running sump without cheato ?

[apollothesun]

well, for some odd reason my cheato in my sump started to like break apart on me almost like it disentegrated. had bits and pieces everywhere in the sump. so after manually taking every last traces of cheato i was thinking of restocking my sump with it again. or not? any other people out there that run a sump without cheato? ive been just doing alot of carbon mostly in my sump. ive been running this way for about 3 weeks without any cheato and i dont see any difference in color or growth to my corals. i did up my water change schedule the last weeks prior to the cheato meltdown. i might just keep up the water changes from now on rather than using the cheato.
i feel like im missing out in the pod world because i dont have cheato in my sump but why not just take out the cheato where there's alot of DOM accumilating and just do more waterchanges. who else runs a sump without cheato?

 

[lizardarm]

I've never had cheato or any other macro algae in my sump. There's always seemed to be a healthy pod population in my display tank, but I don't have any fish that specifically target pods. I've also always been under the impression that the intended benefits of running carbon/chaeto aren't necessarily the same; nor are they a replacement for water changes. From my perspective (and I may be completely wrong) keeping macro algaes in a sump/fuge is intended to suck up the nutrients that would otherwise be feeding algae in the diplay tank and providing a little safe haven for pods is an added benefit.

 

[apollothesun]

thanks for the reply. yeah i have a healthy pod population in my display tank cuz i can see them at night when the lights are off. true about carbon/cheato, carbon basically helps with the yellowing of the water. that reminds me, ive been vodka dosing and up my dosing 1ml for a total of 4 ml a day, thats when i remembering seeing my cheato having a hard time growing.
hey lizardarm, do you have and filter floss or sponges in your sump? if you do how often do you rinse or change your filter media?

 

[lmn420]

vodka dosing is taking out the nitrates and phosphates that the cheato needs to grow causing it to die off. So vodka dosing is a replacement for the ceato. That is my understanding of the situation,
Lindsay

 

[lizardarm]

Well, I've been running a sump that had two 4" filter socks that I replaced every 2-3 days. That sump recently met an untimely end though and I'm replacing it with another one that will hold 4" socks also. So, to answer your question, no I don't run filter floss or sponges, just the socks (same thing in the end I guess)

 

[tylert]

What's vodka dosing? Is it what it sounds like?

 

[Myteemouse]

What's vodka dosing? Is it what it sounds like?

yes, doesing 1 ml a day of vodka in your tank will help bind disolved matter in the water to aid in skimming and trAte removal..

 

[tylert]

wow! cool I've never heard of that. How much do you dose? 1ml for how many gallons?

 

[lmn420]

read before dosing anything, because it can be dangerous to dose vodka. Here are some links:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1589131
http://glassbox-design.com/2008/achieved-through-observation-and-experimentation/
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

 

[DonW]

yes, doesing 1 ml a day of vodka in your tank will help bind disolved matter in the water to aid in skimming and trAte removal..

Vodka dosing doesnt bind anything. It fuels bacteria that consume the nutrients.

Don

 

[tylert]

so wait.. does it do the same as activated carbon? So is it redundant to dose if you have carbon in your sump?

 

[lmn420]

so wait.. does it do the same as activated carbon? So is it redundant to dose if you have carbon in your sump?

no it does the same job as the cheato. Activated carbon removes all kindsa chemicals but not nitrate or phosphate which is what the vodka dosing will help to lower.

 

[tylert]

so wait.. does it do the same as activated carbon? So is it redundant to dose if you have carbon in your sump?

nevermind, i read more

 

[Krish]

Never ran a sump with chaeto or any algae for that matter and never had nitrate issues. It is not totally necessary. All depends on what you are trying to accomplish IMO. Just my 2 cents

 

[apollothesun]

thanks for the interest everybody. yeah, since im vodka carbon dosing im gonna go without cheato and ive noticed that my color of the water is more crystal clear.

 

[300ZXNA]

Be careful. Vodka dosing isn't really a long term solution. If you have a pump fail and water oxygenation is lowered, its common to get a tank crash when dosing vodka as the bacteria are consuming the vodka aerobically and thus taking lots of O2 out of the water column. The same happens if you happen to dose too much vodka.

 

[apollothesun]

Be careful. Vodka dosing isn't really a long term solution. If you have a pump fail and water oxygenation is lowered, its common to get a tank crash when dosing vodka as the bacteria are consuming the vodka aerobically and thus taking lots of O2 out of the water column. The same happens if you happen to dose too much vodka.

thanks for the heads up. ive been vodka dosing for about 4 months now and are now getting the hang of it. i split my dosing half in the morning and half in the evening.

 

[roscoe]

I've been dosing vodka for over a year now with great results! My water is clearer, coral colors are vibrant and rich and growth has been really great ever since I started dosing vodka. I am now maxed out at 1.2ml on my 40b per day. I dose it everyday when I get home. If done diligently and you have an understanding of how it works you would be fine. Read up on it a little 1st it is not for everyone. Just like everything we do it takes a little research.

 

[alki]

What a waste of alcohol!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!

 

[Bainic]

I'm glad someone else noticed what I had been thinking. Wasting good alcohol on the fish! Besides my tang is a bit of a lush, trying to ween him off of the hard stuff!!