, Canada Posts: 28,240 Blog Entries: 1	I rotate the ball once a week and pull it apart. Cut off any brown cheato and or cheato covered in corraline. This is how you remove the nitrates from your system and prevent them from reentering the water column when the cheato dies. __________________ I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock

10/15/2007, 08:03 PM	#10
cashman95 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Greenville, S.C. Posts: 810	Thanks Everyone! __________________ SPS Tank with sump in the garage, 400watt Radium/Lumatek ballast,ReefKeeper2 controlling it all!! VHO actinics in the works! Current Tank Info: 24x24x20 Rimless Cube