Questions about successfully growing Chaetomorpha...

[Jrvaldeznm]

I am having trouble keeping my chaeto alive in my IM 25 Lagoon rear sump compartment. I believe that my bioload is not sufficient enough for it to thrive quite yet. Here are some specs.

Stocking: Two Oceallaris Clown fish, zoas, LPS, some SPS corals. Snails, emerald crab, tuxedo urchin.
Feeding Schedule: Fish are fed sparingly SA pellet food (~10-15 granules) daily. Corals are fed 2-3 times weekly with Reef-Roids following recommended amounts.
Water Changes: Bi-weekly 20%
Fuge Placement: IM 25L AIO Rear Sump second compartment.
Return Pump Flow Rate: IM Mighty Jet mid-size at 1.3 setting (~180 gph)
Lighting: IM Chaetomaxx LED with alternating photo period from display lights. On for 12 hours daily. Mounted on the rear wall of the sump with the vinyl removed
Other filtration media: Filter floss caddy on the prior to the fuge on the right side. Filter floss followed by Marine Pure blocks with Eheim Substrat Pro in the first compartment on the left followed by an Aquamaxx NF-1 nano skimmer.
Chemistry Tests: Salinity-35ppt measured by calibrated refractometer. Kh-7dKH measured twice with Hannah Checker. Nitrate: <10ppm measured by API, non-expired, following testing directions.

Am I missing anything? Any insights would be appreciated.

 

[saintsreturn]

watching this as i have never done well with it either. You are not alone

 

[flooddc]

Possibly that your tank doesn't have enough nutrient to to grow chaeto.

 

[scott4077]

mine grew best with a 20hr light period and a good deal of flow in the fuge compartment so that the chaeto tumbled constantly, are you growing any other algae in your sump due to the light?

 

[Jrvaldeznm]

mine grew best with a 20hr light period and a good deal of flow in the fuge compartment so that the chaeto tumbled constantly, are you growing any other algae in your sump due to the light?

No just chaeto at this time. I will increase the lighting schedule to 18 hours a day to see if that helps.

 

[scott4077]

can you post a photo of how it looks right now? how's the flow in there?

 

[Jrvaldeznm]

can you post a photo of how it looks right now? how's the flow in there?

I already left for the day but I can take a picture later. It looks like it is dead on the outer edges, but the core is still intact and green. The flow is unobstructed on that side and seems good.

 

[Super Fly]

I can't grow chaeto either no matter what I try, some folks just can't seem to grow chaeto for whatever reason. I have no problem growing caulerpa though... Perhaps u may want to wait till tank matures so there's more nutrient in the water then try chaeto as it would appear there is light bio load and u are not feeding heavy, i.e. ur tank may be too clean. Or don't bother trying to grow chaeto as long as ur tank is thriving.

 

[Jrvaldeznm]

I can't grow chaeto either no matter what I try, some folks just can't seem to grow chaeto for whatever reason. I have no problem growing caulerpa though... Perhaps u may want to wait till tank matures so there's more nutrient in the water then try chaeto as it would appear there is light bio load and u are not feeding heavy, i.e. ur tank may be too clean. Or don't bother trying to grow chaeto as long as ur tank is thriving.

That is certainly another viable option!

 

[CMO]

I used to struggle growing Chaeto but found that with testing and tweaking of the following I can now consistently keep it healthy. There are some seasonal shifts that seems to affect the rate of growth, but if the following parameters are in check it should at least stay healthy and not melt. The below assumes you're using appropriate lighting with a 6-16 hour light cycle based on nutrient reduction requirements.

• Nutrients: Maintain detectable nutrients. A decent sized fuge has a considerable ability to consume nutrients which I think for many just takes them too low, especially when coupled with excess skimming. I've heard a lot of people say zero nutrients is not really zero because they're just consumed quickly and don't show up on the test. Well, under that rationale I had pale SPS and dead chaeto (even though I was feeding a TON). Detectable nutrients are the way to go. I target NO3 of 2-5 ppm and PO4 of .02-.05 ppm with good results. Dose nitrate and phosphate if necessary (I do). I've found the best solution for stable nutrient control is to set the fuge light time and skimmer to a constant that achieves a low nutrient level and dose NO3 / PO4 to attain target nutrients levels / ratios.
• Iodine: Chaeto sucks up a lot of Iodine which will definitely impact growth and health if depleted. If your nutrients are detectable and still getting poor results look to iodine levels as your next step. Even while dosing Full Triton which already contains Iodine I still have to supplement dose Iodine weekly to keep it up. Those not dosing Iodine with a fuge are likely deficient.
• Maganese and Molybedenum: Check you MN and MO levels as a 3rd step which both help maintain Chaeto health. I find manganese to be rapidly depleted and supplemental dose weekly.
• Iron: If your Chaeto is pale whitish or yellow that is an indication that iron is low. Be careful dosing Iron, however, as it can be easily overdosed and cause issues.

I would also recommend the Red Sea or Nyos nitrate test kits for more accurate results and to test PO4 if you aren't currently (didn't see measurements listed).

Brightwell and a few others make a chaeto supplement that contains a balanced mix of these and other elements in a single supplement that should help if you don't want to dose individually.

Good luck.

 

[Jrvaldeznm]

I used to struggle growing Chaeto but found that with testing and tweaking of the following I can now consistently keep it healthy. There are some seasonal shifts that seems to affect the rate of growth, but if the following parameters are in check it should at least stay healthy and not melt. The below assumes you're using appropriate lighting with a 6-16 hour light cycle based on nutrient reduction requirements.

• Nutrients: Maintain detectable nutrients. A decent sized fuge has a considerable ability to consume nutrients which I think for many just takes them too low, especially when coupled with excess skimming. I've heard a lot of people say zero nutrients is not really zero because they're just consumed quickly and don't show up on the test. Well, under that rationale I had pale SPS and dead chaeto (even though I was feeding a TON). Detectable nutrients are the way to go. I target NO3 of 2-5 ppm and PO4 of .02-.05 ppm with good results. Dose nitrate and phosphate if necessary (I do). I've found the best solution for stable nutrient control is to set the fuge light time and skimmer to a constant that achieves a low nutrient level and dose NO3 / PO4 to attain target nutrients levels / ratios.
• Iodine: Chaeto sucks up a lot of Iodine which will definitely impact growth and health if depleted. If your nutrients are detectable and still getting poor results look to iodine levels as your next step. Even while dosing Full Triton which already contains Iodine I still have to supplement dose Iodine weekly to keep it up. Those not dosing Iodine with a fuge are likely deficient.
• Maganese and Molybedenum: Check you MN and MO levels as a 3rd step which both help maintain Chaeto health. I find manganese to be rapidly depleted and supplemental dose weekly.
• Iron: If your Chaeto is pale whitish or yellow that is an indication that iron is low. Be careful dosing Iron, however, as it can be easily overdosed and cause issues.

I would also recommend the Red Sea or Nyos nitrate test kits for more accurate results and to test PO4 if you aren't currently (didn't see measurements listed).

Brightwell and a few others make a chaeto supplement that contains a balanced mix of these and other elements in a single supplement that should help if you don't want to dose individually.

Good luck.

Excellent suggestion/insight. I will take these remarks into consideration when diagnosing my issue. At the moment I am saving up for a Hannah PO4 checker, so I have not been checking that ATM, but will be doing so in the near future. As for the Nyos tester, I will definitely look into purchasing that as well. Thank you for taking the time to write this up.