One large water change or split it?

ndz98 · Sep 10, 2016

I've had some algae issues this past week and I believe it's from a high level of p04. I have about 33 gallons of water total between my DT and sump. Should I do one 10 gallon water change or should I split it into two? I usually do 5 gallon water changes once every 3-4 weeks. I will probably do them about once a week until I get the algae under control again.

sa6hir · Sep 10, 2016

Keep doing small amounts every 4-5days till you get the P04 under control, then for maintenance doing 5 gallon a week should be good. Once you feel like you have it under control then you could possibly get away with water change every 2weeks. Getting P04 under control with water changes is not a real fix u need to establish why it's high and get to the root cause now that will solve the problem. How's well is your skimmer working, how much do u feed maybe split food into small portions.

jsker · Sep 10, 2016

@sa6hir is right on target, also if you can run some GFO run it. Heck us a nylon and tie a little bit of GFO and put it into the flow of your system

ndz98 · Sep 10, 2016

jsker said:
@sa6hir is right on target, also if you can run some GFO run it. Heck us a nylon and tie a little bit of GFO and put it into the flow of your system

I just put a new bag of chemi pure elite in my sump a couple days ago so hopefully that will help some.

reeferfoxx · Sep 10, 2016

Water changes will only remove po4 in the water column. It won't remove PO4 from the sandbed or rock if it's leeching. In addition to changing out water, you should vacuum the sandbed. If that doesn't cure it, run some GFO to help absorb any po4 leeching. Keeping Alk, PO4 and NO3 stable will help keep po4 from leeching also.

ndz98 · Sep 10, 2016

sa6hir said:
Keep doing small amounts every 4-5days till you get the P04 under control, then for maintenance doing 5 gallon a week should be good. Once you feel like you have it under control then you could possibly get away with water change every 2weeks. Getting P04 under control with water changes is not a real fix u need to establish why it's high and get to the root cause now that will solve the problem. How's well is your skimmer working, how much do u feed maybe split food into small portions.

I'd say the skimmer is doing alright. It pulls some dark stuff out of the water every day. I'm probably going to pull it out and clean it soon just to make sure it's working as efficient as it can be. I forget exactly but don't people usually clean salt water things with vinegar? Also I am going to try to feed a little less and see if that might be part of the problem.

jsker · Sep 10, 2016

ndz98 said:
I just put a new bag of chemi pure elite in my sump a couple days ago so hopefully that will help some.

Give it about a week

ndz98 · Sep 11, 2016

I'm gonna pull my skimmer out and give it a good clean today to make sure it's running as efficiently as possible. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, you use white vinegar to clean with right? Do you fill a tub with white vinegar and let it sit in it or do you just pour it on the thing you're cleaning?

ndz98 · Sep 12, 2016

Pulled the sump and skimmer out and cleaned them really good today and replaced about 5 gallons of water too. Skimmer sounds and looks to be running much more efficient now. The chaeto is also moving and tumbling around much better. Hopefully it will grow better and not get so much gunk caught up in it. Guess we will play the waiting game and see if this helps with my problem.

AXO · Sep 12, 2016

If I were you id consider running NOPOX, vodka, or vinegar. Ive had superior luck avoiding algae with it. I have absolutely none in my tank.

ndz98 · Sep 12, 2016

AXO said:
If I were you id consider running NOPOX, vodka, or vinegar. Ive had superior luck avoiding algae with it. I have absolutely none in my tank.

How do you use any of those? I've never had to before.