Cheato fillter

I seen alot of people using cheato instead of filter media and I have a few questions. Is it better for the tank? Do any of u do this with possitive results? Once it traps the particles in the water where dose it go? What is the best lighting? Is there any kind of mantnince with the cheato?

 

Chaeto is the only mechanical filter I have. That wasn't its intent but that is the way it turned out.

I took all mechanical filters out of my system when I was trying to lower nitrates and I never put them back. At the same time I started a fuge and seeded it with a handfull of chaeto. The chaeto has grown so much it takes up 3/4 of the fuge now and is in the middle of the flow from input to output. I only have a small amount of flow growing through the fuge so most of the water bypasses this chamber and goes straight to my skimmer chamber.

Anyway the chaeto is completely full of bristleworms and pods. They take care of eating everything that's in there. Seems to work. Most of the time my nitrates are not measurable.

 

Bump