Chaeto algae dying in sump

[Chris Vo]

Hi everyone, so my tank is doing great! I'm past the two month mark and the tank seems to be doing well.

I have a question about my chaeto algae dying in my sump. First question: should I try and trim off the parts that are dying off? 2nd question: why might it be dying?

50g Display tank
Kessil 360w
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
Very Small trace of nitrite (somewhere between 0 and the first color on the API test)
Small trace of phos (so hard to tell the color, but I think it reads 0)
Salinity 1.025

25g sump
15w Led light white and blue
Phosphate reactor w/gfo
Protein skimmer
Small refugium with live sand/rock


Using DeIonized water.
Recently recovering from a diatom bloom. 3 weeks ago. Starting to see green algae on the live rock now. Not hairy.

Any positive and helpful insight? I'm terribly fragile. Please be nice to me. Thanks!

 

[BigEarsNYC]

Same problem happening with me so I'll tag along this thread. I can't get macro algae to grow in my sump. If I keep the light on over night I get cyno growth.

TIA

 

[MikeC]

chaeto dying is a good thing IMOP lol
It means your system is nutrient poor which is a good unless you have a lot of softies in your tank.

Detritus(poop & leftover food) feeds algae most of us don't want to feed algae so if it's dying it means your keeping up with your nutrient export by proper skimming and water changes(detritus removal by siphoning)

Now if you like green stuff in you sump do the opposite and trim chato often to export what it has absorbed.

Me I prefer to remove detritus first so I don't have to worry about a "after the fact chato" dying and releasing phosphates back into the water column(why your starting to see algae in your DT)just so I can run another "after the fact" something thing like GFO:banghead:

 

[bertyboy69]

I personally think that no matter what the tank your macro should at the very least stay alive if its dying there might be something wrong with the light , no tank is soooo clean that there is absolutly no nitrates or phosphates , they may be undetectable but its enough to keep cheato alive , try using a regular spiral cfl bulb between 5000 and 6500k and see if you have a change

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs

 

[Chris Vo]

Thanks for the guidance. Do you think I should trim off the dead parts of the chaeto?

 

[bertyboy69]

Definetly trim the dead cheato and keep an eye on it because when cheato dies it releases all the nitrates and phosphates it was holding

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[Chris Vo]

So I went to trim the chaeto and it pretty much wasn't salvageable. Maybe 15% of it was still firm and green. The rest of it was mush or brown. So I chucked it all. Should I go out and buy some more?

 

[bertyboy69]

Yah just ask arou d someone should have some nearby for free , id offer but im on staten island thats a bit of a trip

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[Dre]

I personally think that no matter what the tank your macro should at the very least stay alive if its dying there might be something wrong with the light , no tank is soooo clean that there is absolutly no nitrates or phosphates , they may be undetectable but its enough to keep cheato alive , try using a regular spiral cfl bulb between 5000 and 6500k and see if you have a change

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs

I agree except for the bulb statement and if you have caulerpa which will go A sexual at any time. Anyway i have Dragon's Breath if you're interested.

 

[MikeC]

Yup that's what chato needs light and poop.
I just don't see how paying for light bulbs,electric and not siphoning out detritus makes more sense ?

Too each their own:fishhit:

 

[troywalkerphoto]

Its green it needs the right light

I personally think that no matter what the tank your macro should at the very least stay alive if its dying there might be something wrong with the light , no tank is soooo clean that there is absolutly no nitrates or phosphates , they may be undetectable but its enough to keep cheato alive , try using a regular spiral cfl bulb between 5000 and 6500k and see if you have a change

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs

++1 on that!

The chaeto is too hearty a macro to die off like that. I would thing that it might be the light. Is the light too powerful? I have a single par 38 phillips led light I bought from home depot and I get crazy growth. I do have elevated nutrient (by choice) lots of softies and Im a bit lazy on the changes. Try trimming the dead stuff off and make sure that it can tumble or is in a high flow area. Then temporarily switch out the light source for the one mentioned above. Cost with the clip on reflector 20.00-28.00 tops with bulb!
I see lots of ppl having blue light in the sump and wonder why. Algae is green, like the leaves on a tree, it needs light in the yellow spectrum for it to thrive. The multi spectrum and blue light is for sumps that act as holding areas for livestock, coral frags, inverts.
Try it and let us know.

 

[bertyboy69]

Yup that's what chato needs light and poop.
I just don't see how paying for light bulbs,electric and not siphoning out detritus makes more sense ?

Too each their own:fishhit:

I never endorse not siphoning detritus , i siphone my sand and sump every time i do a water change which is bi weekly but it doesnt take care of every little bit , there will always be detritus revardless of how much you siphon unless u run a barebottom tank and have extreme ocd ! But even with siphoning and clearing rocj and mixing sand there is still some breakdown which is what i allow my fuge to basically level off the effects

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs

 

[BigEarsNYC]

My tank is about 9mos old now. Looking back, I think I over-maintained it and am still trying to find the proper balance of husbandry. I feel the tank is healthy overall - my fish and corals are all doing well.

In my case - I wonder if I need chaeto at all. If my parameters all look good, do I need to even worry about macro algae and sump lighting? My skimmer is always on, i only feed once a day at the proper amount. I have a bit of green algae on the DT glass (not GHA) and a bit of cyno in the sump. It appears that having the light on in the sump has more of an effect on the cyno than the algae.

My chaeto is the size of an orange and really doesn't look healthy, but how beneficial is it to my tank anyway? At what point is the bioload high enough that a sump needs more than just a skimmer? Isn't this determined by testing the water and when there is an elevated level of ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, and PH?

I'm with Mike - I'm trying to keep it simple.

 

[Dre]

Good points. I've kept some kind of caulerpa etc. for over 20 years because i like to see them grow. I use old fluorescent bulbs. What i notice is they use up ammonia, nitrates, po4 etc. but also use up elements, trace elements, minerals etc. which corals also need. You have to figure out what you need them for and take the necessary steps to keep them healthy. If cheato dying it may need elements and minerals to sustain it like Iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc to name a few. Not poop. I say (may need) because there could be other variables not mentioned be the OP..

 

[Dre]

Good points. I've kept some kind of caulerpa etc. for over 20 years because i like to see them grow. I use old fluorescent bulbs. What i notice is they use up ammonia, nitrates, po4 etc. but also use up elements, trace elements, minerals etc. which corals also need. You have to figure out what you need them for and take the necassary steps to keep them healthy. If cheato dying it may need elements and minerals to sustain it like Iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc to name a few. Not poop. I say (may need) because there could be other variables not mentioned be the OP..

 

[whispers]

I'm having the same prob my phos were alway .00-.05 then when most of my cheato died I got higher phos readings and couldn't figure out what happened when I get home I'm going to toss the little that's left of the cheato

 

[Alexnyc22]

I have the same problem

 

[Shastri Sookraj]

Not sure if anyone touched on this, but I see your using GFO reactor, this removes elements algae needs to survive. Maybe shut it down for a few days and monitor the system?

 

[Dan_P]

Insufficient lighting is likely your issue. Trim off the dead stuff by pinching it off.

I am growing luxurious macro algae with nitrate and phosphate at undetectable levels but I have two 5000 K CFL spots over the sump about six inches above the water. My chaeto died before it dawned on me to increase the light level. I have Long Island Sound macro algae, Caulerpa, a mystery alga and Gracileria and all are growing nicely. I should buy some chaeto to prove it will grow under the higher light level and low nutrient level.

While I haven't proved anything, you might try really turning up the light in the sump. I doubt you could provide too much light to a macro alga like this.