Adding chaeto to sump

[tpskillings]

Hello I want to try out some chaeto in my sump to help with nitrates and phosphate but I don't know where I can put it and what lighting I need for it its a 40 breeder with a 29 gallon sump any info is appreciated thanks

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[ReefMaster48]

Space will be an issue to determine. Maybe move that skimmer closer or back further, and have some chaeto in the empty space? Not sure, you don't have a ton of room. Best would likely be to plumb in a separate tank for a fuge only.

However, the light is simple for me. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Best bang for your buck. Only had it a few weeks, but it grew chaeto like crazy!! Definitely don't need a few hundred+ dollar name brand light for macros. Some people even use a light from the hardware store - although I never had any luck with that.

[sde1500]

If space inside the sump is an issue try a reactor maybe. Pump in the sump feeds a reactor hanging on the side of the sump.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

It doesn't need a ton of space. At a minimum, you can drop a ball in, put some light on it, and see what happens. If it really takes off and you have lots of nutrient load to deal with, then you can think about a reactor or separate refugium. But for now, I'd just get a clip on light and drop a ball in somewhere that it'll fit. Next to the skimmer or next to your sock.

[Cheapreef]

I'd be very watchful if you drop it in the same area as the skimmer, mine literally fell apart and ended up in my skimmer impeller. Makes a huge mess to clean, It can and will break impellers if enough is sucked in.

[tpskillings]

Ya i think I'll just do a reactor or move the skimmer back and make a acrylic box with a small pump attached to it for flow

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[der_wille_zur_macht]

Originally Posted by Cheapreef

I'd be very watchful if you drop it in the same area as the skimmer, mine literally fell apart and ended up in my skimmer impeller. Makes a huge mess to clean, It can and will break impellers if enough is sucked in.

That's a good point.

In my current sump I have chaeto in the same compartment as the skimmer, but there's a piece of acrylic leaning against the skimmer to keep the chaeto from getting sucked in. A ghetto-rigged way of creating a compartment just for the chaeto. You could also use eggcrate.

[tpskillings]

Does it really help with nitrate and phosphate though?? Just not sure if it actually makes a difference

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[der_wille_zur_macht]

It absolutely can make a difference. There are a lot of variables though, and there are a lot of other methods for dealing with nutrients. Chaeto is nice because it is essentially self-adjusting. If you have good lighting for it, it'll grow fast if your nutrients are high, then slow down once they're in about the right ranges. All you really have to do is pull the extra out once in a while and throw it away.

Let's back up a step - what are the issues you're trying to solve? What are your parameters, and what else have you tried?

[tpskillings]

I've been doing 10 gallon water changes every Sunday and can't seem to get my nitrates under 10ppm and phosphate at .25 and am running a gfo and carbon reactor too all of my softies and LPS are doing fine except for my hammer I noticed yesterday one head was closing up and tested my nitrate and it was at 30ppm all of a sudden. That has never happened before and have not done anything different to the tank all other parameters are good

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[sde1500]

When is the last time you changed the GFO and Carbon? They get exhausted after a while. 10ppm Nitrates is fine btw, though definitely want those phosphates lowered. Do you have a lot of algae in the tank? When was the last time you cleaned that filter sock, it is quite dirty.

[tpskillings]

Gfo and carbon is about 3 weeks old and I changed the filter socks yesterday right after I took the pic lol

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[tpskillings]

And yes I am getting a decent amount if algae on the glass but not the rocks

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[der_wille_zur_macht]

Are you sure your source water for the water changes is good? Test your freshly mixed saltwater for nutrients.

What's your feeding like? What's your livestock list?

If there is nothing obvious causing your nutrient problem then I do think it's worthwhile to find room for some Chaeto.

[timnem70]

I put my Macro, three kinds in the forst chamber where the filter sock is, then skimmer and finally return. Find Macri grows like crazy in the first compartment because it's soaking up all the Phosphates and nitrates at that point. Therefore my skimmer, while still pulling skim mate, load is much less amd emptying the cup less frequent.

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[timnem70]

Just use a 6500k home depot. Light and run opposite the DT lighting schedule

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[ReefMaster48]

It will make a difference for sure! Just don't expect a cubic inch of space to have the same effect as a cubic foot - just example. The bigger the fuge the better and more effective.

[timnem70]

Sorry so many posts. Just wanted to give you more ideas and context. Good luck

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[der_wille_zur_macht]

Originally Posted by timnem70

I put my Macro, three kinds in the forst chamber where the filter sock is, then skimmer and finally return. Find Macri grows like crazy in the first compartment because it's soaking up all the Phosphates and nitrates at that point. Therefore my skimmer, while still pulling skim mate, load is much less amd emptying the cup less frequent.

The relationship likely isn't as linear as you're assuming. Skimmers work on very large organic molecules, plus stuff like bacteria. Macro algae grows best off well dissolved nutrients. They don't really directly compete, having the macro "first" isn't going to immediately remove anything that the skimmer would have removed instead.

There is an overall effect though, any time you're exporting nutrients in any form, the entire ecosystem becomes less nutrient-rich. If some or most of your skimmate is bacteria, and you remove the food source for that bacteria (bacteria and macro can compete over the same nutrient forms), then yes - the skimmate will be less over time. But, it's not due to the order in which the water hits the skimmer versus the macroalgae, it's because the entire system has slowly changed.

[timnem70]

You're absolutely right. Its just a preference and one i find works best with my refugium configuration. Did not mean to imply, amd don't think I said it works better. Just that a lot of people like to put macro before skimming in that after a fliter sock, it gets a lot more undissloved nutrients and seems to grow macro faster due to the amount of excess nutrients not uptaken by skimming. Just a thought since he has less space to work with and a lot of people don't think you can do it in what would "normally" be a backwards way of doing a sump/ fuge.

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[der_wille_zur_macht]

I didn't mean to be picky about your comment, I hope it didn't come off that way.

There are lots of reasons to orient things one way or the other. It really depends on your preferences and your goals. If you're trying to raise some 'pods in addition to the chaeto, it probably makes sense to have raw tank water dumping near the chaeto since then they'll have a chance at food before it's skimmed out.

In the end, our tanks typically have high turnover through the sumps compared to tanks from decades ago, so things are probably more consistent throughout the whole water column than we think.