Proper Care of Cheat Aleae?

[bbehring]

Got the lighting working fine the stuff is growing well. Lighting photo period opposite of the main tank lighting for approx 8 hours each night. Just wondering? do I move it around from time to time and pull some out? The clump I got was about the size of a small soccer size ball, now it's larger and taking up about 3/4 or more of my fuge. I moved it around last night and it stirred up a little crud, wonding if this is a good idea or not? seems like kind of like stirring the top of your sand.

 

[CCR]

Lighting is good. Crud will settle. If growing well, it's feeding on what you Don't want in the tank. I would shake it up more often so your skimmer can pull it out. Don't let crud build up under, in fuge either. I would also trim it out, from the bottom, as the surface will grow and shadow the underneith. As long as your levels are ok, it's good. But do keep it trimmed and check. Another thing you need to watch, depending on what type you have, is it going sexual. I preferr the brillow pad looking cheato.

 

[Krish]

Yeah...Any algae used needs to be trimmed back to export the bound up nitrates and phosphates to get them out of your system. I remember a post Anthony Calfo made about chaeto saying you want a small ball of it sitting in your sump tumbling over and over from the flow. Good luck with it

 

[returnofsid]

It's good to keep it in enough flow to keep it in a "rolling ball" as Krish mentioned. I'm currently working on that in my own refugium and thinking about adding a small power head in there to create a rolling current.

Light it on a 12 hour on, 12 hour off cycle...or something similar. It needs "down time" with no lights to stay healthy.

 

[theJ]

I remember a post Anthony Calfo made about chaeto saying you want a small ball of it sitting in your sump tumbling over and over from the flow. Good luck with it

You mean like this?
http://thejerrod.com/100_4063.mpg

haha, ive been waiting to show that one..

 

[returnofsid]

Perfect example!!! Great job, You've got it trained well!!

 

[theJ]

heh!! So many people hit that link i had to log into my host and take it down, i'll put it back up on youtube

 

[theJ]

ok try this link instead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7f16uri-SQ

 

[bbehring]

ok, so how'd you or that person get the cheato to rotate like that? That's amazing. Mine just sits there!

 

[returnofsid]

More flow or direct the flow differently. I'm getting ready to try one of two things. I'm either going to place a small power head in my refugium area or I'm going to add a lip to the last piece of glass in my baffle before the refugium. The lip would be about an inch below the water line. This will act to push the water across the surface where it will create a rolling pattern. I'd like to go this route rather than using more electricity and heat by adding a power head.

 

[bbehring]

let me know how the lip works.

 

[theJ]

I think what creates the rolling motion is actually a current moving backward, against the flow of the sump. This due to the baffle of the return being only about half an inch lower then the baffle for the fuge. When water comes from the bubble trap, its moving fast enough, and retains enough surface tension to flow out and across the fuge an inch or so before it slows down enough to drop to the bottom. By that time its flowing through the left side of the chaeto ball, rolling the chaeto backwards against the flow. Oh and that drop in flow creates a slower flow on the right side and top of the ball, always keeping it in check. The ball was 1 day old in that vid, now its twice that size, and rolls a little slower, but it seriously never stops.

 

[bbehring]

can you re-create similar by using a small powerhead pointing in the opposite direction? Was thinking of re-directing the output from my phos reactor to try and accomplish this.

 

[theJ]

Give it a shot and let us know how it works out!

 

[Curtswearing]

That's perfect!!!

BTW, for those with less current for their chaeto, I recommend that when you do a waterchange, put your chaeto into some of the dirty water, shake it out periodically, rip off a portion of it to give to a friend or sell to a LFS, then put the "clean" chaeto back into the sump.

 

[theJ]

Definately, I like the dirty water rinse idea, especially during water change time, with less current detritus builds up in the chaeto that can break loose and get sucked up to the display. Also chaeto is an EXPORTED media, something that I think a lot of people forget. Once the nitrates bind up with the chaeto they might not measure in your water via tests, but they are still there until you do something about it (pull it out!)

 

[bbehring]

good idea Curtswaring