need some help... cant keep chaeto alive and more *long read*

[rcdude1990]

hey guys whats up, my name is victor.. ive been members of other reef discussion boards but they havent helped much so i come to reef 2 reef for some help
first a brief history

i have a 125 gallon salwater aquarium thats been running for a good 4-5 years now. its gone threw some changes and upgrades so i guess ill list equipment first

125 gallon glass aquarium
about 130 lbs LR and 100lbs sand
a trigger systems RUBY36S (36 gallon sump)
a super reef octopus 3000 internal protein skimmer
small refuge in the middle (which im having some problems and trouble with)
BRS dual media reactor with gfo and carbon
2 mp40 ecotechs
4 AI Vega led units
auto top off
and rodi station
fish and corals:
2 clownfish
blue hippo tang
sailfin tang
2 foxfaces
1 magnificant foxface
3 cleaner shrimp
a few green mushrooms, fuzzy muchrooms, and a colt coral

so when i started it was only a FOWLR, which went well but of course whats the point of having a marine aquarium with out some coral

so about 2 years ago i decided i wanna try some coral.. so i purchased the sump, media reactor, led lighting, and the prtein skimmer
im looking to keep corals that move with the water, mostly softies, like leathers, zenia, gsp, frogspawn and hammers. not really into the hardy corals that dont move lol

ok so.. i did the upgrade and all and was excited to get my first bundle of chaeto... but after a few months the chaeto didnt do well i sappose and died off. ive seen chaeto like a very bright green.. mine was very dark so i figure it died? also it slowly disappeared lol so yes im guessing it died. i would run my sump light (which was a regular lamp light bulb) for 24 hours... so i guesss thats what killed it maybe? andway i got another piece and again its slowly starting to like fade and shrink less and less... plus i changed the sump lighting to run opposite my led lighting.. so led on = sump off.. led off = sump on.

so thats 1 problem.. i cant seem to keep chaeto alive... yes i know some of you are going to say test parameters; which i will do write after i write this post haha

second
i picked up a mushroom frag a while back from a nearby reefer and surprisingly it has survived anddd has branched out.. it started as a tiny frag and now i have about 10 big sized muchrooms. so im good at keeping mushrooms. i also picked up a fuzzy mushroom about 3 weeks ago and so far so good it looks happy.
i also got a colt coral that seems to be happy (the polyps on the stems are fully open) so im guessing thats happy lol

but i have had a try at like xenia and gsp and i had no luck (this was about 4 months ago since i last tried)
so im looking to keep easy frags.. colorful that sway with the water and such but i cant seem to have luck with keeping the main important ingredient (so i heard it is) which is chaeto

is my sump light ok? is my ligthing times ok?
also the salt mix i use is "tropic marine pro reef"
i dont dose, i top off with rodi water, and i only feed my fish pellets and romaine lettuce.. i dont have anything for the corals.. any suggestions for something for the corals old help

i see everyones tanks and im like dam they are beautiful! like a friend of mine has a 30 gallon and all she said she does is "water changes with nutri seawater is all i do to the tank" and im like how?! i dont get it lol
i feel like i have the equipment but im not doing something right. so any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[edd]

well, your not on reef 2 reef
you should change your fuge bulb.
you need to post parameters, people can't give advice without them.
seems like you have all good equipment.

 

[rcdude1990]

test results

PH: 8.0-8.2
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5.0-10
phosphate: 0-.25
calcium: 520 mg/l ppm
kh: 12 degreedkh or 214.8 ppm kh (api reef master test kit)
salinity:1.027

well, your not on reef 2 reef
you should change your fuge bulb.
you need to post parameters, people can't give advice without them.
seems like you have all good equipment.

haha check agian edd.. i posted to it about 20 min ago

 

[greenstreet.1]

Do you have it floating in the water ?

 

[rcdude1990]

It was floating around but then it did grab on a rock (ihave like 3big pieces of LR , no sand in sump

 

[troywalkerphoto]

Thats strange Chaeto will grow just about anywhere dude! I have it in my sumo and in my overflow box and its growing like a champ. I would go to a good LFS and check my parameters. I started with API and let me tell you they are now worth the money!!

 

[rcdude1990]

Wow really?! The reviews said it was good... Ima have to do that then

 

[troywalkerphoto]

Do a search on this site and type in API you will find in every instance (correction 98%) that ppl with this test have problems with their tank and say they have good readings only to be smacked on the nose with a rolled up newspaper! LOL seriously, its ok (kinda) for a FOWLR set up or to cycle a tank but there are many better kits out there for a few more dollars. Make sure that you check what test they are using The better store will not test or sell that kit for saltwater

 

[rcdude1990]

Any suggestions on a home kit?
Crap about to throw my test kit out!!

 

[edd]

api nitrate kit is very inaccurate. chaeto needs nutrients to grow.
red sea or salifert.

 

[troywalkerphoto]

Red sea! all the way!

 

[KathyC]

You can't use a table lamp bulb to grown chaeto.
Many here use one of those cli[ on reflector type fixtures and a 6500K (IIRC) bulb ( a spot or flood light) over their sumps. Yes, an opposite schedule from your main tank is best.


Most folks can grow GSP, so definitely try that again. Xenia is another story..some can grow it (sometimes way too well), and for others it simply never survives. I can't grow it, sometimes I wonder if it is due to having leathers in the tank..??

 

[ChrisB]

I like Red sea for calc and mag , salifert for alk, the color change is what I like. I am in staten Island when you get your parameters straight I can hook you up with a some gsp if you want its growing in my fuge.