chaeto help

kolosy · 07/21/2008, 01:22 PM

alright, this chaeto this is starting to irritate me. i have a 10g fuge, on a reverse 12 hour light cycle with 6500/10000k 39w daylight lights. i have a ball of chaeto int here, that has neither grown nor shrunk over the last month. however, other algae build up is significant. i'm starting to get it in the dt, where i need to scrape the glass almost daily, or a neon-green film forms (it's not coraline, i've let it sit there for a few days and it hasn't turned purple).

the algae in the fuge is excessive. i have a piece of LR, that's got purple hairs coming out all over it, and all sorts of other algae in there, including what looks like cyano.

it's concievable that all the other stuff is out-competing the chaeto, but it was by itself when all that started. flow is adequate. i have an mj1200 feeding the fuge, and it's only about a 2' increase in elevation, so i'd expect a near 200gph flow.

my water parameters are good (0nh4/0no2/<.5nh3/420ca/9alk/1.026sg).

ideas? just a bad batch of chaeto? should i get another one?

SaltyDr · 07/21/2008, 01:53 PM

Give it time. Rotate it every couple of days. You still have excessive nutrients. Continue to do frequent partial water changes and look in to getting a phosban reactor.

stingythingy45 · 07/21/2008, 01:57 PM

You need more light.
A 65 watt 6500K spotlight will do it for you.

Playa-1 · 07/21/2008, 02:01 PM

You might also drop a power head in the fuge and increase your lighting to 24 hours until it takes off. You could have enough algae in the display that is out competing the chaeto. Once you get the fuge dominating the system for excess nutrients then try cutting back on lighting and/or pulling out the extra powerhead from the fuge. I would also upgrade the lighting a bit.

kolosy · 07/21/2008, 02:20 PM

time to make a home depot run!

abulgin · 07/21/2008, 02:38 PM

I would hold off on the Phosban reactor for now. The GFO is very efficient and will remove most phosphate, setting up a situation where bad stuff (e.g., cyano) will outcompete the Chaeto for what little phosphate remains.

I would just pull the Chaeto apart to thin it and shake off detritus. Add more light and increase the photoperiod as stated.

Tomorleans · 07/21/2008, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kolosy
time to make a home depot run!

I'm using a 5100K light from home depot and my chaeto is twice as big as when I first got it with in a two week time period. The first week I used a 3100k light and the 2nd week i changed it to a 5100K and it's starting to take off and the algae is disappearing in my DT.

07/21/2008, 01:22 PM	#1
kolosy Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: chicago Posts: 655	chaeto help alright, this chaeto this is starting to irritate me. i have a 10g fuge, on a reverse 12 hour light cycle with 6500/10000k 39w daylight lights. i have a ball of chaeto int here, that has neither grown nor shrunk over the last month. however, other algae build up is significant. i'm starting to get it in the dt, where i need to scrape the glass almost daily, or a neon-green film forms (it's not coraline, i've let it sit there for a few days and it hasn't turned purple). the algae in the fuge is excessive. i have a piece of LR, that's got purple hairs coming out all over it, and all sorts of other algae in there, including what looks like cyano. it's concievable that all the other stuff is out-competing the chaeto, but it was by itself when all that started. flow is adequate. i have an mj1200 feeding the fuge, and it's only about a 2' increase in elevation, so i'd expect a near 200gph flow. my water parameters are good (0nh4/0no2/<.5nh3/420ca/9alk/1.026sg). ideas? just a bad batch of chaeto? should i get another one? __________________ not yet. maybe someday. Current Tank Info: 90L RR mixed reef, panworld 150ps external pump, t5/mh/led, 20g under-tank sump, 27g above tank sump, 27g fuge with 4" dsb, macro and lr rubble.

07/21/2008, 01:57 PM	#3
stingythingy45 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: MA Posts: 3,296	You need more light. A 65 watt 6500K spotlight will do it for you. __________________ Bob Current Tank Info: 90 gallon,mixed Reef,2-250 watt Optix 3 pendants(Phoenix 14K)2-54 watt T5 Super actnics ,ASM G-2 Gate/recirc mods,70 gal. basement sump,20L ref

07/21/2008, 02:20 PM	#5
kolosy Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: chicago Posts: 655	time to make a home depot run! __________________ not yet. maybe someday. Current Tank Info: 90L RR mixed reef, panworld 150ps external pump, t5/mh/led, 20g under-tank sump, 27g above tank sump, 27g fuge with 4" dsb, macro and lr rubble.

07/21/2008, 01:53 PM	#2
SaltyDr Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Southwest Florida Posts: 1,191	Give it time. Rotate it every couple of days. You still have excessive nutrients. Continue to do frequent partial water changes and look in to getting a phosban reactor.

07/21/2008, 02:01 PM	#4
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	You might also drop a power head in the fuge and increase your lighting to 24 hours until it takes off. You could have enough algae in the display that is out competing the chaeto. Once you get the fuge dominating the system for excess nutrients then try cutting back on lighting and/or pulling out the extra powerhead from the fuge. I would also upgrade the lighting a bit.

07/21/2008, 02:38 PM	#6
abulgin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 2,664	I would hold off on the Phosban reactor for now. The GFO is very efficient and will remove most phosphate, setting up a situation where bad stuff (e.g., cyano) will outcompete the Chaeto for what little phosphate remains. I would just pull the Chaeto apart to thin it and shake off detritus. Add more light and increase the photoperiod as stated.