Chaeto

[Charlie G]

Hi. I purchased and received chaeto (golf ball size) from algae barn last week. This is for my Biocube 32 g (placed in the second chamber). At the same time I ordered a kessil h80 which I intended to use but was not shipped with the chaeto. I just set it up now. I was using a standard light bulb for the time being.
I noticed that the chaeto is turning white. There is some green chaeto still in there.

Not sure if I should just remove the Chaeto or there is still a chance for it to survive and grow with the new light.

I am new to this. I would appreciate any thoughts/advice.

Thanks.

 

[floridareeflabs]

Hi. I purchased and received chaeto (golf ball size) from algae barn last week. This is for my Biocube 32 g (placed in the second chamber). At the same time I ordered a kessil h80 which I intended to use but was not shipped with the chaeto. I just set it up now. I was using a standard light bulb for the time being.
I noticed that the chaeto is turning white. There is some green chaeto still in there.

Not sure if I should just remove the Chaeto or there is still a chance for it to survive and grow with the new light.

I am new to this. I would appreciate any thoughts/advice.

Thanks.

You can use any light BUT full spectrum LED's work the best along with ensuring you have Nitrates and phosphates above zero (Never get to zero, you may have to dose nitrates and phosphates as some point if you dont heavy feed). Also, Chaeto loves Iron so ensure your iron levels are above zero as well.
Word of caution, if you have tangs be very careful if you decide to dose iron as they are sensitive to some brands and they will be belly up within 24 hours (Yes, we have learned the hard way). If the food you feed has iron and you feed regularly then your probably good with Iron but worth testing.

As for turning white that is it dying slowing, either not enough nutrients OR way too much or too little light. Chaeto can have too much light as well as too little, so if you can cause a tumble in your grow area then more surface area will get exposed to light and your better off. If you cant then just be sure to stir/flip it every couple of days so it doesnt allow the hidden areas to get too little of light.

 

[Charlie G]

You can use any light BUT full spectrum LED's work the best along with ensuring you have Nitrates and phosphates above zero (Never get to zero, you may have to dose nitrates and phosphates as some point if you dont heavy feed). Also, Chaeto loves Iron so ensure your iron levels are above zero as well.
Word of caution, if you have tangs be very careful if you decide to dose iron as they are sensitive to some brands and they will be belly up within 24 hours (Yes, we have learned the hard way). If the food you feed has iron and you feed regularly then your probably good with Iron but worth testing.

As for turning white that is it dying slowing, either not enough nutrients OR way too much or too little light. Chaeto can have too much light as well as too little, so if you can cause a tumble in your grow area then more surface area will get exposed to light and your better off. If you cant then just be sure to stir/flip it every couple of days so it doesnt allow the hidden areas to get too little of light.

Thanks for responding and for the info. Since the time I posted this I actually took out any Chaeto that I can get to that was white or looked like it was dying. I also bought and received a ‘soft ball’ size Chaeto from Algaebarn. At the same time I received my kessil H80 tuna light which I installed. Chaeto looks ok so far but has only been about a week or so. My nitrate and phos are still elevated (that was the rationale for the refugium). Looks good so far but I assume it may take some time for the Chaeto to start growing and absorb the nutrients I currently have. I will stir.

As for the iron thanks for the info. So if the food has it that should be enough? I do have a newly acquired yellow tang and would hate to have inadvertently hurt it.

 

[floridareeflabs]

Thanks for responding and for the info. Since the time I posted this I actually took out any Chaeto that I can get to that was white or looked like it was dying. I also bought and received a ‘soft ball’ size Chaeto from Algaebarn. At the same time I received my kessil H80 tuna light which I installed. Chaeto looks ok so far but has only been about a week or so. My nitrate and phos are still elevated (that was the rationale for the refugium). Looks good so far but I assume it may take some time for the Chaeto to start growing and absorb the nutrients I currently have. I will stir.

As for the iron thanks for the info. So if the food has it that should be enough? I do have a newly acquired yellow tang and would hate to have inadvertently hurt it.

Sorry for late reply, just seeing the ask. Yes, food will have much of what you need and as for iron thats really if your trying to mass produce. Be sure to give the chaeto a spin often, every few days to even out its light unless you got it doing a nice roll or something.

 

[Charlie G]

Sorry for late reply, just seeing the ask. Yes, food will have much of what you need and as for iron thats really if your trying to mass produce. Be sure to give the chaeto a spin often, every few days to even out its light unless you got it doing a nice roll or something.

No worries. Thanks for responding. I have not spun the chaeto. I have had it for about 3 weeks now. Hard to tell how it’s doing as it is in the bottom of my second chamber (in the intake fuge basket) of my 32g Biocube. From what I can tell it’s still alive but I don’t appreciate any growth. I also do not see any improvement with my nitrate and phos. In fact Al they are slowly rising.
Not sure if it takes some time for the Chaeto to start growing. Will start spinning it and see if that helps. Appreciate the info on the iron.

 

[zoomonster]

Don't get the so called Chaeto shortage these days. Probably 7 years ago I bought a nice bag for maybe $5. Since then, I have given it away or thrown it away by the 3g bucket. Only supplement I ever used (other than heavy bioload) is Brightwell ChaetoGrow. At some point I probably got rid of too much and it faded away. Just got a small bag today that cost me $22 to restart.

 

[Charlie G]

Don't get the so called Chaeto shortage these days. Probably 7 years ago I bought a nice bag for maybe $5. Since then, I have given it away or thrown it away by the 3g bucket. Only supplement I ever used (other than heavy bioload) is Brightwell ChaetoGrow. At some point I probably got rid of too much and it faded away. Just got a small bag today that cost me $22 to restart.

Wow. What a markup. As well at times AlgaeBarn is out of it. I guess supply and demand.

 

[PeterC99]

Hi. I purchased and received chaeto (golf ball size) from algae barn last week. This is for my Biocube 32 g (placed in the second chamber). At the same time I ordered a kessil h80 which I intended to use but was not shipped with the chaeto. I just set it up now. I was using a standard light bulb for the time being.
I noticed that the chaeto is turning white. There is some green chaeto still in there.

Not sure if I should just remove the Chaeto or there is still a chance for it to survive and grow with the new light.

I am new to this. I would appreciate any thoughts/advice.

Thanks.

Where in NY are you? I can give you some Chaeto.

 

[Charlie G]

Where in NY are you? I can give you some Chaeto.

I’m in Brooklyn.

 

[olonmv]

No worries. Thanks for responding. I have not spun the chaeto. I have had it for about 3 weeks now. Hard to tell how it’s doing as it is in the bottom of my second chamber (in the intake fuge basket) of my 32g Biocube. From what I can tell it’s still alive but I don’t appreciate any growth. I also do not see any improvement with my nitrate and phos. In fact Al they are slowly rising.
Not sure if it takes some time for the Chaeto to start growing. Will start spinning it and see if that helps. Appreciate the info on the iron.

My cheato doesn’t spin, in fact when I pull cheato out it’s usually a block. Mine grows is chamber 2 of an evo 13.5. I did however notice an explosion of growth when I started to add manganese to my tank.

 

[spectral_ranger]

I'd suspect yours went white since it was in the second chamber with no light for a while. But as others have said, so long as there's some green, it should come back once it gets light. Odd that it wouldn't grow once you put some light on and sounds like plenty of nutrients. And I'd suggest using a local reefing society forum to find others willing to give away chaeto. Here in Boston, there's always people looking to get chaeto and plenty of people offering it up for free or super cheap.

 

[Charlie G]

I'd suspect yours went white since it was in the second chamber with no light for a while. But as others have said, so long as there's some green, it should come back once it gets light. Odd that it wouldn't grow once you put some light on and sounds like plenty of nutrients. And I'd suggest using a local reefing society forum to find others willing to give away chaeto. Here in Boston, there's always people looking to get chaeto and plenty of people offering it up for free or super cheap.

I have a kessil H80 shining into the back chamber through the glass running about 10 hr now. . It may be a little low. I haven’t had time to readjust as it’s hard to get behind my tank. I had to screw in a small platform I made to hold the gooseneck it’s attached too. Just haven’t had the time and it’s cumbersome. Light does reach chamber. I think if I elevated it may be more direct light. Will get to it soon but not sure that’s the reason.