Refugium question

[dakotap]

I have had my DSA 105 running for about 2 months now. I have had a nanocube for almost 1.5 years now but I am new to sumps and refugiums. I was given some chaeto for my five and made a light for it and all. I've noticed lately the chaeto has been getting very stringy and shedding pieces from the ball. I also have this weird algae growing. My nitrates are 5 or below according to my crappy api kit. I've been thinking of pulling the chaeto and just adding more base rock and maybe even taking the sand out. Any suggestions?

 

[dakotap]

 

[Connie]

It is much better to have the algae in your fuge than your DT. If you have room, put a cheapy powerhead in the fuge to increase waterflow. That will blow the algae off the chaeto and to the skimmer. It will also increase the growth rate of your chaeto. What is your photo period for your fuge?

 

[oicani]

You have a lot of dead stuff on ur macro algae... Give it a good pruning. Also, I'm assuming u have a reef tank, how are your Calcium levels? Macros do consume a good amount of C. Last, phosphate.... Do you test? If so where are the levels?

 

[dakotap]

It is much better to have the algae in your fuge than your DT. If you have room, put a cheapy powerhead in the fuge to increase waterflow. That will blow the algae off the chaeto and to the skimmer. It will also increase the growth rate of your chaeto. What is your photo period for your fuge?

Photoperiod is on at 8pm and off at 7:30am. Reverse of DT lights. Only problem is the way my sump is set up from left to right it goes filter sock, heater, skimmer compartment through bubble trap into return area in middle. My fuge is a 10 gallon compartment on the right with a high wall that slowly runs over the glass to the return so anything that is getting stirred will go to the return pump and blasted into the tank. Lately this is causing pieces of chaeto string to be flying around the DT.

 

[dakotap]

You have a lot of dead stuff on ur macro algae... Give it a good pruning. Also, I'm assuming u have a reef tank, how are your Calcium levels? Macros do consume a good amount of C. Last, phosphate.... Do you test? If so where are the levels?

I tested about a week ago and had ca of 450 and phosphate between 0 and 0.2 (crappy api) I plan on getting a red sea reef foundation test kit or Hannah checkers soon now that corals are going in.

 

[dakotap]

Should I consider a couple snails or something to get rid of the sandbed algae or do you think the added flow from a little power head would be enough?

 

[oicani]

I think you need to do multiple things.

 

[oicani]

Run you lights in ur fugi at the same time during ur DT, add some clean up critters and trim the dead stuff off.

 

[oicani]

Also, some added flow wouldn't hurt. Your phosphate are low too but I wouldn't do anything to increase them just yet until u get some good growth going.

 

[Connie]

IMO the skimmer needs to be the last thing before the water returns to the DT. If you put flow in there the way it is now, it is still going to blow all that into the DT, only more.

 

[dakotap]

Well I will be changing my plumbing from durso's to a herbie method in a few days so when I have return turned off for a while I will go ahead and remove most of the chaeto to get it to maybe the size of a softball, removing all the dead junk, I will probably also remove the top layer of sand in there to get rid of all the algae. Currently I have the 2nd durso in my overflow routing a slow flow of water into the fuge but I will be going to the herbie method and will go ahead and plumb the return to have a bleed off going to the fuge. Guess I will try that and see if it works.