Cheato / caulerpa - Dying edges normal

B

butchseaman

[I added some Cheato and Caulerpa to my new refugium about two weeks ago and I have noticed some dying off with brown looking portions and just "gunk" looking stuff from the dead protion. Most is still green....

I have a spiral 75w bulb shinning 24 hours a day jsut above the refugium...

Just wondering if this is normal or is this a prelude to something getting ready to happen.....

Also... expected to see my Nitrates drop off to near nothing but that has not happened. They are hovering around 10ppm which is about what they were before I put the refugium in.

Any suggestions would be appreciated]



Edited By butchseaman on 1117136616
 
[It probably died off a little at the edges from the change in conditions. You won't notice a difference in your levels until it has settled down and starts to grow and even then it won't be a rapid change.]
 
[While good at nutrient uptake when growing, even when you are a couple months in and it is growing don't expect it to work miracles on your nitrates. Don't get me wrong it will help but unless you have massive amounts it will not eliminate the problem. Nitrates are better handled by live rock and/or sand. Water changes are the best way short term. Most tanks I've set up have taken several months to get to zero nitrates (unless they have a DSB). Once your rock and substrate matures and your bioload is consistent (AKA your done adding fish) you should see a drop to little or no nitrate. If you don't you either have to many fish, feed to much, need to skim more aggresively, etc., etc.]
 
[OK.... Thanks guys. Sounds like things are fine and I should maintain the status quo.

This borad is a real help ..... thanks to all you who maintain and manage this .... :bow:]
 
[Our Cheato was doing the same thing. We didn't know if we didn't have enough light or if we had too much light. We were running the lights 24/7 under a low wattage (1 watt per gallon I think). Before we bought a new light, we decided to make sure it wasn't an excessive light problem, so we turn the lights off for 12 hrs at night and within a few weeks our cheato was nice and green again. It's multiplying now.

Melissa]
 
[As long as your macro algae is slightly submerged, it will do better than if it is floating at the surface.

It does take a few months for nitrate reduction to be noticed, if the refugium is large enough to do the job. My nitrates are currently at 3ppm.

From time to time, shake it out well to get the detritus out of it. You can do this during a water change if you like, shaking it out in a bucket of the tank water you are about to toss out.]
 
@Meli wrote:
[so we turn the lights off for 12 hrs at night and within a few weeks our cheato was nice and green again. It's multiplying now. Melissa] said:
[So are you still turning the lights off for 12 hours on a regular basis....?

I was under the impression the darkness could cause it to start spawining]
Click to expand...
 
[That is true with some species of Caulerpa. Cheatomorpha has no issue with darkness.]
 
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