!!!I Hate Algae!!!

Kalk is perfectly balanced for alk & ca. Drop your alk, raise your Ca then start dripping kalk to keep it in balance.

Everyone has given some solid suggestions, here's some points....

-Right away get some rowaphos, it will strip the water of po4 and the algea will be starved.

-Weekly water changes of 5-10% with RODI

-Order a clean up crew, checkout reeftopia they have great prices.

-Get a quality skimmer.

You mentioned you're getting a "really good" skimmer, but you didnt mention brand or model. That would be helpful.We have a 20 g BB sps reef and its skimmed by a bacpac with modified impeller/ NW it works great.


What are you dosing...both chemical wise and food wise?

HTH

eric&flint
 
Thanks for the suggestions. How much rowaphos do I need if i want to get rid of this algae? The skimmer that I am purchasing is a AquaC Remora (hang on) with a mag 3. It is rated very nicely and for a way larger tank than mine, so it should work really, really good. I am currently not dosing anything. Should I? I used to dose calcium daily, but then I stopped because dosing calcium was actually keeping my alkalinity high (I read it in a Reefkeeping article).
 
You should try some grape calerpa. I went on vacation recently and came home to my nitrates around 100 ppm. Threw in some grape and it dropped my nitrates to around 2-5 after 3 days. I checked it twice before and twice after I also had the LFS check it twice before and after and we both came up with the same results. using different test kit brands. Also use some rowaphos. You should also reduce the lighting times then slowly work your way up to your current schedule.
 
what type of calcium supp. were you using...? Look into randy's 2/3-part DIY recipes...cheap and effective.

What other filtration do you have? A fludized bed filter is best for rowa. I would use half the recomended dosage and then see how the animals react. Slowly increase it if you see no negative effects. You may also want to look into purigen, it is a chemical resin that absorbs all kinds of junk in the water.

eric&flint
 
You should catch up with the cheato doing its thing. If you can light your refuge 24/7 till its under control. You should consider a small lawnmower blennie. I think he would help more than anything other than the cheato. The rock and sand will have collected nitrates and phosphates. This will take time for the cheato to soak it up. Trim the stuff in the tank since it will compete with the refuge.
 
Rowaphos will reduce phosphates from about 3 ppm to 0 ppm relativly quickly.

100 ml of Rowaphos will reduce 88 gallons of saltwater from 3 ppm phosphates to zero (link here: http://www.deltecaquariumsolutions.com/rowa_1.php#)

The only negatives for the Rowaphos is its price and how effective it is. It can be a big shock to animals in an established aquarium.

On the positive side, rowaphos will not release the phosphates back into the water after reaching maximum capacity, unlike most other products.

HTH

Bryan
 
Aaronpetz - grape caulerpa is the problem. I have a bunch in my sump, but it is also in my display and way too hard to keep under control.

Flint&Eric- I was just using liquid calcium (the stuff in the bottle). For filtration, I have filter floss for mechanical filtering. I also have some Chemipure in the sump for chemical filtration. Refugium and LR provide biological filtration. Soon (this thursday), I will get the skimmer.

Can you provide me with a link to randy's recipe? I have seen it before, but I didn't really need it then.

Thanks,
Peter
 
Whaledriver - a 24/7 refugium light is already on in my sump. It works so well, that my chaeto tripled in size in just one month! (that and the extra phosphates and nitrates). Should I throw away the chaeto, or will it grow faster if it is bigger?
 
Well I have three tangs in my tank have never had a problem with macro growing in the display. I usually throw in a small handful ( The trimmings from my fuge) and its gone within two minutes. My unicorn and regal eat a lot more than my yellow.
 
YES!!! I just tested alkalinity and it was at 9.8 dkh. Sweet. I guess it dropped a bunch during my vacation. I will test again just to make sure.
 
Yep... about 10dkh. Well, I think I will just try the first recipe in order to keep my alkalinity and calcium constant. Thanks for the link, it has a lot of info that is very useful.
 
You need both recipes to keep both alk and ca in check. If you raise one too much it will lower the other. Are you testing both?

Another problem may be with what test kits you are using. Salifert recommended by me and most others.

Sounds like to me that you need to get your skimmer working.

I use Randys two part if you have any questions about them. They work great.
 
The Cheato eventually will need to be removed. You will reach a point where its overgrows and doesnt have enough room or light. I like to remove the oldest section. After awhile you will know how much it grows in a week or two and remove that much.
I have had two refuges going for about two months and think they are great. I get the equivilant to a 1/2 gallon pitcher of Cheato a week out of my 75 setup.

I second Randys 2 part system. Read last months Reef Keeping mag for some info if you need.
 
Where do you get most of the ingredients for the 2-part system?

My skimmer is up and running. I checked nitrates, and they are now at 0! Thank you chaeto and skimmer, but I think my phophates are high 'cuz the algae is still growing fast.
 
I dont know if Petland gives a discount or not but they do not have any salifert test kits.

I ended up ordering the dowflake at some garden place online a year or so ago. It will be difficult to find any now with winter ending. The other part is just plain baking soda. I do not make the Mg part .
 
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