How to properly trim cheato?

[Ratpack]

I have a ball of cheato in my sump and it is starting to take off. In fact it has doubled in size in the last month. Even though it isn't completely to the size the sump can handle, I wanted to make sure I know ahead of time how to trim it back. Do you cut it or just pull it apart or what. I want to avoid having a lot of strands free as they will get sucked into the DT.

 

[Bearjohnson]

Just cut it.

 

[jsgarrido]

i just take my cheato out of the tank and cut it from the out side so i wont get any strands in my DT.shake it first so you dont take any pods out :smirk:

 

[Kongor]

i also take it out of my fuge, cut about 3/4 off of it then roll remainder into a tight ball and dunk it back into fuge

 

[PSU4ME]

The issue with chaeto is that the center grows so thick that it starts to die off. I usually try to cut the middle out on larger balls of chaeto.......rolling it back up works as well.

 

[reefer gladness]

FWIW, there seems to be a variety of strains of chaetomorpha available to us. The chaeto from my LFS in California had a tendency to fall apart and send little pieces of chaeto to clog up the filters, etc. The chaeto I purchased from reefcleaners.org on two different occasions really seems to hold together much better.

I cull no more than 1/3 of the chaeto ball at any one time.

 

[DianaKay]

This is an interesting topic for me....I'm new at growing macro algae & just figured I'd let it fill my refugium, didn't know I needed to trim any

 

[reefer gladness]

This is an interesting topic for me....I'm new at growing macro algae & just figured I'd let it fill my refugium, didn't know I needed to trim any

Absolutely, macros are sucking up nitrates and phosphates from the system but they aren't truly exported until removed. The goal is to maximize the uptake of these nutrients so it's necessary to cull some of the macro periodically to allow for more growth.

 

[michaelis88]

WHAT?! never knew you had to take out the portion of chaeto in order to take out phos and nitrates...So, what being the point? Why not just do waterchange, its the same thing basically...

Absolutely, macros are sucking up nitrates and phosphates from the system but they aren't truly exported until removed. The goal is to maximize the uptake of these nutrients so it's necessary to cull some of the macro periodically to allow for more growth.

 

[reefer gladness]

WHAT?! never knew you had to take out the portion of chaeto in order to take out phos and nitrates...So, what being the point? Why not just do waterchange, its the same thing basically...

Maybe I wasn't clear. Macros absorb nitrates and phosphates and do effectively remove them from the water - but the rate at which this takes place is proportionate to the amount of growth. If left unchecked your chaeto will fill up the available space it has and growth rate will slow - as will the uptake of nitrates and phosphates.

 

[PSU4ME]

Chaeto has to be removed to actually remove the nutrients from the "system". As stated above, chaeto pulls it out of the water only. Trimming is easy and it should be done as needed. The key is to support its growth and it will help reduce your po4 and trates.

 

[tektite]

I much rather prefer to simply pull a few handfuls off the main blob. Using scissors to cut the chaeto often makes a bunch of little pieces that are annoying and can clog pumps.

 

[DianaKay]

Hey Tek, my Dragon's Breath that I got from you is doing good, Thanks Again!
My Chaeto is getting to be a pretty good size ball but I have a ??....
Will it grow better if I half it into two balls or leave it as one larger?
I just stocked pods & see lots of them living in it already. Along with lots of micro-brittle stars.

 

[Tarantulady]

I rip all mine apart with my fist and shake out any hitchhikers, then flush it down the toilet in shreds or throw it out (bag it WELL or it stinks!) It hasn't died yet from the harsh treatment.

 

[tektite]

Hey Tek, my Dragon's Breath that I got from you is doing good, Thanks Again!
My Chaeto is getting to be a pretty good size ball but I have a ??....
Will it grow better if I half it into two balls or leave it as one larger?
I just stocked pods & see lots of them living in it already. Along with lots of micro-brittle stars.

Glad the dragon's breath is doing good

You would probably see a little faster growth as two balls, simply because more of the algae is getting light, especially if they're tumbling.

 

[ziggy]

Hey Tek, my Dragon's Breath that I got from you is doing good, Thanks Again!
My Chaeto is getting to be a pretty good size ball but I have a ??....
Will it grow better if I half it into two balls or leave it as one larger?
I just stocked pods & see lots of them living in it already. Along with lots of micro-brittle stars.

Diana

I hope you read of my request for a pic through your magnifying glass.

You got me so curious

 

[tektite]

Got pods?

Put it on HD to see the little guys in detail
[video=youtube_share;XHbSCZObB3M]http://youtu.be/XHbSCZObB3M[/video]

 

[Talon33]

I left my ball of chaeto untrimmed for awhile and it never grew much larger. It actually thinned out. Also seemed like algae you do not want growing started growing quite a bit more. So I got back on trimming every 2-3 weeks and while my chaeto ball never gets large it grows super fast now! also keeps nuisance algae down in fuge as this algae is almost a sponge for nitrates and phosphates.

 

[tektite]

...also keeps nuisance algae down in fuge as this algae is almost a sponge for nitrates and phosphates.

That it is. I put a tiny ball in a 20 gallon sump packed to the brim with hair algae (pod and mysis growing factory ), kind of expected it to lose the nutrient battle. The sump was literally an almost solid blob of hair algae. Instead, the chaeto started to grow, and eventually all the hair algae died off and it took over the sump. Pretty cool to watch over time.

 

[Reef Commando]

I just pull clumps off of it. I also have a nice colony of aptasia in the sump to keep it company. I reckon that the UV steriliser stops the aps from getting into the display tank.