Optimum refugium depth for Chaeto

Aloha Mike,

Depth is part of the equation.
Brighter light goes deeper.
Increased water flow brings more nutrients.
Light spectrum also matters.
Repositioning the growth "mat" makes a difference.
Harvesting schedule and amount also influences the rate of nutrient export

If you are looking at a specific build/situation with some limitations, I would offer more details in order to get the best responses.

Mark
808-345-1049


Edited by Mark Peterson - July 27 2013 at 8:20am

Mine floats so I'm not sure more depth would make any difference.  I do not know how to make it tumble so I flip over the mat once a day.  Its healthy and full of life.  Is it not supposed to float?  Am I supposed to put something on top of it to keep it from floating?

Disclaimer: Please remember not to take what I say too seriously. I want to stay out of trouble.

Aloha,
Yes, the Chaeto mat floats. I usually set a rock or two on it. Within a month it's grown by 1/3-1/2 and filling the entire surface again so I harvest as much as has grown and set the rocks on it again. That's what I do.

To give my opinion on the other part of the question, typical minimum water depth for adequate algae growth is 4 inches.

I don't believe rolling algae does any better than stationary algae, but to a point, faster water flow through the Refugium makes it grow faster, as long as the light is bright enough. When I'm working to resolve tank problems for hobbyists here on the forum, I often ask how fast the Refugium algae is growing. Often they will say that it hasn't increased much in months. It seems like 9 times out of 10 it is the light that was old or of insufficient wattage to grow decent algae. Without algae growth, the refugium's main purpose is null. Just my observation.

Mahalo,
Mark

From what I have seen, when Chaeto grows to the point where it fills its horizontal space it grows denser/tighter coils and turns into a buoyant mat about 4-6" thick, rather than spreading deeper in the water. If harvested and rearranged before it reaches that point, it can loosely fill a deeper space like in the pic down below.

A mat of Chaeto actually pushes itself out of the water. As was already mentioned, it's buoyant. The strands exposed to the air turn yellow, die and dry up under bright warm light. We used to affectionately call the Refugium light a Home Depot Special, you know, the Twist PC in one of those clip-on aluminum cone reflectors from the hardware store as in the pic.

I'm not sure if Chaeto will grow the same under LED's. Perhaps someone else can chime in on that.




That's my 2 cents,
Mark


Edited by Mark Peterson - July 28 2013 at 1:03am