ReefRacer
Community Member
Hello all...
I am hoping for some ideas or explanations from the Gurus out there. I have 2 problems that I have been struggling with for some time. Myself, and all of my reefer friends are at a loss.
Hair Algae! It's not taking over or anything, but I have a few spots that are just staying steady. Not really spreading at this point. I can't take my rocks out to scrub them, so I do my best to suck it out every few days. I have started raising my Magnesium over the past couple of weeks. And although there is some debate wether that helps H.A., it seems to be helping a bit in my case. It started showing up about 2 months ago.
Another thing I have a problem with is Chaeto. I CAN NOT get this stuff to survive. I had the clamp on style light that Melev recommended and replaced that with 2 similar bulbs directly overhead and add a 250 gal/hour power head to stir things up in my fuge. The chaeto was tumbling around nice, but still slowly died over 2-3 weeks. Fuge lights are on for 10 hours per day.
No Nitrate, No Amm, No Nitrite measurable with Red Sea test kits (the new ones in black cases). I did measure slightly higher than 0 phosphates.
I would appreciate any ideas / suggestions...the H.A makes my otherwise beautiful tank (in my eyes) look like crap and not being able to keep Chaeto alive is making me crazy!!
Bare with me, I am going to try and write down every aspect of my tank.
-120 gallon SPS dominated tank. It's a 4' glass 120, not the typical long 120 (Tank is about 7 months old..was an upgrade from my 75 that was a year old when I switched)
-75 pounds of BRS base rock that was in previous tank, so now almost 2 years old
-2x250 mh 14k Phoenix bulbs (6 months old)
-2xCoral Sky LED supplement strips
-BRS reactor, but just use Carbon, no GFO
-Reef Octopus Diablo skimmer
-Sump / Refugium (Fuge is 12 gal capacity)
-1 MP40 and 2 MP10s + Koralia shooting down the back to stir things up
-1-2 inch sandbed in DT and 3-4 inch refugium
-Dose A&B at rate of 50ml per day Alk, 20ml per day Calk
---This amount has kept my Alk stable around 9dkh and Cal around 480 for the last 2 months
-Started dosing Kent Mag in the past couple of weeks as Mag was around 1200, is now 1420
-3xBangais, yellow tang, perc clown, 2 lyretails, royal gramma, sailfin goby, 2x carpenter wrasse,blue damsel (must have been another fish in his prior life cause he is SUPER shy)
-Feed pellets and liquid Mysis Feast one time per day. Food is usually gone within 2-3 minutes
-have approx 30 dwarf red legs, 10 scarletts, 15 astrea, 10 banded trochus, 2 cuc's
-feed Reef Chili to corals once a week or so
-RO/DI water
-water changes 20 gallons every 2 weeks
I am hoping for some ideas or explanations from the Gurus out there. I have 2 problems that I have been struggling with for some time. Myself, and all of my reefer friends are at a loss.
Hair Algae! It's not taking over or anything, but I have a few spots that are just staying steady. Not really spreading at this point. I can't take my rocks out to scrub them, so I do my best to suck it out every few days. I have started raising my Magnesium over the past couple of weeks. And although there is some debate wether that helps H.A., it seems to be helping a bit in my case. It started showing up about 2 months ago.
Another thing I have a problem with is Chaeto. I CAN NOT get this stuff to survive. I had the clamp on style light that Melev recommended and replaced that with 2 similar bulbs directly overhead and add a 250 gal/hour power head to stir things up in my fuge. The chaeto was tumbling around nice, but still slowly died over 2-3 weeks. Fuge lights are on for 10 hours per day.
No Nitrate, No Amm, No Nitrite measurable with Red Sea test kits (the new ones in black cases). I did measure slightly higher than 0 phosphates.
I would appreciate any ideas / suggestions...the H.A makes my otherwise beautiful tank (in my eyes) look like crap and not being able to keep Chaeto alive is making me crazy!!
Bare with me, I am going to try and write down every aspect of my tank.
-120 gallon SPS dominated tank. It's a 4' glass 120, not the typical long 120 (Tank is about 7 months old..was an upgrade from my 75 that was a year old when I switched)
-75 pounds of BRS base rock that was in previous tank, so now almost 2 years old
-2x250 mh 14k Phoenix bulbs (6 months old)
-2xCoral Sky LED supplement strips
-BRS reactor, but just use Carbon, no GFO
-Reef Octopus Diablo skimmer
-Sump / Refugium (Fuge is 12 gal capacity)
-1 MP40 and 2 MP10s + Koralia shooting down the back to stir things up
-1-2 inch sandbed in DT and 3-4 inch refugium
-Dose A&B at rate of 50ml per day Alk, 20ml per day Calk
---This amount has kept my Alk stable around 9dkh and Cal around 480 for the last 2 months
-Started dosing Kent Mag in the past couple of weeks as Mag was around 1200, is now 1420
-3xBangais, yellow tang, perc clown, 2 lyretails, royal gramma, sailfin goby, 2x carpenter wrasse,blue damsel (must have been another fish in his prior life cause he is SUPER shy)
-Feed pellets and liquid Mysis Feast one time per day. Food is usually gone within 2-3 minutes
-have approx 30 dwarf red legs, 10 scarletts, 15 astrea, 10 banded trochus, 2 cuc's
-feed Reef Chili to corals once a week or so
-RO/DI water
-water changes 20 gallons every 2 weeks
