Excellent information! Been having the exact issue you describe with my reactor and will be picking up a. Title of this immediately. Thank you for this!
Currently I have 3 tanks. A 3ish gallon fluval spect, a 13.5g fluval evo and a 56g tall marineland. All 3 have been doing great with refugiums. I dont dose anything. Chaeto and calerpa. The spect has macro inside of the tank so it's not a typical refugium. The eco has one in chamber 2 with the intank media basket and I have converted an aqua clear 110 on the 56 tall into a very successful refugium. I know that every tank is different but I dont dose a single thing and I'm having so much success with all 3 tanks. The bigger 2 are mixed reefs and I see no reason to change a single thing. But should I have a problem with macroalgae, at least I have a great place to begin... so thanks
I've had similar experience as you with other iron based products. I started using Kent's iron for caulerpa back in the mid 90's and found it helped immensely. Jack Kent then went on to start Brightwell Aquatics. He is the founder and engineer. In more recent years I would mix my own dry iron aquarium fertilizer with DI water and use it for chaeto and have great success both in sump and in the back of an AIO tank.
I have tried to grow cheato for years with no success ..i bought the kessil h360.. started dosing redsea colors ..the iron one...and all of a sudden it is growing soo fast i cannot keep up..its crazy...the light is a huge part of growing..the cheap light would never work..ive tried a dozen lights...the kessil was the answer! It is by far the best and worth every penny!
I have been having the same problem. Multiple times. Thanks for not giving up and figuring it out for us. I tried chaeto 3 times but this last time it has been staying alive but not multiplying. Ty
I know this is a three year old video, but I just started trying to grow Chito and I know this is going to be my answer! I have a 30 bio cube, and I found a really cool submersible small led plant light I can put in the back of the tank - so hope it works🤞🏻🍀
I have 150 gallon reef with a refugium in my sump, and I've been having problems with green slime on my chaeto. I wonder if this would help. I usually just reach in every couple of days and shake it by hand to try and get that stuff off of the chaeto
How do you change water without exposing corals to the air? I am wanting to put some corals up high on my tonga branches that so far been placing vertically but I wont be able to do water changes without air hitting them! You and you alone was my inspiration 4 years ago to get in this hobby!
@@rickyricardo75 I fill a 5 gal bucket about 1/4 full and shake the pods off in there, I collect them out with a turkey baster & put them in one of three tanks!
I had problems with it like you. We just ordered the product and more chaeto. Thanks for the great information, didn't know it needed "Iron" supplement.
I'm not sure I'm getting the idea behind this. Since iron in excess is used as fuel for unwanted algae in our tanks. Isn't it kind of counterintuitive just to grow macro? What is the benefit? I'm my tank Phos and Nitrates run extremely low. Good husbandry and not over feeding must contribute to that. I feed quite a lot to my tank.
You are true but the thing is if you aren’t dosing and growing algae quicker than you replenish iron then that’s where the issues start. Remember my tank goes months without water changes with is probably also the reason
I have a 24g LED Nanocube with the intank basket in chamber one but I grow chaeto in chamber two. I mounted an $8 3 LED red Halloween spot light behind the tank that shoots in through the glass and I harvest ball once per week.
I've been wanting to do a refugium by converting my red sea 170/250 sump ato. It funny you ended up using the lights you did because I have three of those light for my indoor plants and they work great. Those will be my go-to light for when I do mine. Good info with the iron.
2376dmwalker hey 👋 I’ll good idea you gonna go man Because I have the same tank 170 And the sump from 250 we’ll fit perfect But is you gonna get it new, I well do custom sump because I’m gonna do like that
@@Ruffles206 yea, the 170 sump came with the 1.5 gallon ato and I will just be using that. I'm putting a 5-10 gallon tank behind my main tank for an ato.
Hello, nice video, iv ordered some ferrion and will be using it in due course. My cheato was growing well then suddenly the black slime has come and, its now breaking down in the refugium. Just had an ICP and that confirms there is no Iron in the water at all!
My chaeto is growing at a decent rate but I would love to help it out and help the rest of the tank. I’ll definitely be trying this stuff out. Thanks for sharing.
What hue were your old lights in your last attempts? Seems the color spectrum of the light can really impact your results. BRS did some tank trials around refugiums and spectrum played a huge role in their results.
Is there anyway you can send me a list of the coral you have in this aquarium setup. I'm new to reefing and I love the colors in your aquarium, great job!!!
Get a marina breeder HOB, get the 0.5 gallon, throw some chaeto and a grow light and works great. I’ve been throwing out baseball size balls of chaeto every week and my tank is only 20G. Total cost was $25, much cheaper than reactor or in back chamber👍
I going to grab a bottle for my little refugium on te back of my EVO 13.5 - I use the middle chamber and have been using a small LED grow stipe and it seems to be ok buI I wanted better growth. Got my Copepod motel back there as well.
I'd really like your advice if I can. I have the Red Sea Reefer 170 and I use a chaeto reactor in my sump. I also use a BM curve 3.5 skimmer and for months I had no chaeto growth in my reactor. I didn't think this was 'normal' considering. It remained golf ball size for months on end but I thought I would experiment, so I turned my skimmer off and Chaeto has immediately took off. I'm harvesting it frequently now, about once a month. I did also increase my feedings after shutting down my skimmer to provide more nutrients. My system was just 'too clean' in my opinion. I don't know if the increase feedings have gave me great results with chaeto or the fact I shut down my skimmer. I would like to turn my skimmer back on but I'm afraid it will halt the chaeto.
I have a 24g LED Nanocube with the intank basket in chamber one but I grow chaeto in chamber two. I mounted an $8 3 LED red Halloween spot light behind the tank that shoots in through the glass and I harvest ball once per week.
Gona play the devil's here but yeah okay it's growing faster but is it taking in more NO3 and PO4 or since the Iron was the limiting factor, it's growing like that but still using the same amount. All it could be doing is making the reefer harvest more often.
Can you overdose on Ferrion? I have a 44 gal fish only with an led chaeto reactor. Like your previous experience chaeto is starting to crash it looks flimsy and withered basically unhealthy. So do you continually dose or is there a certain level of iron you try to maintain?
I went through the same cycle growth and death in my chaeto reactor. Eventually I took it offline. I also went through suppliments to keep it going. I did start to use iron and it helped but eventually the death cycle continued. The only thing that helped was complete reset with new chaeto and it would grow for one cycle and then die after it was trimmed. I thought the iron helped but eventually that would not work either. I am thinking it really has something to do with co2 exchange, not enough in the small reactor. If you can let more air into the reactor I am willing to bet that will make it explode. Now I keep chaeto in a sump and it grows like crazy and I notice most of it on the top is just about exposed to the air.
Do you always have your tank in the blue setting? I don’t know how to balance the more with and blue setting and how many hours I need of both or if any of the white.
Absolutely Fantastic tank, a real goal to strive for , can you please let me know what tank size this is, what lights you are using when shooting this video and what wave makers. Do you also dose any iodine?.
Had the same problem with my all in one nuvo20 and with a cheato reactor i made slime starting covering the cheato and start diying . thanx for the advice will try that. cheers
Okay first off I would do anything you suggest because DAMN man your tank is absolutely breath taking! I'm setting up a 5 gallon nano with a hang on back fuge with Brightwell Koral Lagoon Substrat. I plan on adding Chaeto. I will definitely order a bottle of the Ferrion and try it out! Brightwell has some great products... Almost too many to choose from. Do you use any other Brightwell additives?
Do you know what your Iron levels (ICP tested) were before and after you started dosing Ferrion? That would be worth seeing, also it's easily possible to have too much iron in a system, which can lead to all kinds of problems.
Who cares about the nitrates and phosphates. Just look at his tank... BEAUTIFUL. IMO a lot of us are always chasing these. Just look at your tank. Your corals will tell you when something is wrong. You cant truly enjoy your reef or this hobby if your always chasing them
Reef-STI my tip I will recommend you is to run your light for 13 hrs a day. I keep my lighting High intensity in my sump. My NO3 I keep it at 10 PPM and my PO3 at 0.04 PPm .. my sure Is on a timer good luck
Eli Reef hey thank you for your tip I’m gonna do video in few days about my new par38 and dosing iron you can see how is go, I’m thinking about the kessil H80 and prime fuge lights still don’t know what should I go lol
@@Ruffles206 your welcome, this is what is about giving each other tips in this hobby. I would still recommend you to go for kessil H80, because it works great for me. Also, continue to keep the lighting on a timer. Good luck! 👍
You know how old the tank need to be, to put caulerpa? Because I don’t have any problem to grow up macroalgae cheato. I add caulerpa and get sexual in 7 days I’m dosing 5ml every others day Don’t know if is because my tank is 3 months old or something
You have a beautiful tank I am using chaeto it’s been two or three weeks I don’t see much progress I did inject iron I put the chaeto where the water comes down that section using RedSea sump also which lights are you using? And what’s your light settings
Ahh cool I’m going to try this I’ve always had issues growing it in my nano, so you think this would work with aqua vitros iron as I could get that free from my lfs as I work there :)?
Hey bud ...i tried to dose feul (more)for this purpose...is it the same? But i have slacked on dosing it accordingly and now it went slimey on me AGAIN Ugh! Im gonna see if my lfs has this in stock
I want my entire main tank stuffed with Chaeto so this is really helpful. Thanks for sharing
I’ve used Kent’s iron and manganese for years and I throw a grocery bag full of cheto every two weeks. thanks for the video.
Excellent information! Been having the exact issue you describe with my reactor and will be picking up a. Title of this immediately. Thank you for this!
Currently I have 3 tanks. A 3ish gallon fluval spect, a 13.5g fluval evo and a 56g tall marineland. All 3 have been doing great with refugiums. I dont dose anything. Chaeto and calerpa. The spect has macro inside of the tank so it's not a typical refugium. The eco has one in chamber 2 with the intank media basket and I have converted an aqua clear 110 on the 56 tall into a very successful refugium. I know that every tank is different but I dont dose a single thing and I'm having so much success with all 3 tanks. The bigger 2 are mixed reefs and I see no reason to change a single thing. But should I have a problem with macroalgae, at least I have a great place to begin... so thanks
Nice happy to hear yours are working :)
I've had similar experience as you with other iron based products. I started using Kent's iron for caulerpa back in the mid 90's and found it helped immensely. Jack Kent then went on to start Brightwell Aquatics. He is the founder and engineer.
In more recent years I would mix my own dry iron aquarium fertilizer with DI water and use it for chaeto and have great success both in sump and in the back of an AIO tank.
I have tried to grow cheato for years with no success ..i bought the kessil h360.. started dosing redsea colors ..the iron one...and all of a sudden it is growing soo fast i cannot keep up..its crazy...the light is a huge part of growing..the cheap light would never work..ive tried a dozen lights...the kessil was the answer! It is by far the best and worth every penny!
I'm all over this! Great video! I've been struggling with chaeto since day one.....
Hope this can solve your issue :)
Did it work?
I have been having the same problem. Multiple times. Thanks for not giving up and figuring it out for us. I tried chaeto 3 times but this last time it has been staying alive but not multiplying. Ty
🤙🏼
I know this is a three year old video, but I just started trying to grow Chito and I know this is going to be my answer! I have a 30 bio cube, and I found a really cool submersible small led plant light I can put in the back of the tank - so hope it works🤞🏻🍀
does it work?
I have 150 gallon reef with a refugium in my sump, and I've been having problems with green slime on my chaeto. I wonder if this would help. I usually just reach in every couple of days and shake it by hand to try and get that stuff off of the chaeto
How do you change water without exposing corals to the air? I am wanting to put some corals up high on my tonga branches that so far been placing vertically but I wont be able to do water changes without air hitting them! You and you alone was my inspiration 4 years ago to get in this hobby!
Thanks man, I can't wait to give this a shot.
Be careful when u add the light to the glass of you tank, Ive had personal experience with the heat of the light slowly cracking the glass
Is it bad?
It’s funny that you found this out. I’ve been watching and reading about getting my lawn awesome and iron is a big part to getting it green. Lol
Chaeto Reactor has been perfect for me. Grows fast ,healthy ,and has a lot of pods in it.
How do you keep your pods when you clean your reactor?
@@rickyricardo75 I fill a 5 gal bucket about 1/4 full and shake the pods off in there, I collect them out with a turkey baster & put them in one of three tanks!
Hey I’m running two 33 Longs with HOB Finnex Refugium and lights, the chaeto just hangs in the chamber and grows like crazy.
I had problems with it like you. We just ordered the product and more chaeto. Thanks for the great information, didn't know it needed "Iron" supplement.
I'm not sure I'm getting the idea behind this. Since iron in excess is used as fuel for unwanted algae in our tanks. Isn't it kind of counterintuitive just to grow macro? What is the benefit? I'm my tank Phos and Nitrates run extremely low. Good husbandry and not over feeding must contribute to that. I feed quite a lot to my tank.
You are true but the thing is if you aren’t dosing and growing algae quicker than you replenish iron then that’s where the issues start. Remember my tank goes months without water changes with is probably also the reason
I have reached out to Aarons aquarium and fish of hex about the chaeto in a nano. They both had nothing like this for me.
I have a 24g LED Nanocube with the intank basket in chamber one but I grow chaeto in chamber two. I mounted an $8 3 LED red Halloween spot light behind the tank that shoots in through the glass and I harvest ball once per week.
I've been wanting to do a refugium by converting my red sea 170/250 sump ato. It funny you ended up using the lights you did because I have three of those light for my indoor plants and they work great. Those will be my go-to light for when I do mine. Good info with the iron.
2376dmwalker hey 👋 I’ll good idea you gonna go man
Because I have the same tank 170
And the sump from 250 we’ll fit perfect
But is you gonna get it new, I well do custom sump because I’m gonna do like that
:)
@@Ruffles206 yea, the 170 sump came with the 1.5 gallon ato and I will just be using that. I'm putting a 5-10 gallon tank behind my main tank for an ato.
I agree. Fermion is FANTASTIC! I couldn’t get anything to grow until I dosed it and it exploded! I took my GFO offline for the first time in 5 years.
i know its off topic for the video but do you have any care tips you could share for the goniopora you have?
Will do ;)
I 2nd that. Goniopora is one of my favs and those two that we see are really awsome.
Hello, nice video, iv ordered some ferrion and will be using it in due course. My cheato was growing well then suddenly the black slime has come and, its now breaking down in the refugium. Just had an ICP and that confirms there is no Iron in the water at all!
Absolutely beautiful tank because of the color variations
Really cool light. Can’t wait for the video on that. So that I can try and grow cheato in the back of my all in one.👍🏻
About to try this. Let's hope Main display doesn't get overrun.
My chaeto is growing at a decent rate but I would love to help it out and help the rest of the tank. I’ll definitely be trying this stuff out. Thanks for sharing.
What hue were your old lights in your last attempts? Seems the color spectrum of the light can really impact your results. BRS did some tank trials around refugiums and spectrum played a huge role in their results.
The old were 4 red one blue
I have the same problem WaterBox 230 display is 170, sump 40, fuge 8 g
I have a large refugium area. Nice grow light 300 watts. Chaeto still dies off anyway. I haven't check my iron. That's my next step
Did the Iron help with your corals as well ? They look very healthy and big also.
I have been running a tunze 3181 algae reactor and it grow cheato very well with the purple light thanks for the recommendation for the cheoto booster
Is there anyway you can send me a list of the coral you have in this aquarium setup. I'm new to reefing and I love the colors in your aquarium, great job!!!
Naturally adding anything to my tank is a worry. How does the Ferrion affect my tank overall, and corals?
Was going to ask the same question...hope he replies. If this helps the chaeto grow would other algae in our tanks grow like crazy too ??
Get a marina breeder HOB, get the 0.5 gallon, throw some chaeto and a grow light and works great. I’ve been throwing out baseball size balls of chaeto every week and my tank is only 20G. Total cost was $25, much cheaper than reactor or in back chamber👍
I wouldn’t be able to deal with the look or else I woudl do it 😞
Have you replaced Ferrion with Chaeto Gro? As Chaeto Gro contains Iron.
Super fantastic video and corrals too....Thanks for sharing its.... . ..
I going to grab a bottle for my little refugium on te back of my EVO 13.5 - I use the middle chamber and have been using a small LED grow stipe and it seems to be ok buI I wanted better growth. Got my Copepod motel back there as well.
What a beautiful tank.
I'd really like your advice if I can. I have the Red Sea Reefer 170 and I use a chaeto reactor in my sump. I also use a BM curve 3.5 skimmer and for months I had no chaeto growth in my reactor. I didn't think this was 'normal' considering. It remained golf ball size for months on end but I thought I would experiment, so I turned my skimmer off and Chaeto has immediately took off. I'm harvesting it frequently now, about once a month. I did also increase my feedings after shutting down my skimmer to provide more nutrients. My system was just 'too clean' in my opinion. I don't know if the increase feedings have gave me great results with chaeto or the fact I shut down my skimmer. I would like to turn my skimmer back on but I'm afraid it will halt the chaeto.
How much cheato did you start with ? Brightwell makes a chaeto grow as well did you ever look at that?
My 28g nanocube with a inTank basket grows cheato like CRAZY
What type of light are you using on the Cheato?
I have a 24g LED Nanocube with the intank basket in chamber one but I grow chaeto in chamber two. I mounted an $8 3 LED red Halloween spot light behind the tank that shoots in through the glass and I harvest ball once per week.
Will adding this , does it hurt the Copepods living in the cheato ?
Gona play the devil's here but yeah okay it's growing faster but is it taking in more NO3 and PO4 or since the Iron was the limiting factor, it's growing like that but still using the same amount. All it could be doing is making the reefer harvest more often.
Can you overdose on Ferrion? I have a 44 gal fish only with an led chaeto reactor. Like your previous experience chaeto is starting to crash it looks flimsy and withered basically unhealthy. So do you continually dose or is there a certain level of iron you try to maintain?
You sure do have a beautiful tank
I went through the same cycle growth and death in my chaeto reactor. Eventually I took it offline. I also went through suppliments to keep it going. I did start to use iron and it helped but eventually the death cycle continued. The only thing that helped was complete reset with new chaeto and it would grow for one cycle and then die after it was trimmed. I thought the iron helped but eventually that would not work either. I am thinking it really has something to do with co2 exchange, not enough in the small reactor. If you can let more air into the reactor I am willing to bet that will make it explode. Now I keep chaeto in a sump and it grows like crazy and I notice most of it on the top is just about exposed to the air.
Interesting. We will see what happens with this. But nothing like growing in a sump
Is it also at the top closest to the light?
@@L3G3NDARYK1LL3R Yes like in the wild I think.
Depends on light period and how much cheato you use.
Do you always have your tank in the blue setting? I don’t know how to balance the more with and blue setting and how many hours I need of both or if any of the white.
do you have a link of that low profile fuge light ? thanks
I love the T-shirt’s but do you reckon you would be able to make a hoodie because I would a hoodie with the two clowns on it
Should be released in about 2 weeks
I can’t wait
hi just ordered it, hope its as good as you say
Absolutely Fantastic tank, a real goal to strive for , can you please let me know what tank size this is, what lights you are using when shooting this video and what wave makers. Do you also dose any iodine?.
You are dosing 3-4ml per 2 days.. hmm can I ask you how much is your water amount
Aren’t you already dosing red sea coral colors? Isn’t there already iron in those also?
Had the same problem with my all in one nuvo20 and with a cheato reactor i made slime starting covering the cheato and start diying . thanx for the advice will try that. cheers
What skimmer is that? Why did you move away from the tunze 9004. Sorry but i cant find a video on your channel about this skimmer
how much light
What kind of Acans are the orange ones in the bottom right?
Okay first off I would do anything you suggest because DAMN man your tank is absolutely breath taking! I'm setting up a 5 gallon nano with a hang on back fuge with Brightwell Koral Lagoon Substrat. I plan on adding Chaeto. I will definitely order a bottle of the Ferrion and try it out! Brightwell has some great products... Almost too many to choose from. Do you use any other Brightwell additives?
Wow man is that ever a lot of cheato.
Just bought some , chaeto just sitting in refugium on pause 😭
Do you know what your Iron levels (ICP tested) were before and after you started dosing Ferrion? That would be worth seeing, also it's easily possible to have too much iron in a system, which can lead to all kinds of problems.
What Light you are using , Or u are using filter lens on camera
You don't think the new light and light spectrum is whats giving the new growth?
Do you turn your refugium off for a little while when you add the iron ?
Awesome video!!! Definitely going to have to order some new shirts too!! Any decals?
Decals coming out ;)
What else are you running with your chaeto reactor? Any sort of gfo, carbon / chemipure? I think I see a skimmer back there.
Who cares about the nitrates and phosphates. Just look at his tank... BEAUTIFUL. IMO a lot of us are always chasing these. Just look at your tank. Your corals will tell you when something is wrong. You cant truly enjoy your reef or this hobby if your always chasing them
I totally agree with you. Never chance a number
any one has the link of the light he is talking about?
so you tried the ferrion with the reactor?
Never with reactor
I grow caulerpa in my sump and never have a problem. For lighting I use kessil H80 and I use the same product from brightwell great video bro👍👍
Thanks man
Reef-STI my tip I will recommend you is to run your light for 13 hrs a day. I keep my lighting High intensity in my sump. My NO3 I keep it at 10 PPM and my PO3 at 0.04 PPm .. my sure Is on a timer good luck
Eli Reef hey thank you for your tip I’m gonna do video in few days about my new par38 and dosing iron you can see how is go, I’m thinking about the kessil H80 and prime fuge lights still don’t know what should I go lol
@@Ruffles206 your welcome, this is what is about giving each other tips in this hobby. I would still recommend you to go for kessil H80, because it works great for me. Also, continue to keep the lighting on a timer. Good luck! 👍
@@Ruffles206 Oh and by the way the Prime fuges lights are also really good.
Do you still recommend the LED for the fug?
Stupid question. Where did you get that dual measuring cup that you used to dose the iron in this video?
Comes with all Red Sea supliment product.
@@eatsleepreef9565 Thank you.
is this the same chateo from previous video? same lights and same flow ? thanks
No that last one died :/
@@eatsleepreef9565 I mean whole chateo reactor, not only algae :)
What do you use to stick the light to the back of the tank? Velcro?
Exactly :)
Do you have copepods? How do you manage them?
wonderful tank!!! Beautiful
You know how old the tank need to be, to put caulerpa? Because I don’t have any problem to grow up macroalgae cheato.
I add caulerpa and get sexual in 7 days
I’m dosing 5ml every others day
Don’t know if is because my tank is 3 months old or something
Im having issues keeping nitrates above 1 due to the refugium.
Do you test for a certain target level or do you just dose regularly
Beautiful tank! I'm gonna try your recommendation with the cheato and Ferrion
You have a beautiful tank
I am using chaeto it’s been two or three weeks I don’t see much progress I did inject iron
I put the chaeto where the water comes down that section using RedSea sump
also which lights are you using? And what’s your light settings
how do you take pics under all these blue led lighting ?
Have you ever done a Triton ICP water test to see if you are low on Iron(Fe) ?
I know this is old what are you growing it in. Is that the intank basket?
Ahh cool I’m going to try this I’ve always had issues growing it in my nano, so you think this would work with aqua vitros iron as I could get that free from my lfs as I work there :)?
Chaeto, feather caulerpa, calciferous caulerpa, grape caulerpa, all grow well in my system but great info regardless.
That might work for you, but what if you already have a ton of green hair algae? Won't I be feeding the algae too?
Good question. Would also like to know
Very enjoyable video ! Loved the length of detail you went into about this annoying subject ! Top marks from me 👍🏻
Hey bud ...i tried to dose feul (more)for this purpose...is it the same? But i have slacked on dosing it accordingly and now it went slimey on me AGAIN Ugh! Im gonna see if my lfs has this in stock
FUEL is aminos and has phosphates so I would not do it for this. You can order it online too
Would you recommend brightwell cheato gro instead of iron?
thats just what i was thinking about the Goniopora
How do you get your blue corals to look more blue?
for 31 inch wide 45 gallon...
Have you had issue chaeto bleaching? Mine does it
No never
How are you able to adjust your lights that way?
What’s ur dosing routine with the iron?
3ml every 2 days
So Brightwell makes ChaetoGro...but this is better at making chaeto grow? What the heck!
Great info and your tank look beautiful keep up the great y
Work