Algae Bloom

[jallen100]

You know I dont have much of a CUC either. I wonder if getting a bigger CUC would help some. I only have.
3 medium size Astria snails
2 minature (very small) blue legged crabs
2 peppermint shrimp which I have not seen but 1 or twice since I put them in .
Sand sifting sea star (not sure if he is considered part of the crew or not).

 

[Jmikitz]

id let it ride. i had big one at first.. bout 50 days in and had another that was smaller... mainly on th the lv.. little dusting on the sand.. nothing major. i was so fed up i did nothing... about a week later 90% was gone. ive since set up 4 more tanks and they all did the same thing.. time frames were a little different as the tanks are all different sizes ..
as for my sump.. its a 30 gal. all returns dump into a micron bag which is changed out every 2-3 days.. have 40lbs of rubble and a pile of plant life... i have cheeto but that will soon be removed.i like the mangroves. they wont go sexual and mess with the Ph. like cheeto will

 

[Jmikitz]

i think you need some more cleaners... in my 120 reef i have about 150 snails.
there nirite or something like that.. 5 turbos.. and 4 golf ball sized cats eye turbos.
plus a dragon gobie which keeps what little substrate i have left.. tanks pretty full.
and i have a few tangs .. works out for me..

 

[Aquarist007]

here is another one of my threads that will help you out with a refugium

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1349443

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12192822#post12192822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jallen100
Yeah, I cant believe I forgot about that. Honestly I had no plans to vacum it but I took the LFS advice which I knew I shouldnt because I have heard lots of people say not to do it. So that has to be my problem. I tested my water again and everything is ok.
Now the question is should I blow all the algae off my rock and sandbed with the baster or just leave it alone?

take a small piece of rock out a week---scrub the algae off it-and put it back in the tank. Basting won't remove the algae but it does remove accumulated organics and phosphates.

Jallen it is not a matter of changing one thing here that curbs the algae--rather a combination of a number of maintenance things and tweaking your filtration system

 

[jallen100]

Sounds good. I appreciate everyones help and advice. Capn_hyllinur your always a tremendous help. Thanks Again

 

[tmz]

A few thoughts:
The stirring up of the sand is a likely suspect . If you puff it off once or twice a week with a turkey baster you won't get much of a buildup. It will likely cloud your water some for a short time when you do but it's food for corals and your skimmer.

If you rinse thaw your frozen food you will put less nutrient material in the water.

Manual export is always a good idea when followed by longer term correction. Just because someone is relatively new does not mean they don't have something to cntribute to the discussion.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12193296#post12193296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tmz
A few thoughts:
The stirring up of the sand is a likely suspect . If you puff it off once or twice a week with a turkey baster you won't get much of a buildup. It will likely cloud your water some for a short time when you do but it's food for corals and your skimmer.

If you rinse thaw your frozen food you will put less nutrient material in the water.

Manual export is always a good idea when followed by longer term correction. Just because someone is relatively new does not mean they don't have something to cntribute to the discussion.

Thank you for mentioning those points Tmz--they were in my thread but it is a good idea mentioning them if overlooked

I agree with you--everyones thoughts should be taken as a collective whole here. I pick up new points everyday by reading everyones opionions and thoughts

 

[Jmikitz]

i would in the future invest in a phosban reactor.. there not expensive and work great.
and you can use all types of media in them.. from carbon,nitrate lock,phos lock ect.. everything but purigen..way too light and small.. tried it.. didnt work out too well. it was a nightmare cleaning it all out of my sump..
also alot of the frozen foods contain phosphates. so you end up fueling the fire..which is the main reason i got the reactor. i like the cubed food. and im too lazy to make my own to eliminate phos. so the reactor was the trade off..
so give it a little more time, everyones tanks are different. some go fast and some are slow. all depends on the bio load, flow,equipt, ect.. no one can give you the magic cure. let the cycle of life do what it does. in 6 months youll have a whole set of new problems god i love reef keeping.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12193343#post12193343 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jmikitz
i would in the future invest in a phosban reactor.. there not expensive and work great.
and you can use all types of media in them.. from carbon,nitrate lock,phos lock ect.. everything but purigen..way too light and small.. tried it.. didnt work out too well. it was a nightmare cleaning it all out of my sump..
also alot of the frozen foods contain phosphates. so you end up fueling the fire..which is the main reason i got the reactor. i like the cubed food. and im too lazy to make my own to eliminate phos. so the reactor was the trade off..
so give it a little more time, everyones tanks are different. some go fast and some are slow. all depends on the bio load, flow,equipt, ect.. no one can give you the magic cure. let the cycle of life do what it does. in 6 months youll have a whole set of new problems god i love reef keeping.

very good points Jmikitz but first try to eliminate the importing of phosphates then the phosban reactors will be far more effective

I run both--one with carbon and one with phosban--very effective for crystal clear water.

as I also run a refugium

 

[Jmikitz]

like the set up Capn. cant wait till i get time to plumb through the floor and set up in the basement.. maintaining under a stand is getting old.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12195832#post12195832 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jmikitz
like the set up Capn. cant wait till i get time to plumb through the floor and set up in the basement.. maintaining under a stand is getting old.

basement---that's my living room--at least that's what my wife thinks:lol:
It is easier then you think to plumb through to the basement--and then its great for adding on to the filtration system

have you checked out the refugium thread I posted earlier

 

[Jmikitz]

I have to insulate the room thats gonna turn into my filter room. the plumbing part is gonna be easy. also have to get a bigger return pump as i will be adding an additional 8 foot of rise. then the frag tanks that are gonna be in the loop.
as for the Wife thing. mine says the same thing. i wish i could have my display in the living room for all to see.. im stuck in a corner with it as my house is 135 years old and theres no way to support the floor anywhere but where its at.
ill have to check out your thread on the fuge..
Jim

 

[jallen100]

My sump is in the basement also. I had hardly no room under the stand and I was to lazy to build a new stand. capn_hylinur I like your reactors. What kind are they?

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12196472#post12196472 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jallen100
My sump is in the basement also. I had hardly no room under the stand and I was to lazy to build a new stand. capn_hylinur I like your reactors. What kind are they?

two little fishes-----Mops runs a special on these 50 bucks including the phosban media

here is the cdn address but on the left of his web page is the US one based out of Buffalo.
He is a great guy to deal with

www.mops.ca


BTW--lets see pics of your basement setup

 

[Jmikitz]

thats a good deal.. i think i paid 35 for the reactor, 15 for the pump and tubing and i use phosloc so that was 23..

yea... lets see some pic's i show mine but i kinda packed 100 lbs of stuff into a 25 lb bag if you know what i mean.. cant even see my sump\fuge when you open my cab door.. got the skimmer,cal reactor,phosban reactor,uv. all in front as thats where most of my service is needed.
Jim

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12199257#post12199257 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jmikitz
thats a good deal.. i think i paid 35 for the reactor, 15 for the pump and tubing and i use phosloc so that was 23..

yea... lets see some pic's i show mine but i kinda packed 100 lbs of stuff into a 25 lb bag if you know what i mean.. cant even see my sump\fuge when you open my cab door.. got the skimmer,cal reactor,phosban reactor,uv. all in front as thats where most of my service is needed.
Jim

doesn't matter here--pics make this thread interesting

its not that great of deal then because the pump was extra

the overall price was cdn--probably cheaper for you guys

 

[Jmikitz]

ahhh thought that was complete.. they seem to average about 35 everywhere i seen them.. as for us\can dollars.. i dont think there is much of a differance anymore.
when i was up 4 months ago for every 100.00 USi d get back 100.05 cad.. our dollar isnt worth what it used to be. plus were on the brink of resession... You guys Still got the best beer though and fishing. and the people are much more friendly ..( not including border police who love to tear my boat and truck apart every year)

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12199350#post12199350 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jmikitz
ahhh thought that was complete.. they seem to average about 35 everywhere i seen them.. as for us\can dollars.. i dont think there is much of a differance anymore.
when i was up 4 months ago for every 100.00 USi d get back 100.05 cad.. our dollar isnt worth what it used to be. plus were on the brink of resession... You guys Still got the best beer though and fishing. and the people are much more friendly ..( not including border police who love to tear my boat and truck apart every year)

ah beer and fishing--two other great past times

I love the American Miller light---on a hot day it goes down like pop:smokin:

 

[Jmikitz]

pic of my current sump\fuge.. works well. could be better.. will be better when i plumb into the basement and turn that 30 into a 100gal combined sump/fuge/frag tank.