Does anyone have an extra Phosban Reactor?

[WesW]

My algae levels are creeping up and I need to cut them off before they get worse. Does anyone have a phosban reactor they would sell or trade for coral?

 

[kmaintl]

Are you sure it's a phosphate problem?

 

[kmaintl]

You can always add macroalgae in your sump.

 

[JSB]

You can always add macroalgae in your sump.

Or a media bag with GFO.

 

[kmaintl]

Or a media bag with GFO.

+1 agree

 

[WesW]

I have chaeto, fern caulerpa, and mangroves in my sump. I think I'll give the media bag with GFO a shot. Thanks for the suggestion. Do you guys have any other ideas?

 

[kmaintl]

Test your water and find out where your phosphates and nitrates are at. Then you can proceed.

 

[JSB]

I have chaeto, fern caulerpa, and mangroves in my sump. I think I'll give the media bag with GFO a shot. Thanks for the suggestion. Do you guys have any other ideas?

Loosely pack the bag and put it in a high-flow area of your sump. Certainly a media reactor would work better, but this is a lot cheaper and you should see decent results.

 

[WesW]

Test your water and find out where your phosphates and nitrates are at. Then you can proceed.

Nitrates: 10 ppm
Phosphates: .25 ppm
Alkalinity: 6 dKH

I was just out of town for a week and somehow these current levels are worse than before I left even though the tank was only topped off and given a little flake food while I was gone. I also shortened the light cycle down to seven hours while I was gone.

My alkalinity is low too. What do you guys suggest dosing? Kalkwasser or baking soda?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I would do a few water changes back to back to bring the overall nutrient load down firest.
To bring the alkalinity up, I'd use baking soda. Kalkwasser works, too. Try not to raise the alkalinity more than 1 meq/l (2.8 dkh/50 ppm) in a day.

 

[WesW]

I would do a few water changes back to back to bring the overall nutrient load down firest.
To bring the alkalinity up, I'd use baking soda. Kalkwasser works, too. Try not to raise the alkalinity more than 1 meq/l (2.8 dkh/50 ppm) in a day.

Thanks for the advice! I will try doing a 20% water change once a day for the next three days and then see what my levels are. I got phosgaurd and a media bag yesterday. Should I go ahead and put it in my sump now or wait until after I've done the water changes?

 

[Tomoko Schum]

It does not hurt to set it up. Water changes are good to bring down a high nitrate level quickly. I think GFO is more effective for bringing the PO4 level down.

 

[kmaintl]

I would do a few water changes back to back to bring the overall nutrient load down firest.
To bring the alkalinity up, I'd use baking soda. Kalkwasser works, too. Try not to raise the alkalinity more than 1 meq/l (2.8 dkh/50 ppm) in a day.

+! agree... you don't want to see the results of increasing the pH or alkalinity too quickly. setup the GFO now, no need to wait for water changes.