tanyamikephil
New member
Is it normal to have to clean the glass in your tank on a daily basis if you want it clear? I will clean it off in the morning and by the end of the day it has a film on it already.
Glass Cleaning
- Thread starter tanyamikephil
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Turbosreef
New member
No, something is out of whack or your lighting for 18hrs a day ,when water is perfect o only clean it about once a week. Try running gfo and check for phosphates.
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tanyamikephil
New member
I don't want to sound like an idiot but what is gfo? I run the lights from 8am - 8pm. I will check the phosphates again. They were a little high last time I checked by not bad. Thanks for the input.
tanyamikephil
New member
I have noticed a few areas that are slightly brown on the bottom but not a lot…what is a diatom bloom and how do you get rid of it?
JohnnyHildo
Member
Granular Ferric Oxide is media that can be added to a reactor to help reduce phosphates in your system. phosphates will absolutely feed algae (brown, green, hair) which are tough to remove otherwise.
tanyamikephil
New member
Thank you, I will try this. We have been battling with nitrate for a couple of months now and even tho we are doing frequent water changes and reduced feedings it just won't drop below 20ppm. It's making us crazy.
billdogg
Well-known member
FWIW - the GFO will not help to lower your Nitrates. It is effective only for Phosphates. Both can be an issue, especially in newer tanks, but anybody who says they are rid of them forever is fooling only themselves.
Nitrates are often caused by over feeding, over stocking, and/or insufficient biological filtration. As the tank matures and the denitrifying bacteria begin to populate every nook and cranny of your live rock and sand, it will become less of an issue. Water changes and/or the use of macro algaes (chaetomorpha) to consume the nitrates are the easiest ways to keep it in check.
Phosphates often leech from new reef rock, sometimes for quite awhile after initial setup. They are also present in most foods, especially many frozen varieties. Rinsing the frozen before feeding can help with that source, only time will do the trick if the source is the rocks. Either way, a GFO reactor is a great way of keeping them in check, although you must remember that a level of 0 is not the goal. Rather, a barely detectable amount - 0.03ppm - is what to aim for because all living creatures need some PO4 for basic metabolism.
hth
Nitrates are often caused by over feeding, over stocking, and/or insufficient biological filtration. As the tank matures and the denitrifying bacteria begin to populate every nook and cranny of your live rock and sand, it will become less of an issue. Water changes and/or the use of macro algaes (chaetomorpha) to consume the nitrates are the easiest ways to keep it in check.
Phosphates often leech from new reef rock, sometimes for quite awhile after initial setup. They are also present in most foods, especially many frozen varieties. Rinsing the frozen before feeding can help with that source, only time will do the trick if the source is the rocks. Either way, a GFO reactor is a great way of keeping them in check, although you must remember that a level of 0 is not the goal. Rather, a barely detectable amount - 0.03ppm - is what to aim for because all living creatures need some PO4 for basic metabolism.
hth
tanyamikephil
New member
We have a 55gal tank. We only have 6 fish and 1 shrimp. We also have 4 anemones, gsp, a few frags of zoanthids and 3 small frags of corals. I don't think this is a lot but what do i know with being new at this. We have been battling nitrate for a few months now. It consistently stays at 20ppm regardless of more frequent water changes, reduced feeding. We have RO/DI water and a good protein skimmer as well as a filter (hangs on the back of the tank). We want a refugium but can't afford that yet. Can you recommend a GFO reactor please?
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