Very nice and sure looks like it is working well for you
soutzee
Active Member
i have been having problems with algae that is one of the reasn i got a skimmer. i cant seem to decipher what it is causing it. I got chaeto on an aquaclear my nitrates and phiosphates mark 0ppm th eonly thing out of the normal is my kh which somehow raises to 9 after WC but drops to 7 in a week. the fricking brown hair algae, and now got gthe green turf one just dont seem to go away. its getting kind of frustrating
May I ask what test kits you are using and also can you post a picture of the algae patches and growths that you have in your tank as that may give a clue to what is going on. Without more details it is difficult to determine why this is happening I am afraid.
Normally when hair and turf algae start to grow it would be because nitrates and phosphates are too high .. are you using chemical compounds to remove them? Do you have GAC in your filtration? A pic and more info would help in trying to help you solve this.
soutzee
Active Member
IM currently using the api reef master test kit. And on the tank im running kent nitrogen sponge and chemipure elite, along with chaeto.
here some picture opf the algae the bigger partts coulndt for the life of me take good pictures
here some picture opf the algae the bigger partts coulndt for the life of me take good pictures
7 is actually not all that low ... what is your pH if I may ask ? Now that it is at 10 I would not add any buffers as that is going to push it up even higher and you are already IME on the high side so the alk. does not need to be changed. As I posted in my other messages its the PO4 and the NO3 IMO that need to come down and as I said to get accurate readings you need "low range" test kits or take some water to an LFS and have them test it for you and then let me know what the #'s are please. Thanks
soutzee
Active Member
im prety sure there are not dinos had those before already(what looks like dinos is a piece of silicone from when i first built it i just removed it after the pic) . and sorry for the ignorance but what is GFO and AL. oxide. i already ordered from my LFS an emerald crab they only cost like $2 here and ill get some more blue legs. And the lfs currently uses the API test kit too so no help there . what test kit would you recommend?
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The Emerald Crab will eat most algae and sometimes even those that they are not known to eat ... so that is IME a good addition and more CUC's will help as well but I think that the algae growth you have is due to too high phosphates and nitrates in the tank's water. GFO is granular ferric oxide and Al. oxide is Aluminum oxide and both are phosphate and to some degree silicate removers. Gee if the LFS uses API test kits also then you will not get a real reading. I use Salifert test kits, the low range ones and those work well and are easy to use and have an expiration date on the packaging.
You say that some of what I see are not Dinos, and that is possible ... are they like a slimy looking patch with air bubbles trapped inside? if that is that is what they look like then they would be Dinoflagellates. If they are you should be able to siphon them out.
I would try and find an LFS that uses other test kits so you can get a real reading on your nutrient levels. I would use GFO or Al. oxide to get those phosphate levels down.
If you do get a reading on the nutrient levels do let me know. Thanks.
Great pH seems to be under control and yes Chem Elite will remove some phosphate but if your level is high which it could be then a stronger remover would be better and GFO would do that but before changing over IMO you should get an accurate reading the nitrates and phosphates either by getting a low range set of kits or finding an LFS that use them and can do the test for you ... FWIW
If you use the link below you will see a lot of suppliers and I would select one that is a sponsor of this forum.
Salifert Phosphate test kit - Google Search
soutzee
Active Member
im on process of ordering a slifert phospate test and Magnesium test ( i wanna be able to put and keep healthy SPS). im also working on a new project part are here have to finish wiring everything up and ill post pictures later. There is nothing like tinkering jajaja
Yes the low range ones are the ones to get and ... on tinkering .. I think we all love doing that
Steviereefs
Well-Known Member
Your tank looks awesome. i really like the lights and bracket you made for them, nicely done!!!
soutzee
Active Member
thanks i already has that laying around my house and it only took me 20 minutes to learn how to weld jajajaja after the first times that it was crooked but finished looking quite well after all.
btw here is what i was tinkering with
my own temperature controller. a plug with two outlets, one for cooling and one for heating.
here is finished
Very neat indeed !
soutzee
Active Member
Hi i like to tinker but there is not much left to tinker with since its all done as i wanted it. so all im doing now is tweaking here and there trying to optimize stuff. so i added a third float valve in the ATO reservoir that way when the water comes down to a certain level its stops sucking water to the tank. i did that so the aqualifter didnt suck the part of the kalkwasser that is on the bottom that i didnt like.
OHH and the 3 green banded gobbies that i put in are so cool. i think i might have even picked out a pair without meaning to jajaja. ill take pictures as soon as they let me those little rascals just dont stay still jajaj
OHH and the 3 green banded gobbies that i put in are so cool. i think i might have even picked out a pair without meaning to jajaja. ill take pictures as soon as they let me those little rascals just dont stay still jajaj
