Chaeto-pros, cons?

[kayakatl]

I am having a little nitrate issue, of coarse I am upping the water changes but was considering carbon to help my drop in nitrates. Then I remembered people saying Chaeto will help too. Who is using Chaeto, are there major disadvantages? I will have a small fuge here in the next couple days and would like a place to breed some pods, and help keep my nitrates down. If it grows too fast It should not be hard to pull out what I do not want. Good Idea? Bad idea? Let me know!

 

[cr500_af]

No cons IMO. When it grows you can just cut some off and give it away. Pods live in it (since you expressed interest in growing them), and all you need is an inexpensive light over your fuge to make the stuff grow... and when it grows, the nutrient levels are helped in the tank.
Win-win.

 

[thanh386]

Con is teh stuff is grows liek weed. Once you have a steady growth rate, u wont be able to give it away fast enough.

 

[kayakatl]

cr500_af;432464 wrote: No cons IMO. When it grows you can just cut some off and give it away. Pods live in it (since you expressed interest in growing them), and all you need is an inexpensive light over your fuge to make the stuff grow... and when it grows, the nutrient levels are helped in the tank.
Win-win.

Specific light? Or just a utility light with a regular bulb? Or a LPS bulb like a grow light?

 

[cr500_af]

kayakATL;432485 wrote: Specific light? Or just a utility light with a regular bulb? Or a LPS bulb like a grow light?

You need to pick the proper bulb (referenced in the link Dawgdude posted) but neither the bulb nor a lamp to put it in are much. I use a flexible neck clip on lamp clamped to the side of the fuge. A CF bulb in the right spectrum, and off you go.

 

[kayakatl]

Perfect... I love it. Thanks guys! I will be adding as soon as I finish my little sump setup. It will not be much, but for the tiny space under the 55 I think it will do. I am excited. Fish and coral to come after the newyear.

 

[kayakatl]

ares;432542 wrote: FYI, carbon wont help with nitrates, macro certainly will though, and cheato is the best of the macros IMO. no cons, it grows quick, but its like like a maintenence issue, trim it every few weeks as the size of your fuge allows, not like a daily thing.

its not a miracle though, itll help, but it wont be night and day, consider feeding less, improving skimmer, getting a denitrator, or increasing water changes for a larger impact.

No feeding yet, no fish yet. My skimmer came in today but I have not set it up yet. I am just trying to get everything setup now. The tank is cycled, algae is about gone. The skimmer will be a huge help and so will a few more water changes. I just want to know before I have any coral or fish that everything it tip top. All other parameters are good. Ph, calcium, carbonate hardness, Alk, nitrite, ammonia all good. Just the trats and phosphate is a little higher than I would like. Working on phosphate too.

 

[mockery]

I can give you some cheto when I get home. I'll pm you when I get home saturday.

 

[kirru]

mine doesnt grow so much either, i not sure what my phos and trates test at. Mite go up to keen reef and get all the params tested. just put a agrow light bulb in and hoping it will have some positive effect but my tank is happy and no bad algae so i am happy