chaeto acting like a sponge

[dclegern]

I've been trying to get chaeto to grow/benefit in my tank.
I tried it in the main tank, and it got funky(covered in brown-then dying)
I tried it in the sump, and it got funkier(just a detritus trap)
Now it is suspended in the main tank where it gets more flow...........starting to look funky again.

Anyone know why in a healthy tank, I can't get this stuff to work?

[Ping]

I have read of others having trouble growing chaeto...

how often do you do water changes? It could be a mineral deficiency, maybe iron. IDK an answer... but I will help look for an answer as I would also like to know.

[Europhyllia]

is the brow3n stuff part of the cheato?
or is teh brown stuff diatoms and it's just covering the cheato thus preventing light from getting to it?
If you wiggle it in the water does the brown stuff come off?

[allan]

I had a prob with my chaeto once, funky or brittle, covered in cyano or nuisance algae...

Here's what worked for me. And it's a bit of the ****ed if you do and ****ed if you don't. Chaeto does best when there's a good flow through it... But in our sps we want a slow steady flow through to maximize the benefits of a dsb.

I prefer the algae for nutrient export, so I took and placed it in a location where the flow must go through it.

Still a trap for detritus, so about once to twice a month I will put in a new filter and shake the growing mass vigorously to shake off the I'll that I don't want, I capture it I'm the filter media and I've convinced myself that I'm flooding the dt with pods as I don't choose to believe that the media is fine enough to capture them.


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[allan]

Oh, and another thing, if your system is running well and you feed sparingly... You may not have much nutrient to support your macro in large quantity.

Just a thought.


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[BIGBIRD123]

I like the slow flow thru the macro for it to do it's job but I also have a small power head that circulates the water thru the macro. The overall flow thru it is slow but with a good turnover rate just like in the main tank.

[Mike]

In both of our fuges, we have a small power head blowing up at the surface to agitate and aerate the water and help with flow throught the macro. That has helped keep it from getting the funky brown stuff on it...

[dclegern]

exactly........ where ever I put it. it gets covered real quick. and never grows.
Right now it's suspended in a ball under the main lights with good flow, so i'll see if that helps.