Massaging Cheato?

[rhodan]

I have had a ball of Cheato in my Fuge for about 3 months...Although very green....It doesn't seem to be growing larger.....I have a homedepot CF daylight on it that was recommended from Melev's Reef. Should I periodically massage it or anything to get it to grow larger? Or what else could I be doing wrong?

Thanks.

 

[jcook54]

I turn my over/around every once in a while and it seems to be growing fine. I used a HD fixture for a while and mine grew but once I bought an actual refugium fixture to fit my CPR it started growing like a weed.

 

[oz]

I have the same problem, I heard using a powerhead to rotate it helps but really hasn't for me.

I have a Coralife 24" fixture with a 6500 bulb in it as well!

I also heard that unless your fuge/chaeto chamber gets completely dark during a 24hr period, it will not grow properly either. I have mine on a reverse lighting cycle but during the day, my fuge still gets some light. That may be my issue.

 

[chemically_balanced]

If it's not growing that's good. Your system is balanced and the nutrience export is stable.

 

[rhodan]

Chris - Thats a good idea about the power head....i have a MJ600 not being used so maybe I will try that. Mine does get total darkness and it is setup on a reverse daylight type system.

Perry - I cannot say my system is balanced....My nitrates are getting high and I'm trying to get that under control. But all my other chem points seem to be on par.

 

[acroholic]

I have a rolling cheato fuge, and my light is on 24/7 (18 watt PC). The cheato grows quite well.
Dave

 

[gwhiz]

Start overfeeding your tank and drive your nitrates up and the Cheato will start growing! Your goal is to grow Cheato to export excess nutrients....not growing is a good thing and probably more affected by water chemistry than lighting IMHO.

 

[soarin']

If you have a bunch of nutrients in your water it will grow like mad. Do you feed your tank alot?

 

[rhodan]

I do not feed a lot....I had phosphate issues and bad GHA problem so I cut back my feeding to only 1 or 2 times a day (depending on the day of the week).

 

[rhodan]

yea...I still have some GHA left not much though...I will try turning the lights off 3 days and do water changes. Will everything survive ok though?

-matt

 

[rhodan]

Excellent.....Yea...Everyone is really healthly including the corals I have in there now.... I see the darkness coming!!!

 

[FutureInterest]

If you have excess nutrients but your cheato is not growing then more than likely you have an iron deficiency issue.

Macro algaes need a certain level of iron to grow. Regular water changes are usually sufficient to maintain iron levels. However, iron does get pulled out quickly and I do occasionally dose it when I find my macros are no longer growing well and don't look as robust.

 

[rhodan]

Iron huh? I will have to look into that. I would have never have thought of that. Thanks Jin.

 

[ralph atl]

I dose mine with a few drops of iron every other day. I also dose live phyto every alternative day to support pods & give nutrients.