no chaeto growth

[gusmanda]

I've had my chaeto for some time now but it does not seem to grow : (
does it require specific lighting? My LFS said they'd frow with any light, but not sure if it was 100% accurate. I'm using one of those "electricity saver"bulbs, with yellos hue. Should I switch to non-energy-saving bulbs?

[Aquarist007]

This is an excellent joice for lighting:



Some of the things you can do to encourage chaeto growth:
harvest it once a week
when you harvest it rip the ends
spread the chaeto out over more surface area and tear the ball apart
dose your refugium with iron

[kolosy]

yup - something in the 5-6000k range is ideal. also, realize that chaeto feeds on nutrients in your system, so it depends on how much you're feeding, your skimmer, etc.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by kolosy
yup - something in the 5-6000k range is ideal. also, realize that chaeto feeds on nutrients in your system, so it depends on how much you're feeding, your skimmer, etc.

good point--thanks for adding--yes you could add a bit of flake food to the refugium

[FRP]

use a 75w light

[zero26]

I used this bulb and increased my lighting on the fuge and I can see growth everyday! Its from Lowes. What you are interested in is the K's this is the best one I could find with 6500K close to daylight.

[romsoccer12]

heres a question to add. why does my chaeto not float? i have it in the 2nd chamber in my biocube and it always just sinks to the bottom

[zero26]

not enough flow

[thegrun]

Try to put it up on a plastic egg stand a few inches below the surface for a week or two, if it sinks to the bottom it may not get enough light to grow.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by thegrun
Try to put it up on a plastic egg stand a few inches below the surface for a week or two, if it sinks to the bottom it may not get enough light to grow.

or half fill that chamber in the biocube with reef rubble then add the chaeto.

[romsoccer12]

i definitely have enough flow because people keep chaeto in the 2nd chamber all the time. i have rubble but not a lot. i clipped it on an algae clip directly into the light so hopefully in a couple weeks it will start floating.

[gusmanda]

if it sinks to the bottom does it mean it's dead? Or simply not enough light? Mine's still green so I'm assuming it was just a matter of changing the light for it to start growing, didn't know it was supposed to float.

[Anemone0524]

Are we supposed to put sand in these refugiums? How many inches? Is there a size grain that works better?

[evsalty]

By itself chaeto will not float but with a current it can tumble in it like a tumble weed does in the wind.

[sdc19982002]

If your chaeto isnt growing fast then your one of the lucky ones that doesnt have a high nutrient load. I would worry more if you were having to harvest it every 2-3 days.

[gusmanda]

It's not growing fast, but the algae in the main tank certainly is growing, so think it's due to the poor light that my chaeto is not growing at the moment, will go change the bulb today, hopefully that will fix the problem.

[bolo7735]

I used to complained that my chetto wasn't growing fast enough. Week later I forgot about them and it filled up my refug. Got to the point I had to constant trim them. My HOB EcoSystem I had at the time could not break down the crap that was sitting in there. Had bad cyrno bacteria and chetto grew like weeds. Now with the proper sump my chetto is taking its time growing.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by gusmanda
It's not growing fast, but the algae in the main tank certainly is growing, so think it's due to the poor light that my chaeto is not growing at the moment, will go change the bulb today, hopefully that will fix the problem.

what kind of flow do you have directed to the refugium