huge diatom bloom because of dieing chaeto

romsoccer12 · 08/03/2009, 09:19 PM

i got a ball of chaeto for my biocube 2nd chamber fuge and i know i have enough nutrients/flow. Im not so sure about the lighting though. My friend said as long as i get a full spectrum light i would be fine. I got a 65watt AF reveal light from the hardware store. The chaeto has just slowly gotten smaller and all the green hairs are all over my tank and i have a crapload of diatoms now covering my glass wall every day. How long will it normally take chaeto to die by lack of light? Its been 2 weeks now and i would think if it didnt have something it needed it would take a couple days to die.

Aquarist007 · 08/03/2009, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by romsoccer12
i got a ball of chaeto for my biocube 2nd chamber fuge and i know i have enough nutrients/flow. Im not so sure about the lighting though. My friend said as long as i get a full spectrum light i would be fine. I got a 65watt AF reveal light from the hardware store. The chaeto has just slowly gotten smaller and all the green hairs are all over my tank and i have a crapload of diatoms now covering my glass wall every day. How long will it normally take chaeto to die by lack of light? Its been 2 weeks now and i would think if it didnt have something it needed it would take a couple days to die.

You can cut the plastic coating off the backoff the biocube where the second chamber is. You can get a small floresecent light with suction cups and hook it on the back---this will give the light to the chaeto it needs.
Algae on the glass is more evidence of nitrates and phosphates in the water.
Phosphates usually from over feeding
Have you tested for nitrates lately----a 50 percent water change will lower them

do you have anything else in the second chamber--if now I would fill it half way up with reef rubble.

How much live rock do you have in the biocube?

romsoccer12 · 08/03/2009, 10:14 PM

a good 35lbs of liverock. a little bit or rubble in the back middle chamber aout 1/10 of it is rubble. im getting nitrates/phosphates because the chaeto is dieing. do you guys know a good, cheap bulb i can get at the hardware store that will keep the chaeto alive?

romsoccer12 · 08/04/2009, 10:46 AM

bump

mullinsd2 · 08/04/2009, 10:49 AM

I am just running a desk lamp that I had laying around over mine... I haven't saw any ill effects yet, but I have only had it for about a week... hmmmm lol

mullinsd2 · 08/04/2009, 10:50 AM

You didn't , mention how long the light period was for the chaeto; im sure someone will ask.

LiveRound69 · 08/04/2009, 12:36 PM

get at least a 40 watt plant light bulb and a fixture for it. I use one in my sump and my chaeto is growing. walmart has the bulbs for about $5...they look kinda like a small floodlight.

romsoccer12 · 08/04/2009, 01:19 PM

thats what i have i think but mine is 65 watts . on for a good 8-10 hours everyday. its one of those lights that never get hot.

100%hydrophylic · 08/04/2009, 02:36 PM

alot of people say leave the light on 24/7.

thegrun · 08/04/2009, 03:35 PM

I run my light for 17 hours a day (opposite my main DT tank lights). Is the chaeto sitting at the bottom of the tank? If so, you may need to prop it up on an egg crate rack so it gets more light. You should also flip it over once a week so the bottom gets light.

Aquarist007 · 08/04/2009, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 100%hydrophylic
alot of people say leave the light on 24/7.

that's good for the first two months of growing chaeto the it will start to yellow and pale on you. Chaeto being a plant needs a down time to process the products of photosythesis.

At night time photosynthesis does not occur so carbon dioxide doesn't get removed. This causes a slight downward shift in the pH of your tank. This is why reefers run the lights on the fuge opposite to the lights on the tank--it minimizes this shift.

Thegrun has the optimal setup IMO

Aquarist007 · 08/04/2009, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by romsoccer12
a good 35lbs of liverock. a little bit or rubble in the back middle chamber aout 1/10 of it is rubble. im getting nitrates/phosphates because the chaeto is dieing. do you guys know a good, cheap bulb i can get at the hardware store that will keep the chaeto alive?

I doubt you are getting nitrates and phosphates from dying chaeto unless the chaeto has been in the tank for a couple of months and not been harvested

The easiest way to get nitrates and phosphates is overfeeding of flake food---try to cut back on the amount you feed for a little and do a 30-50 per cent water change all at once---that will lower your level of nitrates

oops sorry I already said that above

I would also remove all that cheato and get rid of it for awhile. Do 25 percent water changes once a week for awhile and everything should settle back down.

Have you checked the power head in the return cavity---if it is half filled with cheato then it is not circulating the water optimially

naubound · 08/04/2009, 08:21 PM

I was looking for a good light for my refugium awhile back and some one told me about Melevsreef.com. I just went and looked and didn't have luck finding it. Basically he said the best DIY light for a fuge he got at Home Depot. It was a 65Watt CFL built into reflecter that just screwed into a regular light socket make sure you check the kelvin on it because the one he steered me to was the 6500K. Good luck

08/03/2009, 09:19 PM	#1
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	huge diatom bloom because of dieing chaeto i got a ball of chaeto for my biocube 2nd chamber fuge and i know i have enough nutrients/flow. Im not so sure about the lighting though. My friend said as long as i get a full spectrum light i would be fine. I got a 65watt AF reveal light from the hardware store. The chaeto has just slowly gotten smaller and all the green hairs are all over my tank and i have a crapload of diatoms now covering my glass wall every day. How long will it normally take chaeto to die by lack of light? Its been 2 weeks now and i would think if it didnt have something it needed it would take a couple days to die. __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

08/03/2009, 10:14 PM	#3
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	a good 35lbs of liverock. a little bit or rubble in the back middle chamber aout 1/10 of it is rubble. im getting nitrates/phosphates because the chaeto is dieing. do you guys know a good, cheap bulb i can get at the hardware store that will keep the chaeto alive? __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

08/04/2009, 10:46 AM	#4
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	bump __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

08/04/2009, 12:36 PM	#7
LiveRound69 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: KY USA Posts: 183	get at least a 40 watt plant light bulb and a fixture for it. I use one in my sump and my chaeto is growing. walmart has the bulbs for about $5...they look kinda like a small floodlight. __________________ LR69 Current Tank Info: 40 gallon Reef

08/04/2009, 01:19 PM	#8
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	thats what i have i think but mine is 65 watts . on for a good 8-10 hours everyday. its one of those lights that never get hot. __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

08/04/2009, 10:49 AM	#5
mullinsd2 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 753	I am just running a desk lamp that I had laying around over mine... I haven't saw any ill effects yet, but I have only had it for about a week... hmmmm lol

08/04/2009, 10:50 AM	#6
mullinsd2 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 753	You didn't , mention how long the light period was for the chaeto; im sure someone will ask.

08/04/2009, 02:36 PM	#9
100%hydrophylic Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: GA Posts: 1,636	alot of people say leave the light on 24/7. __________________ :) Current Tank Info: 75g mixed reef, 28g nano SPS

08/04/2009, 03:35 PM	#10
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	I run my light for 17 hours a day (opposite my main DT tank lights). Is the chaeto sitting at the bottom of the tank? If so, you may need to prop it up on an egg crate rack so it gets more light. You should also flip it over once a week so the bottom gets light.

08/04/2009, 08:21 PM	#13
naubound Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 187	I was looking for a good light for my refugium awhile back and some one told me about Melevsreef.com. I just went and looked and didn't have luck finding it. Basically he said the best DIY light for a fuge he got at Home Depot. It was a 65Watt CFL built into reflecter that just screwed into a regular light socket make sure you check the kelvin on it because the one he steered me to was the 6500K. Good luck