arag-alive

[m3rcury]

i just set up a sump and fuge. i would like to put some sand in the fuge to help with nitrate reduction. i saw arag-alive at the store. is this worth the money? or should i just buy regular sand? also, will it actually make a difference in the fuge? in other words, will a 3-4" sand bed help reduce nitrates?

[bertoni]

I would just buy regular sand. The bagged live sand like that doesn't contain much except bacteria, and they'll come for free. I don't think a sandbed in the refugium is going to help reduce nitrate. Lighting it for macroalga should, though.

[m3rcury]

ok. thanks bertoni. i've got cheato in there now. my nitrates are at 20ppm and i can't quite figure out why. i just added the sump, so maybe they will come on down.

[bertoni]

How often and how much Chaetomorpha are you harvesting out of the tank?

[m3rcury]

what do you mean by harvesting?

[AquaReeferMan]

Growing it. As the algae grows it removes the nitrate from your water. Once you have a decent amount people usually trim it and remove some.

[bertoni]

If the Chaetomorpha is never trimmed and removed from the tank, it eventally starts dying at the bottom and releasing nutrients back into the tank.

[m3rcury]

hmm. i've never trimmed it or removed it. right now the mass is about the size of a cantelope. where should i trim it and how much? the "top" of it is darker green and much denser. the bottom is lighter green and more loose.

[bertoni]

I would trim away the bottom part. Maybe take out half?

[m3rcury]

sounds cool. will do.

thanks !!!