So I noticed My chaeto is turning like translucent. All my params are perfect (0-0-0) The MG was low when I put it in (980) and right now I am in the process of upping it for Bryopsis removal. It started turning this color a week or so ago. Its never really "bounced back" from shipping.

Could I be giving it too MUCH light? Should I move it somewhere in the display with a shadow or somthing? Was/Is it because my Mg is so low? I am not that up to par with Algaes :< Any insight would be awesome!

What light is it under now? Are you feeding the tank? 0 nitrates can cause problems for algae growth.

Translucent is bad. More details, as lak requested.

right now it is under a 150w 20K MH bulb. Im feeding the fish/shrimp but thats about it really :<

I don't think you can give it too much light, the top of mine is ~1" from an XR-E cool white LED with a 40 degree lense.

Ok is it more white than translucent? I dont believe its turning totally clear. It must be getting a bit too much light. It doesnt hurt it. Mine does that in the area that is closest to the light. My lfs takes it with no probs and gives me store credit for it.

unless its dying and withering away dont worry about too much.

bzphotog

totally turning clear.

If you have bryopsis, maybe it's starving the chaeto? Does it take up nutrients faster than chaeto does?

white/brown/tanslucent is dead. you main problem was your light, 20k doesnt have the correct spectrum in the red's that cheato needs to grow. you could try putting it under a 13w/26w cfl daylight/6500k bulb and see if it grows but it sounds like its already dead. if you have a low nutrient system it will still be green just wont grow very fast as long as lighting is sufficent. cheato is pretty easy to come by so if its dead it wont be to hard to get more. i would send you some next time i trim my sump but that might not be for a month or so. there are some man eating pods in there though, they stare at you, show no fear, and are redicously big. i dont even like to reach in there without gloves on. they remind me of those critters from the movies. they look alot like this only white.


low light is about the only way to kill it. it can sit in the dark for a week with little to no water and temps in the 40's and survive just fine.

Translucent isn't dead... If it is from being blasted with light.

The chaeto on the top of the ball in my sump gets white-translucent from the heat and light intensity under the halogen.

I had fine growth under actinics (spectrally very much like 20K light), but the morphology of the algae was different.

I'm using a 12w spiral type light (day light) and my chaetos are happy with the light and they are in bright green.

I have no fish in the tank and just some mysis shrimp for my fire shrimp once every two days. I think it's nutrient enough for the chaetos.

well I was just wondering cause my Red Grac. is thriving under this lighting. It is in the straight up light and has turned from kinda translucent from being shipped to a deep dark beautiful red. So I guess its fair to say I made a boo boo thinkin chaeto would be fine also under that much light /facepalm.

A good bit of it is dark dark green, but maybe 20% is turning white/clear so I guess I will put it under the shelf in the shade to keep it from getting ghetto blasted by the MH lights and see how that goes LOL. If it all croaks, I will probably take you up on that off MrBigShot when I get my sump up and running rofl! Id kinda like to have some pods for my sump anyhow

OH and quick question, would it be okay to put it in that net baggy that comes with the Aquaclear filter to keep it all together? I havent used it for anything since I bought the filter.

It would be an eyesore, but I'll deal with it until the sump is running

Figured a pic is worth more:



and my Red Grac which I THINK is thriving under the lighting:
before my lights:

after my lights:

Chaeto doesn't look bad to me...

There are alot of white parts on it. I was really just worried :<

edit: All the pics Ive seen of Chaeto, it is like really "emeraldy" green.

That bright emerald color isn't simply a function of health, it is also a function of the lighting spectrum it is grown under. Macroalgaes are similar higher plants with regard to their morphological differences under different spectral regimes.

When I grew chaeto under very blue light (high K), it grew with a wiry, compacted texture and was a dark green color. Since I have been growing it under much lower K (perhaps 5,500K?) it has grown in a loose, spaghetti-like texture with a very bright green color.

Both are healthy, but IME, it grows much slower under high-K lighting. Better to hit it with something between 3,500-10,000K.

Thanks Mr.Fosi! I planned on stickin it in the fuge when I get it runnin (afford to downgrade a pump) and it will definatly have a lower end spectrum in it. I just had it in the display until then really. Thanks ^_^

+1. My Chaeto used to be dark and tight kinda like a brillo pad. That was when it was in a soap dish and under the 14k Phoenix 150W MH. Now I have it under a 40watt PC spiral rated at 4000k and is grows like mad, lighter green and less dense.

FYI, Kitty, those snails will make short work of that red algae. And snails are smarter than you'd think. They will remember where things are in the tank. I had one that would find a way down my loc-line to get to the algae that grew on the end. Same snail, only snail that did it. You should get your sump running. You will be so happy you did.