Chaetomorpha, also known as Brillo Pad Algae
 

hi, my tank has been up and running for 2 months and was wondering about adding some of Chaetomorpha, also known as Brillo Pad Algae and Spaghetti Algae.
should i stay away from this stuff or is it ok to add?
any advise would be appreciated.
thanks
rob

It's fine to add.

We have another nickname for it here on Canreef though ....... uh .. maybe I won't say what it is in order to keep this "PG rated."

I now see how Tony stays 400 posts ahead of me. :razz:

(let it go, Bob - you post-padding weinie) :razz:

Chaeto is often grown in the larger HO filter units like the AquaClear 500. As long as enough light is spilling into it you should be good to go.

Where did you want to add it?

i was thinking of adding it to my tank. i dont have a sump set up.
any suggestions as to where in the tank? i dont have powerful lights yets.

I could be wrong on this, but I think it grows better as a free floating tumbling mass, so in a sump, refugium or aquaclear kind of thing might work better than just in the tank. You could probably stuff some under a rock to hold it in place but I'm not sure how well that will work long term, it will probably eventually get sucked into a powerhead input or some such.

can some one tell me why all of a sudden people want to add algae to there tanks?

Steve

who knows
 

must be a reef fad but I don't really see the disadvantage either. My chaeto sits in my sump but its not growing quickly because I do skim very heavily. it should help to some extent with nitrate export. Also i like my chaeto cuz it houses plenty of pods and worms in my sump and it has NEVER gone assexual.

It doesn't go sexual which makes it a much better substitute for caulerpa if you're into the macroalgae export idea. It's also grazed upon by some herbivores.

It's not a new idea by any stretch, people have been growing this stuff for years. I don't know where this "all of a sudden" comes from.

well i run an eco systems so cheato rocks!