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clean chaeto is it really that important? (1 Viewer)

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i've read different places that you should always start with clean chaeto. there are only so many places that sell CLEAN chaeto and none of them have it in stock if they do they want an arm and leg for the stuff. ive got a 210 gallon tank and the refugium is supposed to be the main filter. should i just get some local chaeto or keeping trying to find clean chaeto?
 

guylaga

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If your okay with potential hitch hikers go for it, that is the only downside to not getting it "clean".
 
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The short answer is yes....IF you don't want all kinds of annoying pests. I've seen about everything in cheato. Let me list a few: Mini Stars (harmless but multiple like crazy), Aiptasia, Vermetids, Limpets, Ich, Stomatella etc.

My goal for the new tank is get one strand of Cheato or very few. Then clean it...wipe it, and grow it out. I've grown one strand before and I'm pretty sure I can do it again.
 

davidrod8

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Vendors will charge you an arm and a leg for a tennis ball size. I tried local stores, algae barn, etc plus I have gotten gallon sized bags for free from other local reefers (I recently paid it offer and gave away a couple of bags as well) I have not noticed any difference between stores, online or the free stuff. I would definitively inspect it as there can be some pests but I doubt that any of these other sources are doing anything different.

Your Own Mileage May Vary ;)
 

RobertP

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I wouldn't worry about it. I would just get chaeto from your local reefers. They will come with pods that you DO want in your tank and yes, they might have some other things but I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
 
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Vendors will charge you an arm and a leg for a tennis ball size. I tried local stores, algae barn, etc plus I have gotten gallon sized bags for free from other local reefers (I recently paid it offer and gave away a couple of bags as well) I have not noticed any difference between stores, online or the free stuff. I would definitively inspect it as there can be some pests but I doubt that any of these other sources are doing anything different.

Your Own Mileage May Vary ;)

Do you have more chaeto? I see you're in Katy so you're close to me :)
 

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I really enjoy Josh from Pod Your Reef and his quality of macroalgae. I’ve been to his store a few times in College Station and dig what he is doing.

That being said, I ordered some Ulva (sea lettuce) from and and it was more than enough to get kick started and didn’t break the bank. Now in my algae reactor I’m pulling out gallon sized baggies every week!


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I really enjoy Josh from Pod Your Reef and his quality of macroalgae. I’ve been to his store a few times in College Station and dig what he is doing.

That being said, I ordered some Ulva (sea lettuce) from and and it was more than enough to get kick started and didn’t break the bank. Now in my algae reactor I’m pulling out gallon sized baggies every week!


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I have a place about 10 miles from my house that has tons of Ulva (all you can bag) in the summer months around July and August.
 

saltyanimals

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I decided to try and clean it myself when I upgraded my tank. Took only a very small out of greenest healthiest of my old chaeto. Dipped it including FW dip and watched all the bugs fall off. Observed best I could to make sure it’s as clean as I could. ...Then off to growing. So far it’s stayed clean as I don’t see bristles or anything, but that’s very relative if you think about the stuff from DT making it through the sump. Not sure why clean chaeto is important in hindsight bc you’ll get stuff along the hobby journey. What’s the point as my sump isn’t exactly clean. LOL.
 

dustinrowe

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BRS did a good case study video on moving macroalgae from tank to tank. It’s not so much what you can see (worms, mold, etc) but the nutrients they are holding themselves.


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RR-MAN

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i've read different places that you should always start with clean chaeto. there are only so many places that sell CLEAN chaeto and none of them have it in stock if they do they want an arm and leg for the stuff. ive got a 210 gallon tank and the refugium is supposed to be the main filter. should i just get some local chaeto or keeping trying to find clean chaeto?

Local is fine but check it carefully before adding it to your fuge. A number of times I got chaeto from friends on marsh and it was full of aiptasia so I threw it in trash.
 
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