DIY Chaeto Reactor Update

[@matarese2868]

Saw your account on a big al's video, glad I found your channel, also congrats for the new kid!

[@NaturalAquaria]

+Matarese28 thanks a ton! Welcome to my personal channel! :)

[@iberne6489]

Finally! Lol thanks for the update. As I kept waiting I decided to go ahead and do it myself, here's my experience... Im using a HOB 150 phosban reactor on a 40B. I originally ordered the lights in the 1M length which I felt was enough but I didn't really see any growth. I returned the lights and ordered the 2M length and WHAM! I have to remove some KEATO (😂) this weekend. Thanks for the recommendation on the lights and I must agree with you on the red and blue peaks this provides. I'm considering now going with a phosban 550 because of the growth I'm getting. Thanks a lot man and congrats to you and your growing family!

[@NaturalAquaria]

IBernE Glad to hear it's working well for you in the 2M string! yeah the 550 is closer in size to what I'm using, and mine is packed within 4 to 5 days. Can't imagine how fast the 150 would fill up!

[@iberne6489]

Thomas B yea I'm gonna give it some time, if I get annoyed at having to clean it frequently I'll see if I can trade some corals for a 550!

[@myenigma84]

It's good you took the time to do the original video. It may be an old idea but there isn't too much in the way or videos or articles with actual results. I have got the 5m of 4 to 1 red to blues and a nice large biopellet reactor and set it up last week. Can you give some numbers as to whether you've seen any reduction in nitrate and phosphate please. Many thanks. Ben

[@NaturalAquaria]

Ben Green I had a refugium in the sump and essentially moved it into the reactor. Essentially everything is as it was before the reactor, and paras are still stable around

[@ahavah247]

Tank looks great Thomas!

[@NaturalAquaria]

+Chris Weinreich thanks! What if I told you I tore it down and have big news coming soon... 😮

[@ahavah247]

Looking forward to it!

[@-Gunnarsson-]

Mr Chaeto granted to cleanup crew 😂

[@smithjohn647]

Industry just needs to give in and start making these! great job! thanks for the vid!

[@NaturalAquaria]

+smith john there are at least 3 brands so far making these! Hopefully we see more and more affordable options coming out. I am contemplating getting one for the new build to test the difference in performance between a DIY and store bought model.

[@Cycnoches2012]

don't worry about updates take care of Baby Thomas!

[@NaturalAquaria]

+Cycnoches2012 thanks :)

[@juliustyrrell5117]

Have you got a link to the Amazon LEDs? Thanks

[@sashimiturtle]

Great videos. I just watched your build on this reactor and now the update. Very nice job. I have a small reactor I'm going to be turning into a chaeto reactor with the hydroponics strip leds. I hope I have the same success you have had. Subbed and belled!!!

[@NaturalAquaria]

Let me know how it turns out!!!

[@fatjonseatingadventures5429]

Hey man did you have success? I’m planning on doing this with a phosban 150 I got around

[@whiptailwallaby]

@@NaturalAquaria I just realized this type of filtering is out there...I'v been out of the hobby for a while sadly and I'm just now finding out about this, but I know its been a few years since you implemented this reactor on your tank and I was just wondering are you still using this and if so are you doing it on all your tanks or are you still running a skimmer, sump ect. I'm looking to start a 55gallon tank and wanted to know if I should not bother with a sump and skimmer and just do this instead and just dose when I get my corals in later on? Also, is there a recommended size you should make the reactor that people go by based on gallons or how stocked your tank is? How large should I go for a 55gal? Thanks

[@mogtrader8]

You don't use hose clamps? Nice tank and congrats.

[@zuhayersiddique6430]

Hey Thomas! Well, I've just finished putting together my first fish tank with all the decorations and other equipments that you mentioned in the Big Al's channel. So I was thinking of keeping 4 live bearer, 2 Zebra Danios and 1 Pleco. Is that combination suitable? Is there any possibility of them fighting against each other?

[@Somethingisfishys]

Zuhayer Siddique That's a very bad combination. The fish will fuckig kill themselves

[@NaturalAquaria]

Hahahaha what?

[@NaturalAquaria]

All of those fish will get along fine, although I'd suggest maybe 4 to 6 Danios as they are a schooling fish and appreciate being in groups. Alternatively, you could do White Clouds instead of Zebra Danios.

[@zuhayersiddique6430]

Thanks Thomas!

[@tonyblack7046]

hey, congrats on the little guy. hope all goes well. mind if i ask what your dossing?

[@NaturalAquaria]

Tony Black Thanks! We are really excited to have one of each. I'm dosing Aquavitro Calcification, Eight.Four, and Ions. cal/alk/mag basically.

[@Hawkkidjason]

Im deff going to look into this.... Now my phosphate arent detectable but i think i have a little red slime. So im thinking this would be the best way to starve slime of nutrients... Hopefully if anything i t will just grow in the reactor an not on my sand bed if I'm lucky. Chemi pure helped a bit. It dont come back very fast.

[@NaturalAquaria]

Should certainly help. Do you have low flow where you get the slime? Do you gravel vac your substrate during water changes?

[@PsychoAxeMan]

I did this with a hang on breeder tank . every 4 days I have to pull 3/4 of it out .

[@brockkirschenmann9711]

I'm not sure why but my reactor doesn't seem to grow chateo very well. I put a softball size chunk in there a month ago and it hasn't grown at all. Reactor is 4" x 15" and I feed it off my manifold no idea of the flow rate but average 100-200 gph I run 11 hour photoperiod I posit my display. And I have hr hydroponics led strip mine is a bit shorter then yours as it wraps a few times less. I wonder if I need a longer led strip or what I have 10-15 nitrates in the tank. And zero phosphate from gfo

[@NaturalAquaria]

If you are stripping the phosphate with GFO, you are going to really slow down the chaeto growth. You shouldn't need both a GFO reactor and chaeto reactor. One or the other. You can however run GFO periodically if the chaeto is unable to keep phos low enough on your system by itself. Increasing light intensity can definitely help increase the chaeto's rate of photosynthesis, but it won't do much unless the chaeto has nutrients available as well. If you are interested in trying to use chaeto for nutrient export, I'd suggest you stop using the GFO, and see how your chaeto growth improves. Keep testing your phos though to make sure your chaeto is doing its job effectively.

[@linarestribe]

Hey. I just asked and I received. Thanks. Just finished my build but not online yet. Thanks

[@NaturalAquaria]

Jorge Linares looking forward to seeing your build!

[@FairyTaleHat]

Awesome layout!

[@NaturalAquaria]

+デイブ Thanks!

[@vinnyol]

Have you had problems with the reactor cracking with the acrylic due to the lights. My lights turn on at midnight till 8am. I'm using the same light's and reactor that you mentioned.

[@NaturalAquaria]

Nope - reactor is perfect. I have heard of that issue, but I have no idea how it is occurring. Maybe thin or cheap reactors? Possibly using the non-waterproof LED ropes which lack the silicone coating?

[@chuckmalone393]

Great video. So have you noticed any reduction in N03 or P04?

[@tonyblack7046]

thank you for getting back to me

[@jessewang6725]

newbie questions - how did you shape the hoses that go in/out of the tank & how are they secured inside the tank?

[@NaturalAquaria]

+Jesse Wang Good question! My trick to shaping soft tubing is to pour hot or boiling water over the part you want to shape, hold it in the position you need it to form to, and then pour ice cold water over it. The hot water makes it very flexible, and the cold water stiffens the tubing up again and locks the shape in place. I'm using an outflow pipe from Eheim to hang the output tubing on the edge of the tank. The input tubing is held by the section cups of the pump.

[@jessewang6725]

Awesome, thanks Thomas!

[@tinybudgie8039]

Hey Thomas I'm glad i found your channel i subbed and would like to let you know that the series on the big al s channel about up a saltwater tank was really helpful and helped me out a lot and fun to watch. Also how often should I clean my canister filter on a 13 gallon fish only saltwater with 2 fish. Also congrats on your new kid wish you luck :)

[@NaturalAquaria]

Glad to hear the series helped! I'd pop it open for a cleaning every month or two depending on how gunked up it looks when you open it up for the first time. :)

[@ManCaveReef]

Good info thanks. I subscribed looking forward to more updates

[@worldholdonpodcast]

Hey there, question. I have an all in one tank and I built my own chaeto reactor like yours and I had a question on setup. Initially I purchased a separate pump but decided to set it up by connecting to my main pump and connect the reactor return line to my return outlet. It's running fine and my water looks really polished but is that ideal set up or should I be using the separate pump I purchased? The only draw back I ran into is that my main pump lost a little power running it through my reactor first. But I could always upgrade my pump. Thanks in advance!

[@NaturalAquaria]

I'd upgrade the pump for sure. You don't want to lose turnover, and AIO pumps are usually rated specifically for the volume of the AIO system. They also typically have poor head pressure because they don't need to pump water very far, so anything you throw in line is going to have a decent impact on the flow. Hope that helps!

[@worldholdonpodcast]

Last questions, Do you believe your custom chaeto reactor out competes your size tank?

[@anthonytorres6031]

Hey man.. how do you have the flow going through the reactor slow moderate or pump fully open?

[@GSP-76]

Can't the cheto be dried out and then fed to fish?

[@craigsreef239]

Did you do a build video for the reactor?

[@NaturalAquaria]

Absolutely! kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5jGmaWpmJuShLM

[@tonyblack7046]

Mr T, i built the same reactor as you same led color going on but with in 4 days of running it 12.5 hours a day i noticed brown red'sh algae growing through the tubing and in reactor it self. Please help me figure out the reason

[@fawwazhaikal14]

Maybe overfeeding or get more liter per hour pump for the reactor. Just maybe hahaha. I myself never stop fighting different type of algae. One settle, come another one. Alrdy tired maintaining good range of po4 n no3

[@3ktor123]

Where can I find these lights

[@NaturalAquaria]

I got mine from Amazon. Search "Waterproof Grow Light Strip" and you'll see a bunch of options. The one I originally used isn't available anymore but there are tons of comparable options.

[@CescaTheDarkHorse]

Nice video and all the best with the baby :)

[@NaturalAquaria]

Thanks so much!

[@robertlugo8702]

Do you have a link to the lights that you used?

[@NaturalAquaria]

Certainly! www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01MG4SJYN/ref=msg_ctr_lk_pdt

[@joeyramirez787]

Why is chaeto turning brown? How many hours do you keep lights on?

[@NaturalAquaria]

+Joseph Ramirez I didn't have any issues with Chaeto turning brown. I run the Chaeto reactor for 12 hrs opposite the reef lights.

[@isaabdrahmansosa-dominguez267]

I just setting up a 220g system between the display and sump. I will like to make on of these reactors so u can bypass the protein skimmer. What size rector do you recommend.

[@NaturalAquaria]

The bigger the better in my opinion! Skimz Monzter FM150 or similar would be awesome.

[@isaabdrahmansosa-dominguez267]

I am sorry I think I was not clear in my comment and question. I have a MRC skimmer rated for up to 400 gallons. I want to make one of those reactor in your video and bypass the skimmer. Meaning that the return from the reactor to go to the display tank not back to the sump. My questions are; witch reactor you recommend to use for this project that will be big enough to make a difference in a 220g system?

[@NaturalAquaria]

Skimz Monzter FM150 is a large media reactor that you could convert to a chaeto reactor and it should be large enough to grow enough chaeto to make a difference on a 220g system. :)

[@donovan2681]

Sorry if I missed it but what is the best photoperiod for the chaeto? 12/12 or maybe longer?

[@NaturalAquaria]

+Donovan Bester 12 hours opposite the display schedule to help balance pH. :)

[@donovan2681]

Thomas B thanks a ton

[@pachote293]

What color on the LED do you run with the Cheato???

[@NaturalAquaria]

Pachote I'm using a hydroponics spectrum which is a mix of 440nm and 660nm leds. some folks are using 6500K white leds.

[@pachote293]

Cool Thank you!

[@bigbloc2513]

Will this work on a freshwater tank?

[@NaturalAquaria]

+John Touchstone using java moss, perhaps. Not sure if anyone had attempted it in reactor form before, but freshwater refugiums are becoming more popular.

[@jjmccloud]

Wish there was a cleaner way to light it, wanna use it on my evo 13.5 but will be out for display and not fond of how it looks with the lights wrapped around

[@ThomasBReef]

You can get some aluminum flashing which is usually a roll (sheet) of thin aluminum that is bare on one side, and painted white on the other, and you can cut it to fit around the reactor so it wraps it - don't have to see the LED strip, PLUS that aluminum can help shed heat if you mount the LED strip directly to it.

[@truebluereef419]

Do you find these LED's get hot?

[@NaturalAquaria]

Not very; the reactor sinks the heat, plus they are coated in clear silicon.

[@WaterBoxes]

Great video man. Subbed

[@NaturalAquaria]

Thanks! Glad to have you on board :)

[@alecfialkov5269]

What is the stocking in the tank

[@NaturalAquaria]

Mixed reef at the moment but heading towards SPS dominant. Couple of Maxima clams. Pair of clowns, starry blenny, neon dottyback, and convict tang.

[@alecfialkov5269]

Thomas B thx, also a big fan of your big al's videos. It would also be really cool if you could work together we Joey from the king of DIY. That would be awesome!

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

great vid, color of light at grow light wavelengths are specific to green vegetative growth. new sub here...i like cheetos morfing

[@NaturalAquaria]

Hahahaha cheetos morphing into what though? They are already so good... save for the fact that they make your fingers orange... haha thanks for the sub!!! Going to start releasing vids twice a week real soon!

[@boabab95]

Regarding the ending- "chaeto" is the Latinized version of the Greek root χαιτη ("khaite") meaning hair (unsurprisingly). Anyways, the pronunciation depends on which version of Latin you're using; Classic or Ecclesiastical (most people are using classic, unless a part of Catholicism). If you're using ecclesiastical, it's "Kay-toe." If you're going with Classical, it's "Kigh-toe." The CH is pronounced the same as Chrysanthemum, Nudibranch, chorus, echo, &c. I haven't read the ICZN code in a while, but I think they base it off of Classical Latin. But it is a dead language,and has been butchered for centuries. As with everything, language evolves, i.e. Latin turning into French, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Italian, and quite a bit of English; and thus so does pronunciation. Long story short- "Chay-toe" is fine. Just don't go pronouncing it that way to old 19th century academics haha.

[@NaturalAquaria]

Amazing... I love you!

[@reefjunkies6197]

Hey do you fun GFO also

[@NaturalAquaria]

+reef junkies I use Chemi-Pure blue for chemical filtration. With the Chaeto, I have low phos without GFO.

[@MCAQUIN0]

Omg its the bigals guy! haha so cool

[@NaturalAquaria]

Hahaha yep, I do my own thing too :)

[@StickyDiceOfficial]

I do not understand what i could possibly be doing wrong. My algae reactor always goes great for the first week and then it starts turning white and dying no matter how much i thin it out.

[@StickyDiceOfficial]

I only lightly skim. I even get up to 40 nitrates

[@NaturalAquaria]

How many hours daily are the lights on?

[@StickyDiceOfficial]

i have tried every combination possible. 12 on 12 off right now but the results are always the same.

[@maddawgzzzz]

Damn I wish my glass was as clear as yours

[@NaturalAquaria]

In part the reactor, also just like to stay on top of any algae or biofilm on the glass :)

[@maddawgzzzz]

Tom, do you still have this tank? Or a salt water tank?

[@NaturalAquaria]

@@maddawgzzzz I actually still have the tank and stand, but sold all livestock etc when I moved provinces. I am doing a build shortly (posting vid on the weekend) using the tank and stand but going custom for the filtration etc. It will be a cool build :)

[@Fowlkescustoms]

Subd!

[@IOXY3]

How's the temperature of the light?

[@NaturalAquaria]

Not bad at all. The silicone coating doesn't allow much heat transfer.