The Best Way to Grow Chaetomorpha for Nutrient Export

merch: store.reefbuil...
site: reefbuilders.com
Retail Partner: premiumaquatic...
come to our conferences: reefstock.show
Subscribe: www.youtube.com...

[@ArcLightAddicts]

Rest In Peace brother 😢 We have learned so much from you and you will forever be missed 😞

[@extrememiami]

Wait whatttt??? He passed away? When? How?

[@ldballoon4]

Too young too soon. Im happy i got to meet and talk to you in Las Vegas MACNA. We talked a good bit and you gave me tips on how to take frags back in my suitcase. Ill never forget ya, man.

[@kevinbaldrich3654]

I'm 32 & about a year into transitioning from fresh to salt, gotta say you've definitely been part of the process! Your methodology and patience has rubbed off & the benefits are starting to be reaped! 🍻

[@MrMushroomish]

Thanks for following up on my request XD

[@tidalgardens]

It's very cool how it stays so clean. I want to give it a try in one of my systems.

[@cornellrosiu8818]

U do such a good job communicating Jake. Ur channel has brought me up to date these past 6-mo watching. It's been 35-yrs since last reef-keeping and much has changed techno-wise, but of course, the biology is the same. I will be getting back into hobby soon - tks vry much!

[@hunterh891]

Nice I am glad you came back to this because it definitely answers a few questions I had about the setup.

[@SteHughes90]

Kessil for a bench light is a huge flex, love it!

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

The Tunze EcoChic LED is available through our Retail partner Premium Aquatics. - premiumaquatics.com/products/tunze-white-eco-chic-led.html

[@AustinJT888]

What about that spinning bucket?

[@nadejdaloudjeva288]

Hello ! Thank you for the video ! I would like to ask you what is causing the rotation movement of the reactor ? How it is spinning ? Thank you for your reply !

[@mr.reeftank1456]

How did you create the circular motion, just a pump? Details please

[@Ryzexus19]

I have the same question!

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

there's a series of holes at the bottom allowing water to spray in from the first compartment into the algae chamber

[@chrisconnolly3239]

How big are the holes and how many?

[@trureef2319]

Bro I know we are reefers so not only do We have a blue thumbs but we also have green thumbs I love all the live plants u have in the studio they make it look like a forest and it’s lovely 😂

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

It really helps boost the friendly feel of the studio, in the summer and spring I might take them all out for a good watering and man it looks clinical in the studio without them.

[@aquaticnstuff7666]

I wish this was more of a how to

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

there's more info in the previous video kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpKUgGaPbdKBmqc

[@CpBizz]

great job as always Jake!

[@glennrudolph]

I put a handful of chaeto in a 1 liter plastic cup a few months ago. It just sits in my fish room. I forgot about it til now. It’s still alive and well.

[@daniru5725]

Please do a macro algae only tank

[@boomcar911]

Fly is undone. What were you doing before the video?

[@jluusaltwateraquarium8320]

Super fantastic video sir... Thanks sharing for us...

[@jutangkeetch]

That spinning chaeto looks like green cotton candy.

[@johnatella8498]

Do you need special lighting or are there bulbs you can get at a hardware or DIY store that will do the job?

[@kingfishers79]

I got my first golf ball size ball of cheato about a month ago and its now like a frikin basketball and I'm only lighting it with one tunze 8831 fuge light for about 2 hours per day!! I keep my light underwater too,the light knows when it's submerged and puts out a higher wattage...to get mine to spin im going to add a small powerhead as mine is a bit of a sediment trap at the moment...I have a reefer 250 with a cheap bubble magus skimmer and the cheato,between them the nutrient export for nitrates and phosphates has been too good!! In a month the nitrates lowered from 5 to 0.5 and phosphates from 0.5 to 0.03! I now got to harvest the cheato otherwise I'm at risk of dropping to zero!

[@JohntheHalloweenguy]

How is it spinning. ??

[@atialexlore]

Very helpful amazing performance of nutrients exported! Great video

[@JamesMcLaughlin-u4x]

what are you using to spin the Chaetomorpha?

[@nino17118]

We’re can i get this kind of chaeto the fine type

[@gfabie4901]

How do you get the perfect passive flow in there? Not needing an additional pump is a great thing.

[@hoangpham-fy9xh]

Please tell me what is the lamp you use? and where to buy?

[@nwaquatics100]

Really like the video. How do you The water to swirl do you have like a spray bar?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

there's a series of holes at the bottom allowing water to spray in from the first compartment into the algae chamber

[@RavineDriver]

Is that chamber just part of your sump or is that something that can be added to any sump?

[@JustMyFish]

That algae scrubber/reactor is bigger than my sump😂 I use those adjustable partitions probably from a different company but same principle. 👍🏻

[@madmax3588]

Hi Jake in Australia we use a green weed for bait to catch Luderick or black fish wich we gather from rockpools on the coast line and we also get a variety from the local golf course but it looks so similar could it be the same cheers

[@fishstix1988]

What are your thoughts on dipping chaeto in RODI water (or using Flatworm Exit, or Interceptor) to make sure that pests don't get in the tank?

[@tommycristaldi9037]

Where can you get chaeto ? Algaebarn never has is. How do you get your sump to rotate the chaeto?

[@Random.Thoughts21]

Please discuss how much and which trace elements if any you dose to keep this chaeto going.

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

This is a 600 gallon system so I don't dose anything specifically for the Chaeto, just feeding and water changes. You might try ChaetoGrow if you have a smaller volume and suspect that some traces are running low.

[@alansunshinemd]

I have a phosphate issue despite GFO, skimming, and a refugium full of caulerpa. My refubium has a miracle mud bottom and has not been changed in years. I want to get rid of the mud and cleanup the refugium. Will there be any untoward affects of this maneuver on Nitrate/Phosphates, etc.?

[@brianstarr2847]

How do you get the rotating flow in the chamber

[@D3X74R]

What do you use to get the flow up to make it roll

[@mohamadalamri7941]

If I add fusion 1and 2 is it helping growing ?

[@ronderfulaquariums2978]

Always the most informative videos you rock

[@iczerone2000]

That's some insane growth!

[@charliegrant2895]

Can chaeto be used in Freshwater aquariums as well?

[@luisgarciadelcoz7163]

incredible! could you add the subtitles in spanish? I'm from Spain and I don't understand a lot of information ...

[@vargagergely152]

But how is that spinnibg like that ? Can anyone explain ?

[@zubairauhammud5941]

Looks like the Grinch went for a grooming 😂

[@hanna2nv]

Hi if i wanted to grow the algae just for bait purposes for fishing how would you recommend doing it? I have a 2.5 x1.5x1.5 foot tank and am planning on grabbing some of the algae or what we call it just weed from the ocean to start my tank its not for nutrients to other fish just simply a bait setup. Would a light and just some chaeto grow be fine?

[@Aquaboss]

very wel lvery well very well👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@gordiefrench5342]

How do you get the flow to rotate?

[@kitosworkshop1047]

Since Chaeto is salt water, what would you suggest for a large fresh water setup? I am in the process of designing a 12 tank system for my game room, and I wanted to build an Algae scrubber (waterfall) -- But your concept looks very interesting! 10 minutes of googling suggest Guppy Grass might be a good alternative?

[@artofwar-3263]

I would definitely love to purchase some reef builder's cheato some day.

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

I take it to AquaticArt in Highlands Ranch, CO

[@artofwar-3263]

@@ReefBuildersVideo That's far from NY lol but thanks for that info ! See ya tomorrow on the stream

[@artofwar-3263]

@sberry55 UNBELIEVABLE, ya don't say ? Thanks for taking time to let me know this !

[@marcelrodriguez2067]

My nutrients are constantly dropping to 0 unless i dose. But somehow got some hair algae growing on the display, how should i go about it? My hanna 713 checker always reads 0 unless i dose 8ml of phosphate daily then it jumps to 0.04 then back to 0 again within a day, been at this for almost 6 months now and its annoying even when i feed pellet food 6 times a day and a cube of mysis daily.

[@froof7935]

Which store are you taking it to? Im in the area and need some. Would be pretty cool to go with Jake Adams signature series salad. Thanks for doing what you do!

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

AquaticArt gets a crop of Chaeto about once a week

[@reefkeeperspencer4046]

Thanks

[@ronbeatty516]

My chaeto refugium tends to grow some bubble algae which then blocks light from the chaeto. I haven’t figured out why this is happening. Any ideas? My chaeto is stationary.

[@myenigma84]

Hi Jake. Are you still using this method with success keeping no3 and po4 low? I have tried almost everything to get results from the h380, but it's gets so hot in the cabinet and I struggle to get the nutrients anywhere near low enough. I've looked at those lights. If theyre working for you, I'm considering the 240 quid investment for the lights.

[@cameronjones8641]

Could you provide a design drawing? I would love to integrate this into my new 1000 litrr system. This must be the perfect application of chaeto as a nutrient export device. Superb!!!

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

it's just a series of numerous 1/4" holes at the bottom of the divider between the first sump chamber to the other.

[@cameronjones8641]

@@ReefBuildersVideo Perfect, thank you.

[@julius6514]

@@ReefBuildersVideo hello The holes are at the same level that runs the water or the next stage or the level is up

[@00Mass00]

I pissed of my tank big time by introducing a chaeto reactor, it sucked up the nitrates to zero in no-time. Keep an eye on the nitrates.

[@MoeReefs]

So satisfying episode.

[@tilexcan]

What is the water flow volume coming into the chamber. Is the flow driven from the bottom of the pvc sheet?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

Correct, it’s around 1500gph

[@colossuses]

How many cubes of food are you putting in to get that growth? What are your nutrient levels?? Thanks for posting second vid

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

I don't feed much frozen food, but lots of flakes for the fish and a generous amount of Reef Blizzard and Reef Roids for the coral feeding

[@ericadams5019]

What is the orange specks (balls?) in the chaeto?

[@robertjacobson1399]

Can you have to much chaeto?

[@vascojardim6703]

Hey Jake, great setup😍! What are your PO4 NO3 levels and where were they before you started the refugium? The reason I ask is because in my sump I have a dedicated fuse built to tumble chaetomorpha but every time I tried it it grows for 3/4 weeks, turns white, gets covered in slime algae and simply dies... I also use Tunze LEDs (grow) but y NO3 is always at zero. Obviously my aim is not to reduce the nutrients but rather to stabilise pH during the night cycle.

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

I have to feed pretty heavily for a few days to keep the NO3 and PO4 from bottoming out. My goal is mostly to 'phytoremediate', pulling out heavy metals and unwanted compounds that can accumulate, and mostly to use up the CO2 from the calcium reactor.

[@vascojardim6703]

@@ReefBuildersVideo I do not have a Calcium Reactor but with a family of six all in the leaving room my Co2 levels at night go over 1300ppm and my pH has been dropping down to 7.67. Your refugium is spotless. In my case, every time I try after one week the walls start to be covered in in slime algae and I soon need to scrape it off every week. It puzzles me that I have zero NO3 before I start the refugium, the Chaeto always dies off, but this slime algae immediately pops up...

[@richardportelli1983]

Can you show how your flow is spinning the chaeto? As is where the water enters and then exits the chamber?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

it's just the incoming water from the first section, passing through a row of holes into the Chaeto chamber

[@richardportelli1983]

@@ReefBuildersVideo are the holes at the bottom? And then water overflows over the top of the fuge?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

@@richardportelli1983 yep

[@jamiejeffery9556]

I have chesto growing in my sump and use the tunze refuge eco chic and I jave very low phos but nitrate are at 50ppm and can't seen the get nitrate down and I have put seachem denitrate media and do week wc of 40 litres on a 160litre reef tank I have never had trouble in grow macro in 20 years of reefing never had a tank that the nirate will not come down I have zero nirate and phos in new water and tds0 I don't know if I need to add phos and iron or cheato grow to maybe help it start growing and pulling nitrate any help would be greatly appreciated

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

Nitrate test kits are wildly inaccurate. I highly doubt your NO3 is that high and if your corals look good, don't worry about it. But unless you test with something more accurate like the Hanna Nitrate checker, you don't really know that your NO3 is that high. reefbuilders.com/2020/09/30/hanna-nitrate-checker-review-a-little-more-effort-for-a-lot-more-accuracy/

[@cizia69]

The king in his chaeto...

[@cizia69]

@Cory Keagan Around the same time you moved back to your Mom's basement.

[@piquesegue]

Is this a refugium, Jake? Greetings, your Julian S. ;)

[@Mike__B]

So you said you haven't looked at pH when you harvest, but I noticed in the background a ton of plants all over the place. While I think you did do a video on them at one point, are those plants more there for making the space feel good, or do you use them to suck up the CO2 in the air for the pH of the tanks, or anything?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

Man I wish the plants helped with indoor CO2, but they still breathe at night so I think they hurt more than they help. Nothing is better than simply opening up the door and windows for a couple minutes, drops the CO2 from 600 to 350ppm, but the plants just look cool.

[@MrMushroomish]

What are the water values of the system?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

pretty close and average to NSW

[@roni3425]

Aren’t the pod’s getting dizzy by the spinning bal?

[@wilsonlopez8965]

What specific Tunze light are they?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

this is the older Tunze 8850

[@jasoncruz3506]

You need to start sell it to algebarn

[@thisisshaun1]

that looks perfect

[@anthonyd555]

The only question I have is, can you eat it?

[@json216]

I can't get this stuff clean locally anywhere...last batch was full of spiders..can u mail me a handful..lol

[@gabesreef]

I havent had to harvest in months. The chaeto is probably dead but hasn't degraded. Its still green too. I dont have nutrition issues. Any ideas?

[@lchamp7946]

I find when my chaeto growth stalls it’s because it’s consumed all the iron and manganese. Try adding a chaeto supplement like ChaetoGro.

[@gabesreef]

@@lchamp7946 I tried and stopped adding that after a whole bottle and still no harvest.

[@madshepsreef282]

I can’t see how it spins, where does the water enter and exit to make it spin.

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

covered in the first video, there's a series of holes from the first compartment to the spinning chamber.

[@madshepsreef282]

Thanks I’ll have a look

[@Moonfruit777]

So what I was wondering is if there are different species of Chaetomorpha - mine grows much thicker, much more brittle uhm ? strings (?) of algae. Is it a matter of different species or a matter of light/flow/trace elements/nutrients etc? I also light it 24/7 with 5000K spectrum and flow to turn it into a ball shape. My tank runs fairly low po4 (

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

for sure there are different species of Chaetomorpha, but I think we only have one circulating in the hobby. What you describe is how Chaeto becomes when there isn't enough of one thing, in your case the low nutrient is a likely culprit. It's a catch 22 when you're trying to grow Chaeto for nutrient or CO2 reduction but you don't have enough of the other. Keep in mind that it can sometimes take a little while for 'stunted' chaeto to really wake up and start growing like crazy, but so far it sounds like you'r doing everything right

[@christianmaradona]

Run the light 24/7 or reverse?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

24/7

[@LightSearch]

There are different species of chaetomorpha and it seems the one you have there has very fine strands. I don't think I would be able to make mine spin, the strands and very thick and curly, like noodles.

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

The appearance of the algae is more of a function of how fast it grows than a species. If I put a handful in a shaded, low flow corner it will grow thick, dark and crinkly.

[@LightSearch]

@@ReefBuildersVideo I know of 2 species: Chaetomorpha antennina ("the brillo pad") and Chaetomorpha spiralis ("angel hair pasta"). Yours looked like the spiralis. The spiralis is also very difficult to erradicate once it reaches the display tank.

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

@@LightSearch thanks for the tip, and I love your videos, you deserve more views for sure

[@LightSearch]

@@ReefBuildersVideo Thanks, but I like it as it is :)

[@mhackzealep9949]

Naturally growing?

[@emmanuelrosario3315]

The cat works with you? Lol

[@lunes-1]

Great 🥬salad🤤

[@michaelbalsley6041]

Can I buy some of your Chaetomorpha. Can not get it anywhere and I trust your tanks.

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

I take it in to Aquatic Art in Highlands Ranch about once a week

[@zacharyamon2335]

Do all of your systems run through that one reactor? And where does the flow enter from to create such a perfect circular current?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

Not all the displays, but about half of them are part of this system. there's a series of holes at the bottom allowing water to spray in from the first compartment into the algae chamber

[@nelson12362]

@@ReefBuildersVideo is it just a small hole?

[@ct2368]

What is reef builders? Do you guys sell stuff or are you just a youtube channel?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

reefbuilders.com

[@ct2368]

@@ReefBuildersVideo so you run a blog?

[@houseofsharpeis9366]

I’ll buy some lol.

[@rafalsmigrodzki9239]

Does the cat ever try to catch any of your fish?

[@enzomontini758]

Just happen to have a spare £200 kessil light hanging around so I don’t kill the harvest but put it in a 5 dollar 💵 fish tank and a 1 dollar air stone 🙀🥸😢😳

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

That kessil is installed for all kinds of applications from unboxing to coral fragging, pest removal and yes - keeping algae happy overnight

[@enzomontini758]

@@ReefBuildersVideo multi use light 💡 love ur channel 🤩🥸

[@reeframiaquablue4124]

Good job RB my name is rami

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

Howdy Ram

[@brittybaby]

Why dose my Cheeto look way thicker and darker??

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

probably less light, this Chaeto mass is pressed right up to the Tunze LED as it spins

[@ItzAukeyyy]

i wish mine would just grow, Bought a ai prime waiting for that to turn up otherwise i think i will be giving up

[@podlingpocket7367]

If you got the AI Fuge light be presto be blown away-the red spectrum turned it up hard for me-harvesting every two weeks

[@ItzAukeyyy]

@@podlingpocket7367 I hope this will be the case. Should receive it just before Christmas

[@thilog5874]

No skimmer?

[@ReefBuildersVideo]

three medium sized skimmers distributed throughout the system

[@54handdrives]

Green cotton candy

[@drunkskunkfunk]

I wonder how dragons breath would do with this same technique.

[@francispointofview7578]

Top shelf runs a similar style with dragons breath + ai prime. The dragons breath gets orange tips around the entire individual little balls. It looks awesome

[@philcavallini9657]

Unreal! Cheato on roids!

[@ballejoreef4599]

RB has a good video describing the spinning motion in the chaeto section of the sump: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpKUgGaPbdKBmqc

[@liftedlifestyle6190]

Unsubscribed!!!!

[@thilog5874]

Very mature post!

[@guccimane1465]

Lol hater.