How Often to Trim Chaeto?

[fort384]

I started with a tennis ball sized piece of cheato and it has grown in 3-4 months to pretty much fill my fuge area of my sump. It is all still very green, and I just manually roll it over about twice a week so the bottom of the ball gets some light... but how soon do I need to trim it? I don't want to experience a mass die off or something and have a bunch of dead material make its way into the tank... that would kind of defeat the purpose of it in the first place .

 

[Sniperhank]

I'm getting close to a similar situation. I personally would trim it back to the size of a softball and let it grow again.

 

[Ingy]

I wouldn't trim it back more than 50% at at time. Not because of any risk to the cheato, but because there is obviously enough nitrates and phosphates for it to keep growing. when it is too big for the food source it will start to go soft and mushy in parts. If you reach that point you definitely need a major trim.
For now though, if you trim it back too much then of course that will allow more 'trates and 'phates in you tank until it grows more.

 

[fort384]

That's kinda what I was thinking. If it is growing and healthy than it has a food source. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to melt and go mushy over night and create a big mess.