Recently my water was tested and showed the phosphates to be high and also the nitrates. I have problem with hair algae on my lr but I was told these high numbers are telling me this is the problem. The store told me regular water changes with good ro/di water. They also said put phosban and carbon in the sump to help bring down these numbers. How much carbon and phosban do I want to add to the sump and how long do I leave it in there? My tank is a 90 gal and the sump is a 20gal. I have about 125 lbs. of lr and about a 2" ls bed. Thanks for any help you can give.
Carbon & Phosban
- Thread starter rcnsho2
- Start date
UrbanSage
New member
If it is a new tank (few months old) I would wait another month or two while the tank matures. Do you overfeed? That might cause phosphates and nitrates to go high.
Do the water changes.
I run carbon, gives the tank a nice and clean look. I do not agree that phosban is the answer to the phosphate issue. I think you should try to figure out how it gets introduced in the tank....overfeeding, topoff water, saltmix..... Try to bring those (prolly more but I forget) under control.
HTH
Do the water changes.
I run carbon, gives the tank a nice and clean look. I do not agree that phosban is the answer to the phosphate issue. I think you should try to figure out how it gets introduced in the tank....overfeeding, topoff water, saltmix..... Try to bring those (prolly more but I forget) under control.
HTH
The PhosBan likely will help with phosphate, but the carbon isn't likely to do much, IMO, since it can't really absorb in bulk. Water changes typically don't work because feeding, etc, bumps the levels back up quickly. These articles might help:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2002/chem.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm
Better skimming, reduced feeding, and growing and harvesting a macroalga have helped me.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2002/chem.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm
Better skimming, reduced feeding, and growing and harvesting a macroalga have helped me.
otterpop510
New member
run both carbon and phosban in a phosban reactor (2fishes brand) running about 45gph pump for more contact. seems to work for my tank, water quality is much better.. have both in the same reactor running 24/7 with smaller quantities that i change out monthly (versus what phosban recommends on their packaging for 'months' worth before changing out). reactor works much better for me than the filter sock method i used before..
obviously, pinpointing the source for rising phosphate, nitra/ite levels is always best, but this is a nice way to get things under control too..
also agree that macroalgae, however little, helps. i have some chaeto (switched out from calupera, which might go 'sexual') that also seems to make a difference..
obviously, pinpointing the source for rising phosphate, nitra/ite levels is always best, but this is a nice way to get things under control too..
also agree that macroalgae, however little, helps. i have some chaeto (switched out from calupera, which might go 'sexual') that also seems to make a difference..
otterpop510
New member
welcome too! third post.. how long have you had your tank up? if its normal cycling it may be best to let it ride for a month or two too..
Randall_James
Premium Member
Not sure about 'reduced" feedings but "controlled feeding" helped me worlds...
Just dumping food in the tank is a disaster.
I now follow a feeding routine that has all be eliminated algae blooms and the fish are fat.
I (at about the same time every day) prepare mysis and other foods. They are thawed and rinsed.
I then kill all pumps
Drop in small portions at a time. None hits the floor of the tank
As the fish consume the food, I add a little more keeping something of a steady feed going
WHEN food does start to make it to the floor, dinner time is over
This combined takes about 10 minutes a day (much slower than just dumping food in the tank) but the results do speak for themselves.
It may take weeks if not months to get past the algae problem but this method worked wonders for me in a tank that was always a problem (sunlight hit the tank and really made it bad)
Just dumping food in the tank is a disaster.
I now follow a feeding routine that has all be eliminated algae blooms and the fish are fat.
I (at about the same time every day) prepare mysis and other foods. They are thawed and rinsed.
I then kill all pumps
Drop in small portions at a time. None hits the floor of the tank
As the fish consume the food, I add a little more keeping something of a steady feed going
WHEN food does start to make it to the floor, dinner time is over
This combined takes about 10 minutes a day (much slower than just dumping food in the tank) but the results do speak for themselves.
It may take weeks if not months to get past the algae problem but this method worked wonders for me in a tank that was always a problem (sunlight hit the tank and really made it bad)
chip721
Premium Member
Otterpop, I've been looking at phosban reactors lately. Do you just measure and pour both media directly into the reactor? What type of pump are you using to get 45ghp? Something small or are you throttling it back with a valve? I understand you simply want the media to lightly tumble and not pulverized? Thanks.
otterpop510
New member
hi chip,
both the kent and the phosban (2fishes) versions seem to be similar, i found a phosban reactor for cheap used locally so thats what i'm using. like you said, i just measure and pour both media directly into the reactor.
in asking around about this, it seemed like common practice and not dangerous. an alternative way would be to have 2 reactors, daisy-chain them and put in your media seperately. i originally planned to do this and have 2 reactors, but found from others that it seemed fine to put both in at the same time, especially since i use less so i can change out more often.
regarding pump gph, both reactor brands recommend somewhere around 80-100 gph MAX, the longer 'dwell' time the better. i've heard people using the micro/pico jets. i happened to have a small rio pump lying around that i use for water changes, think it was rated around 100-125. put in my sump, pumping around 18" up (head) and 2 feet across and then back, i measured it to fill a 1 gallon container in about 1 minute 15-20 seconds, which translates to around 45 gph roughly, works great, pump water back to the fuge to get water movement in there. figure get the smallest pump you can to save energy too.. when i resetup my sump this summer i'll most likely have the water T off the return pump to the phosban reactor, that way one less pump.
hope that helps.
both the kent and the phosban (2fishes) versions seem to be similar, i found a phosban reactor for cheap used locally so thats what i'm using. like you said, i just measure and pour both media directly into the reactor.
in asking around about this, it seemed like common practice and not dangerous. an alternative way would be to have 2 reactors, daisy-chain them and put in your media seperately. i originally planned to do this and have 2 reactors, but found from others that it seemed fine to put both in at the same time, especially since i use less so i can change out more often.
regarding pump gph, both reactor brands recommend somewhere around 80-100 gph MAX, the longer 'dwell' time the better. i've heard people using the micro/pico jets. i happened to have a small rio pump lying around that i use for water changes, think it was rated around 100-125. put in my sump, pumping around 18" up (head) and 2 feet across and then back, i measured it to fill a 1 gallon container in about 1 minute 15-20 seconds, which translates to around 45 gph roughly, works great, pump water back to the fuge to get water movement in there. figure get the smallest pump you can to save energy too.. when i resetup my sump this summer i'll most likely have the water T off the return pump to the phosban reactor, that way one less pump.
hope that helps.
chip721
Premium Member
otterpop, that info is a huge help and exactly what I needed. I have a sumpless 54g. Since I'd use the reactor as a "hang-on", the head pressure will be little to none. For $10, I'm looking at a Mini-Jet pump by Aquarium Systems (the same folks who make the Maxi-Jet). Their Mini-Jet 404 is rated @ 104gph max, but has a built in flow adjustment to decrease the output as needed. Thanks a bunch.
The tank has only been up and running about a month or so. I may have possibly been overfeeding but I have cut back. I also have an ro system that I plan to hook up today with the di filter so I know I'm getting good water. Being new at this, how long does it take for a tank to cycle through? Once my numbers level out, are there certain fish I should purchase to eat the hair algae? Thanks again for the help.
UrbanSage
New member
Then if it was me I would wait another two or three months (I know you want to get it going and that is why I did not say five to six) before adding any fish. Just let the tank cycle and then mature a bit. Tanks go through a lot of stages initially, and the hair algae is just one of them. If left alone, it should come around and balance itself out eventually. Dont take this as me being an *** but rather as good advice. You do not know when the cycle is done but you are already feeding fish in your tank which is only a month old? Then I believe your algae/parameters are due to a need for studying how a reeftank works and hastiness.
The local fish store will tell you just about anything to sell you a fish. Thats how they make money and stay in business.
If they get you to run carbon and phosban instead of advocating you find the rootcause that just means they can sell you another fish after you artificially bring down your parameters.
I hope your tank turns out to be the best one around
And with some patience and willingness to read a bit and ask questions it will turn out great!
The local fish store will tell you just about anything to sell you a fish. Thats how they make money and stay in business.
If they get you to run carbon and phosban instead of advocating you find the rootcause that just means they can sell you another fish after you artificially bring down your parameters.
I hope your tank turns out to be the best one around
And with some patience and willingness to read a bit and ask questions it will turn out great!
Randall_James
Premium Member
If this tank is only a month old, I think you are jumping the gun.
There are going to be certain algae blooms no matter what you do. Trying to fix what is not broken is going to cause more trouble. A phosphate reactor is probably something you just flat do not need.
I run some pretty heavily stocked tanks and do not have algae problems nor do I run any type of phosphate reducer.
Phosphates are normally a problem in older established tanks and if you have a genuine phosphate problem that actually needs attention like this, you are working on a symptom and not the cause.
I think that
1. it is to early to be doing serious phosphate testing ,
2. you are just dealing with NORMAL algae outbreaks,
3. You should not have fish in the tank at this point anyway (Assuming this is a "reef" tank) and if it is a FO or FOWLR, the fish should be barely moving in, certainly not enough time to overfeed to the problem of phosphate issues for sure.
I would sit back and relax a bit, let the tank age, let it go through the 4 or 5 algae blooms that are just normal.. Cyano likely be the last one and NO dumping a bunch of chemiclean in the tank is not the fix
Nothing good happens fast in this hobby (said by some wise guy a long time ago)
So back to the question
0 phosban or any related product
I would use carbon. I purchase 1lb containers and split it between 4 carbon bags. I have at a minimum of 2 in the sump at any given time and rotate 1 bag out per month. My SPS tank has four 1/4 pound bags and it gets 1 replace per month unless the water starts to either smell bad or cloud up. Then it gets 2 bags changed.
A word of caution, new carbon should be throroughly rinsed in RO/DI water prior to use. It will remove any dust and also saturate it with oxygen. New carbon sucks the oxygen right out of a fish tank if you do not rinse it first. I have a plastic bowl I dump it into, pour fresh RO/DI and the dump it in a strainer a few times. You can tell when it is clean
Cheers
There are going to be certain algae blooms no matter what you do. Trying to fix what is not broken is going to cause more trouble. A phosphate reactor is probably something you just flat do not need.
I run some pretty heavily stocked tanks and do not have algae problems nor do I run any type of phosphate reducer.
Phosphates are normally a problem in older established tanks and if you have a genuine phosphate problem that actually needs attention like this, you are working on a symptom and not the cause.
I think that
1. it is to early to be doing serious phosphate testing ,
2. you are just dealing with NORMAL algae outbreaks,
3. You should not have fish in the tank at this point anyway (Assuming this is a "reef" tank) and if it is a FO or FOWLR, the fish should be barely moving in, certainly not enough time to overfeed to the problem of phosphate issues for sure.
I would sit back and relax a bit, let the tank age, let it go through the 4 or 5 algae blooms that are just normal.. Cyano likely be the last one and NO dumping a bunch of chemiclean in the tank is not the fix
Nothing good happens fast in this hobby (said by some wise guy a long time ago
)So back to the question
0 phosban or any related product
I would use carbon. I purchase 1lb containers and split it between 4 carbon bags. I have at a minimum of 2 in the sump at any given time and rotate 1 bag out per month. My SPS tank has four 1/4 pound bags and it gets 1 replace per month unless the water starts to either smell bad or cloud up. Then it gets 2 bags changed.
A word of caution, new carbon should be throroughly rinsed in RO/DI water prior to use. It will remove any dust and also saturate it with oxygen. New carbon sucks the oxygen right out of a fish tank if you do not rinse it first. I have a plastic bowl I dump it into, pour fresh RO/DI and the dump it in a strainer a few times. You can tell when it is clean
Cheers
