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View Full Version : Chaetomorpha Question


jap1
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 09:13 AM
Well, I have my QT on my kitchen island directly under my kitchen's fluorescant light. It's fairly bright. The bak pak on the back of the tank is huge and holds about 3 gallons of water and there is still a lot of empty space in it (I only have some ceramic rings in there). I'm wondering if that would be sufficient light to grow some chaetomorpha in there to help out with the filtration of the tank. Is this even a good idea for a QT?
Thunderkat
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 10:34 AM
There are flourescent light bulbs made for growing plants. I know most flourscents put out lots of light but the spectrum you need for growing plants is usually not there. If you have a window nearby though you should be good to go.
MikeyBoy
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 11:51 AM
you should be fine...............I have grown probably 50 gallons worth of the stuff under VHO only. No sunlight at all.
Run the light 24/7, and it will grow even more................its only a QT tank, so it wont hurt anything.
brewercm
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 12:36 PM
I have mine under two 15 watt bulbs and the mixture of cheato and razor caulerpa are growing just fine. I leave mine on 24/7 like MikeyBoy mentioned.
MikeyBoy
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 01:14 PM
It will keep the Caluerpa from spawing and going sexual if you leave it on 24/7 too. (according to Mike Paletta) I have not a clue, but I trust what he says!!!
jap1
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 02:11 PM
Will the chaetomorpha be able to live in the low salinity? The specific gravity is 1.010.
cpreefguy
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 02:37 PM
Probably, you could always get a small chunk and try it out...
GaryP
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 03:59 PM
You can also forget about ever using copper in there. Copper is an algaecide.
jap1
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 07:01 PM
I haven't dosed it with anything yet. It's just hyposalinity. BTW, clowns seem much happier now. Also, what is "Caluerpa"? I guess I'm going to buy a handful tonight and experiment. I also finally recieved my led lights today. I'm going to stick it over one of the chambers in my aquapod and see if chaetomorpha will grow in there too. I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a shot I suppose.
GaryP
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 08:03 PM
There are several types.

http://www.geocities.com/clevelandsaltwater/plants.html
jap1
Thu, 26th Jan 2006, 11:05 PM
Cool. Thanks for the link. That bubble algae looks scary. I Got the Chaeto. Lots of pods were in it too. Don't know if they'll survive the hyposalinity, but cool none the less.