Refugium Maintenance

[Vin7250]

so i finally added a refugium to my system after 10 years in the hobby about 2 months ago.... my chaeto and my caulp are all in dire need of pruning. how much should i clip off??? I started out witha softball size piece of the chaeto and now its got to be 8x the size of that. any help would be appreciated

[shifty51008]

I usually take about half out or keep it around the size of a softball.

[Vin7250]

perfect.... thanks...... so just snip it with scissors?? or just rip it with fingers?

[drnihili]

I've always just ripped the cheato, it's not very tough. I give it a swish or two in the water before getting rid of it to dislodge any pods that may be lurking.

[jenglish]

I rip out about half my chaeto and Caulerpa every couple of weeks. It grows faster when regularly pruned and the more rips you make the faster it grows IME.

[Vin7250]

thanks guys..... should i give the stuff i ripp out to my buddies who have saltwater tanks.... it would continue to grow for them correct?? or should i just toss it

[Daimyo68]

pass the excess along :)

[tangtang clown]

If I know someone in need, I give it to them. +1 for just pulling it apart by hand. Take the whole ball out of the water and pull apart. Easy as pie.

[kam5512]

I would do half and shack the other out in your water real good to get your pods out... keep it going....

[jenglish]

Depending on your flow.... mine collects detritus like a filter pad and I rinse it out in the sink :D

[thegrun]

Be sure to decompress the ball of cheato, it tends to get matted up in a dense ball and will grow faster is you spread it out.

[small alien]

good advice. I've had the same questions.

[awdboxer]

I'm just starting up my 90g tank...when should I add some cheato to the fuge?

[iap]

Is it really a ball? I just got some and put it in my refugium and it kinda just spread out and is floating. How do you get it a ball? Rubberband it or what?

[thegrun]

A large loaf shaped mass would be a better description. It fills up the area it is in and takes that shape. The longer it is left in the space, the more compressed it gets as it grows.