Buying Chaeto Online

[ahochan]

I am considering getting some chaeto for my sump. It's more or less impossible to get in shops here in Tokyo, so I'm considering getting some online.

How well does it ship? Would it be ok to order it now, or should I wait until the weather gets warmer? Also, will I need to take any special precautions when introducing it to my tank (cutting off dead parts etc)

 

[melosu58]

It should ship better than livestock and corals. The only problem will be the shipping cost as compared to the cost of the macro.

 

[ahochan]

I checked on e-bay and couldn't find any sellers that would ship outside the US. Does anyone know of a normal webshop that stocks it?

 

[ahochan]

I was able to find an ebay seller in the UK that would ship internationally for a reasonable price. The chaeto arrived yesterday, and seemed to be in good shape (dark green color). I put it in a small 8 liter tank with a hob filter for "curing." I used water from a PVC from the main tank, and put some old gac that ought to be full of bacteria for seeding.

Any ideas as to how long I should keep the chaeto in the curing tank, and what to look for to ensure its continued health? The light is a small 8W PC, should I invest in something a bit bigger? Also, how important is flow? I may need to add a small ph in the sump.

 

[Ziggy953]

You want slow flow through your "fuge" (the area where you have macro algae) I've never tried to cure macro algae before. Not sure what that is.

The idea behind using Macro algae is to have it in contact with the water from your display tank as long as possible. The benefit is the macro will use up the excess nutrients in your water and eliminate the potential for bad algaes to grow in your tank. So you want the water to flow slowly through your fuge. Typically you want your fuge to be 10% of your display volume. 300gph flow is decent going through a fuge.

 

[ahochan]

I just figured that since the macro had been out of the water and in transit for a few days, it would be best to put it in another tank for "curing" just to make sure it was ok. I moved it to my sump after about a week.

I don't have a dedicated fuge, and just added the chaeto to the main chamber in the sump. I don't really know the exact flow rate, but I have the return pump set to maximum flow. I also changed the light to a 16W PC.