Chaeto

spoonman · 11/06/2006, 01:04 PM

About a month ago I added a large amount of chaeto to my refuge, and it seems to be shrinking. I have a deep sand bed with rubble on top as substrate and it is reverse lit by two 10K and actintic screw in compact flourescent bulbs. I have only what came in the chaeto as far as livestock in the refuge. How do I know if there is not enough or too much flow, or if I am messing something up?

bertoni · 11/07/2006, 12:55 AM

How big is the refugium and what wattage are the bulbs? I haven't had much luck with the screw-in bulbs for growing Chaeto. Regular PC and MH work for me.

spoonman · 11/07/2006, 08:02 AM

The fuge is pretty small, I am not sure of the gallon of the tank, but it is about 24" long and 12" or 16" wide with a chamber for the skimmer, baffels, the fuge, and then a section for the return pump, which makes it pretty small. The bulbs I have are these....

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products.../Itemdy00.aspx

Should I get 6500 K bulbs or is my fuge just too small?

bertoni · 11/07/2006, 10:55 AM

That's not much light, even with 4 of them. I'd go for the 6500 K if I were using those bulbs. The actinics tend to be inefficient at producing light, I think.

Some iron might help, might not. SeaChem and Kent have saltwater iron supplements.

papagimp · 11/07/2006, 12:11 PM

I use a simple dish style clamp light from home depot with one of the daylight 6500k spiral type CF bulbs. Cost about $10 all together and the cheato I have grows very well. I wouldn't add the iron unless the cheato is starting to fade in color, if it's dark green still, it's probably getting enough iron just not enough lighting. As for the flow, I've had mine under all sorts of different flow rates and none seemed to make a difference in growth. Also, you don't need the actinic bulbs or the 10k spectrum, just something for plants. 5000k to 6700k would be great, but I've also used a 2700k bulb that cheato grew under as well.

Jocko · 11/07/2006, 12:19 PM

I have a super tiny fuge thats like 2/3 of 5 gallon tank that I turned into a sump. It doesn't have much flow. The chaeto was shrinking and not really growing well when I had a small 10k/actinic light over it. I replaced it with a small PC unit with 2x9w 6500k blubs and now the chaeto grows like mad.

spoonman · 11/07/2006, 12:54 PM

Thank you all for the replys. I will get a 6500 k plant bulbs for the fuge. I thought the 10 K bulbs would be fine but I hope this helps.

11/06/2006, 01:04 PM	#1
spoonman Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Culpeper, VA Posts: 27	Chaeto About a month ago I added a large amount of chaeto to my refuge, and it seems to be shrinking. I have a deep sand bed with rubble on top as substrate and it is reverse lit by two 10K and actintic screw in compact flourescent bulbs. I have only what came in the chaeto as far as livestock in the refuge. How do I know if there is not enough or too much flow, or if I am messing something up?

11/07/2006, 12:55 AM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	How big is the refugium and what wattage are the bulbs? I haven't had much luck with the screw-in bulbs for growing Chaeto. Regular PC and MH work for me. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/07/2006, 08:02 AM	#3
spoonman Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Culpeper, VA Posts: 27	Chaeto The fuge is pretty small, I am not sure of the gallon of the tank, but it is about 24" long and 12" or 16" wide with a chamber for the skimmer, baffels, the fuge, and then a section for the return pump, which makes it pretty small. The bulbs I have are these.... http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products.../Itemdy00.aspx Should I get 6500 K bulbs or is my fuge just too small?

11/07/2006, 10:55 AM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	That's not much light, even with 4 of them. I'd go for the 6500 K if I were using those bulbs. The actinics tend to be inefficient at producing light, I think. Some iron might help, might not. SeaChem and Kent have saltwater iron supplements. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/07/2006, 12:11 PM	#5
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	I use a simple dish style clamp light from home depot with one of the daylight 6500k spiral type CF bulbs. Cost about $10 all together and the cheato I have grows very well. I wouldn't add the iron unless the cheato is starting to fade in color, if it's dark green still, it's probably getting enough iron just not enough lighting. As for the flow, I've had mine under all sorts of different flow rates and none seemed to make a difference in growth. Also, you don't need the actinic bulbs or the 10k spectrum, just something for plants. 5000k to 6700k would be great, but I've also used a 2700k bulb that cheato grew under as well. __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

11/07/2006, 12:19 PM	#6
Jocko Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Boston Posts: 595	I have a super tiny fuge thats like 2/3 of 5 gallon tank that I turned into a sump. It doesn't have much flow. The chaeto was shrinking and not really growing well when I had a small 10k/actinic light over it. I replaced it with a small PC unit with 2x9w 6500k blubs and now the chaeto grows like mad.

11/07/2006, 12:54 PM	#7
spoonman Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Culpeper, VA Posts: 27	Chaeto Thank you all for the replys. I will get a 6500 k plant bulbs for the fuge. I thought the 10 K bulbs would be fine but I hope this helps.