project5k
Reef enthusiast
i was thinking i'd really like to try my hand at a mangrove or something like that.. whaddya'll think?
Chaeto in refuge
- Thread starter madlynb
- Start date
winyfrog
Yep!
mangrove is cool but a bit tricky to keep healthy. I am trying a small fug right now experimenting.... with mangroves I have one left out of 10 over a period of about 5 months. I have an open tank in my store with a center overflow so I had put them inside my overlfow box (I thought that would be so cool to have mangroves growing out of my overlfow in the center of my tank) not the case.
I have also heard of someone that has grown tomato plants for a refug. This might just be a story because I can't seem to find any info on a tomato plant that can servive saltwater.... :D
I have also heard of someone that has grown tomato plants for a refug. This might just be a story because I can't seem to find any info on a tomato plant that can servive saltwater.... :D
I have been having some problems with my cheato growing. I have checked the water an it has perfect PH, DKH, nitrates, nitites etc. I have two 6700k bulbs for lighting and I have good water flow. I had one bunch and it turn yellow and got stringy, so I got another bunch and the top portion of the cheato is getting yellow again. Everyone says how easy it is to grow and I can seem to get it to grow. Please help!
daugherty
part time reefer
it will only grow if their is nutrients in the water. it dies in my tank no matter what i do.
winyfrog
Yep!
as daugherty said you need to have nutrients in your water for it. How long has your tank been running? What do you have in it? Also the best light that I have found to work for me is a simple clip on flood light that you purchase at home depot. (bright effects 75 watt) and I leave it on 24 hours. Chaeto needs iron available in the water as well so you may need to add some of that...
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
I would say do not leave the fuge light on 24 hours. according to the whole thread on algae scrubbers, any algae needs to have no light at least for a few hours a day. Also put the light very close (a few inches) form the chaeto. I have 2 15 watt halogen bulbs 3 inches from my chaeto and it does grow.
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
Another possiblity is that very goog skimmers --rated well over the capacity of the tank-- will compete with the chaeto for the nutrients. Skimmers will take out organics that become nurtients. I have chaeto that grows but I also have a cheap skimmer.
Wes888
Reef enthusiast
According to the independent research on protein skimmers that was posted in another thread, protein skimmer can remove 30% of the organic matters at best. There are plenty left over for the algae scrubbers and chaeto.
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dcantucson
Reef pro
Nice point out Wes.
winyfrog
Yep!
I would be surprised if that was the actual problem. I drain my tank into my skimmer area, (my skimmer is a G3 ASM "rated for 300gl" in my 180) then water runs through my chaeto. Which grows like crazy.
I have mineral mud in the refug with my chaeto and I feed my tank frozen food everyother day. with a heavy coral feeding on sundays.
I have mineral mud in the refug with my chaeto and I feed my tank frozen food everyother day. with a heavy coral feeding on sundays.
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
My chaeto in my fuge gets extremely slow flow rates (barely a ripple on the surface), and it gets water from my main tank (80% goes into my intake area w/ the skimmer, 20% of the dst water into the fuge) and some from my skimmer (my skimmer has 2 outputs -- one dumps into its own chamber, and the other dumps skimmed water into the fuge). That, combined w/ my CFL floodlight that's around 6500K and equivalent to 100W caused my chaeto to just grow. I also rotate it every couple of weeks. The light is around 4-6 inches from the chaeto.
I'm guilty of having light on it for 24 hours to no noticeable negative side effects. The past 2 weeks, while on vacation, I put it on a lighting schedule opposite my dst, and when I came back, I saw browning on the chaeto. I put it back to 24 hours, and within 4 days, the brown areas went away. Massive pods all over the place, too.
I'm guilty of having light on it for 24 hours to no noticeable negative side effects. The past 2 weeks, while on vacation, I put it on a lighting schedule opposite my dst, and when I came back, I saw browning on the chaeto. I put it back to 24 hours, and within 4 days, the brown areas went away. Massive pods all over the place, too.
madlynb
madtaz
What do pods look like?
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Clear white bugs.
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
Some look like li'l white deformed pillbugs, and some look like uncooked rice w/ legs.
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
I looked at the study and although I did not follow all the math it seemed pretty solid. Makes you wonder if the investment in expensive skimmers are worth it.
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
Do you want to be a guinea pig and test that out for us? LOL
Wes888
Reef enthusiast
I'm testing it right now with just an algae scrubber. Still continue to do heavy feeding. About a month in now. Nitrate and Phosphate are still zero. No film algae on front glass... Well, by 5-6 days after a cleaning on the algae scrubber, I can see some hint of algae forming on the front glass by the end of the day. That's just a reminder on it's about time to clean the scrubber. :)
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
i was asking my LFS about it, and as well as watching a Mrsaltwatertanktv youtube episode he stated he has never experienced it going A-sexual. I think a mix of the two would do you good to export bad nutrients. Plus if you are like all of us and check out your tank(s) daily you can tell if it starts changing colors. Just my .02
