So, what's the prevailing wisdom on pruning your cheato? I seem to finaly be winning my war on algae, but I was curious about the cheato in my fuge. On the one hand, I hear pruning encourages growth. On the other hand, doesn't a larger biomass of cheato = more nutrient uptake? Obviously you have to prune it at some point, but should I let it prettu much fill my fuge, then cut out 1/3 of it (or more), or do more regular smaller prunings and keep it more or less a constant size?

i know a guy that, NO JOKE, has a Tunze rotating his cheato ball and the ball is at LEAST 40lbs. it is in a 90 gallon tank that is plumbed into his system, and it touches the front and back of the tank and bottom almost to the top of the tank, and probably 2/3 of the tanks length !! he just cuts some out when someone wants some for their fuge. so i guess i say dont trim it unless someone wants some or it is outgrowing your fuge.

The problem with not trimming is that if any part of it dies it will decay and release the nutrients locked in the chaeto back into the tank. Most every gardener will tell you that pruning encourages growth so I think that you would have more new growth, and thus nutrient export, if you do trim.