Chateo Issues

[cpurvis]

I have a JBJ 12 gal nano. It's an older version with 4 chambers in the back and not 3. In the first chamber is live rock rubble and my mechanical filtration (filter floss, but I'm going to go to the Floss pads from DrsFosterSmith) in the second chamber is just more live rock rubble, third is my chaeto, and 4th is my Heater and return pump.

 

I cut the black sticker off of the 3rd bay with the chaeto so that I could get it light. I have the $10 dollar light fixture from walmart that clips to the stand with a 10w CFL bulb I think it was rated at 6500k light. Since I have gotten the chaeto it has never really grown, and at this point it is basically dead, I plan on today doing a nice thorough clean back there to get rid of all the chaeto as I'm concerned that it's decomposing and leaching stuff back into the tank.

 

I do a 1 gal water change every other day and I stir up the sand while I do it. I also use a very small tube to use as a siphon so that I have a lot of time to really get as much solid waste and suspended debris as I can; as I take the water out.

 

I have 2 clowns in the tank that I feed daily, and I feed a meaty (mysis or brine) food to them and to my Duncan every other day. I feed the meaty on the day I do a water change so that I can remove what doesn't get eaten. I also broadcast feed the corals in my tank once a week, right before a 1 gal water change.

 

I'm starting to think there just isn't enough left over nutrients for the chaeto that's in the back. I have Halimeda and a Gracilaria species growing in the display side of the tank (both hitchhikers). They both grow very slowly. I know I should post my levels, but to be honest even when the tank was cycling and I had GHA that seemed impossibly long for the space in my tank Nitrate and Phosphate were always undetectable. I think all the algae and everything just suck it right up. I also run carbon and phosban in the back chambers.

 

 

Now to my question, do I replace the chateo, and try again? If I remove permanently what do I put in that space back there? More live rock rubble?

 

Sub question, is every other day water change to often? It actually really doesn't take me more then 20min. to do the whole thing so I don't mind it at all.

 

Thanks for reading my long post, and your responses

[Salty_Snack]

I would first pull out all the live rock rubble over a week or two period. It serves almost no purpose and only acts as a detritus trap. I'm not sure where the practice of the live rock rubble came from but it was a terrible idea.

 

Second definelty get rid of anything that is dead or dying.

 

What's your lighting cycle and how much gha are you talking about? A large amount of gha could outcompete chaeto for nutrients.