cheato question

ninja_fish · 05/31/2010, 06:26 PM

I set up a 29g Biocube a few months ago and everything is going great so far. I have some cheato in the fuge but I'm still not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be doing with it. Am I supposed to take it out and rinse it off when I do tank maintenance? It just sits there and looks like it's full of crap.

Do I need to do anything to it or just let it be?

singold · 05/31/2010, 07:46 PM

Just trim the cheato back as it grows. Not sure how your fuge is set up, but having a section that you can put a sponge (that you can clean occasionally) to collect the larger deitrus matter from where the water dumps from the display tank into the fuge, could help alleviate the problem of your cheato essentially acting as a filter from what it sounds like in your post.

cobra9 · 05/31/2010, 08:31 PM

I have a 20 gallon and a 15 gallon ful of it. I pull out 2 -3 hand fulls of it every other week.

williamh · 05/31/2010, 09:12 PM

I would shake out the chaeto when I did water changes in my biocube, the chaeto would collect the bigger particles from the water in the back chamber. William

outy · 06/01/2010, 12:16 PM

theres no use growing chaeto if your not going to harvest it.

the only way it works is that the chaeto grown and lives off the junk in the aquarium and when you harvest that is when your removing the waist.

williamh · 06/01/2010, 07:04 PM

yeah deff. cut it back. What I mean is I would be sure to shake it out and siphon that chamber, sorry. William

ninja_fish · 06/01/2010, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by outy

theres no use growing chaeto if your not going to harvest it.

the only way it works is that the chaeto grown and lives off the junk in the aquarium and when you harvest that is when your removing the waist.

Harvest it for what? What do you do with it?

muttley000 · 06/01/2010, 08:06 PM

This link and the attached articles will keep you busy for quite a while. You aren't actually exporting the excess nutrients until you remove the algae (which has absorbed them) from your system.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/refugium.htm

outy · 06/01/2010, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninja_fish

Harvest it for what? What do you do with it?

you harvest it to pull the nitrates and phos out of your tank, if you dont harvest all that stuff stays in your tank.

me I throw it out in the field, if anyone wants to drive to auburn above sacramento they can have it for free lol

I started 2 week's ago with piece the size of half a baseball and now im getting close to a football.

mutateddogbone · 06/01/2010, 10:06 PM

the only proper way for chaeto or any macroalgae disposal is tied up in plastic and placed in the garbage or given to another reefer. the things that come from our tanks have a miraculous way of ending up back in the ocean, just look at the algae problem in Cali and the Medditeranian. caused by macro improperly disposed from peoples reef tanks!!!

Tuscaquatics · 06/01/2010, 10:09 PM

If your chaeto is collecting detritus, you're doing something wrong. Your fuge section needs to be AFTER mechanical filtration to prevent detritus from entering it. Detritus in the fuge is a problem.

ninja_fish · 06/03/2010, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by williamh

yeah deff. cut it back. What I mean is I would be sure to shake it out and siphon that chamber, sorry. William

This makes sense, but if I siphon it, won't I also siphon out all of the pods growing there. Isn't that part of the reason for having cheato?

Tuscaquatics - I am getting a good amount of detritus in the fuge. Before the fuge I have a fist-sized piece of poly fill that gets changed every few days and then a piece of filter floss that gets rinsed every week. Why would I still be getting detritus in there?

williamh · 06/03/2010, 08:01 PM

when my cube was up I always seemed to get big particles every where in the back chambers, even when running floss. My tank seemed nice to me? William

ninja_fish · 06/04/2010, 06:47 AM

Will I siphon out all the pods from the fuge?

Jacuzzi · 06/04/2010, 09:39 AM

I have mine in the first chamber and it acts like a simple mechanical filtration but for maint. when I do water changes I spin it around to remove the detris and also vacuum out the bottom every few water changes. It grows pretty fast and remove clumps of it Ive never had any problems doing things this way. I did however have issues when it had way to much chaeto packed in a small area and it became a nitrate factory. So I removed about 3/4 of it and my tank has been happy ever since.

05/31/2010, 06:26 PM	#1
ninja_fish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 98	cheato question I set up a 29g Biocube a few months ago and everything is going great so far. I have some cheato in the fuge but I'm still not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be doing with it. Am I supposed to take it out and rinse it off when I do tank maintenance? It just sits there and looks like it's full of crap. Do I need to do anything to it or just let it be?

05/31/2010, 07:46 PM	#2
singold Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Lake Saint Louis, Missouri Posts: 1,827	Just trim the cheato back as it grows. Not sure how your fuge is set up, but having a section that you can put a sponge (that you can clean occasionally) to collect the larger deitrus matter from where the water dumps from the display tank into the fuge, could help alleviate the problem of your cheato essentially acting as a filter from what it sounds like in your post. __________________ "If there is no wind.....row." Current Tank Info: 75gal Reef w/29gal Refugium

06/01/2010, 10:06 PM	#10
mutateddogbone Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Broken Arrow, OK Posts: 1,016	the only proper way for chaeto or any macroalgae disposal is tied up in plastic and placed in the garbage or given to another reefer. the things that come from our tanks have a miraculous way of ending up back in the ocean, just look at the algae problem in Cali and the Medditeranian. caused by macro improperly disposed from peoples reef tanks!!! __________________ 2013 Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society - President An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure Current Tank Info: 75g braceless SPS dominated w/ 50g Frag Tank

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05/31/2010, 08:31 PM	#3
cobra9 Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 700	I have a 20 gallon and a 15 gallon ful of it. I pull out 2 -3 hand fulls of it every other week.

05/31/2010, 09:12 PM	#4
williamh Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 67	I would shake out the chaeto when I did water changes in my biocube, the chaeto would collect the bigger particles from the water in the back chamber. William

06/01/2010, 12:16 PM	#5
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	theres no use growing chaeto if your not going to harvest it. the only way it works is that the chaeto grown and lives off the junk in the aquarium and when you harvest that is when your removing the waist.

06/01/2010, 07:04 PM	#6
williamh Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 67	yeah deff. cut it back. What I mean is I would be sure to shake it out and siphon that chamber, sorry. William

06/01/2010, 08:06 PM	#8
muttley000 MTS Sufferer! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: NW Ohio Posts: 1,926	This link and the attached articles will keep you busy for quite a while. You aren't actually exporting the excess nutrients until you remove the algae (which has absorbed them) from your system. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/refugium.htm

06/01/2010, 10:09 PM	#11
Tuscaquatics Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Tuscaloosa, AL Posts: 1,324	If your chaeto is collecting detritus, you're doing something wrong. Your fuge section needs to be AFTER mechanical filtration to prevent detritus from entering it. Detritus in the fuge is a problem.

06/03/2010, 08:01 PM	#13
williamh Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 67	when my cube was up I always seemed to get big particles every where in the back chambers, even when running floss. My tank seemed nice to me? William

06/04/2010, 06:47 AM	#14
ninja_fish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 98	Will I siphon out all the pods from the fuge?

06/04/2010, 09:39 AM	#15
Jacuzzi Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bay Area Posts: 278	I have mine in the first chamber and it acts like a simple mechanical filtration but for maint. when I do water changes I spin it around to remove the detris and also vacuum out the bottom every few water changes. It grows pretty fast and remove clumps of it Ive never had any problems doing things this way. I did however have issues when it had way to much chaeto packed in a small area and it became a nitrate factory. So I removed about 3/4 of it and my tank has been happy ever since.