Nutirents trapped in chaeto?

[OneReef]

I have a big mass of chaeto that is in my refugium that resides within my sump. The water from my tank flows into a filter sock, then into the fuge, then into the protein skimmer section, then into the return section. I was wondering if junk/detritus/nutrients were getting trapped in the mass of chaeto and if I should take it out shake it in a bucket of water every now and then to get the gunk out so nitrates and phosphates don't come out of it. I moved it around a little the other day and saw lots of crud coming out of it when I moved it. My only fear of taking it out to clean would be losing a bunch of pods. What do you guys do?

[jenglish]

I run a skimmer before my fuge to remove as much as possible before going to the chaeto. I would rinse it whenever harvesting.

[mille239]

I have my skimmer output angled off the glass in my fuge, creating a swirling pattern.... it keeps my chaeto rolling perpetually, and does not collect detritus.. you may try a similar approach.

[mat167]

^ That's a good idea. Otherwise yes it can collect detritus, and you should shake it out every so often as well as keep it trim so it can grow properly. If it doesn't grow properly it won't remove as much nutrients from your water. I Get rid of half of mine about every 2-3 months.

[dknuckles]

I wish my chaeto would grow and not die off!
Sorry, I did not mean to high jack but I had to vent:strooper:

[Untamed12]

My chaeto ball is about 15" diameter. I have great big strainer that I scoop it out with, then I rinse it under tapwater every few weeks or so.

Mine tends to get some cyano growing in it and the rinse wipes that out completely. Doesn't seem to harm the chaeto in any way.

[o0jmadr0x0o]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15213597#post15213597 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Untamed12
My chaeto ball is about 15" diameter. I have great big strainer that I scoop it out with, then I rinse it under tapwater every few weeks or so.

Mine tends to get some cyano growing in it and the rinse wipes that out completely. Doesn't seem to harm the chaeto in any way.


hmmm this would be awsome for me if the tap water does nothing to the cheato. would a die off in critters thats in the chaeto mess with the water when i put the grass back in the tank?

[OneReef]

I ended up taking my mass of chaeto out of the fuge, blowing the bottom and rocks in the fuge off with a baster, and siphoning all the water out. I then put the mass of chaeto into the siphoned out bucket of water and vigorously shook the chaeto around and thoroughly rinsed it out. Then I put fresh saltwater and the chaeto back in the fuge. The bucket at that point was so nasty that I couldn't see a couple of inches down into the water. Guess I got alot of gunk out.....