phosban,phosguard or what?

[nightfire]

hey guys i was wondering what ya guys use or recommend,im using phosguard in my reactor and i think i have the reactor tuned in pretty well and it hasnt been running too long with that media though i have HA but its not what i would call alot,if i scrub one rock and pull off here and there when i do a water change then it looks better,ive just noticed that the hair that is there is getting longer so its feeding to get that big...so ya know i dont use rodi simply cause of cost,i have a rodi unit but all filters should be replaced and the guy i bought it from didnt tell me that so basically he screwed me....wasnt anyone on our site here though here is a vid of my tank so ya can see,sorry for the lack of color and sharpness its taken with a phone http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l31/queeniepaula/?action=view&current=Video0019.mp4

 

[SmyrnaReefer]

what type of lighting and how old are the bulbs?

 

[nightfire]

the bulbs are 3 t5 48" 2 atinics and 1 daylight,i might switch the daylight to my new aquasun bulb just cause its new and the 2 atinics are about 5 months old

 

[SmyrnaReefer]

i was just informed that older or no goods bulbs could be the cause of some hair algae growth. i just bought 12 new bulbs for mine that i will change out in the next couple of days to see if it helps with my hiar algae bloom. they were about 8 months old but the cheap bulbs that come with the current fixtures...........

 

[zef004]

Have you tested your water. What the numbers that will help us help you.
I have never had HA in my reef tank. But in my seahorse tank I do. They eat like horses. Eat more then all 15fish in my reef. Best way I got it in check was water change a gfo from BRS. It the cheapest and work the best.

 

[nightfire]

i can do a few tests but i think i need new ones,more so my phos test i believe,ill do a few latter and re post,i wil go ahead a do a bigger water change say maybe friday,i usually pull 7 gallons a week off my 55

 

[John_A]

if you do ALOT of reading up on the subject first and have a very good skimmer Vodka or carbon dosking might be a option as it has worked great for me but will say it again only after ALOT of reading first

 

[nightfire]

yea ive seen those methods and in time i may read up on it more if i can get past wasting good alcohol lol

 

[John_A]

Well I get around that by Dosing the tank first then Dosing myself pretty shimmer

 

[nightfire]

my levels are
ph 8.0 - 8.4
ammonia 0.5
nitrite 0
nitrate it's not even reading right

i think i neeed to buy me some new test kits,this week i will do a 14 galon change rather then a 7 like usual......btw guys what is ya'lls water flow in tank,i only have a koralia 4 and 3 that adds up to 2050 gph

 

[nightfire]

bumpity bump bump

 

[Pickupman66]

Mario, good test kits are essential to konw what is going on. for the last few years, I didnt test my water. everythign just looked good in an old established reef. on the new one, I am testing much more frequently cause I havent gotten a handle on it. I would suggest you get the proper test kits before venturing into the world of GFO and especially Vodka dosing. just a minute miscalculation, and you can crash your system fast considering your water volume. also, avoid some products for phosphate removal that contain aluminum. they can put that back into your system. also, if not maintaned and replaced frequently, the GFO can leech the phosphate right back into your system.

If you dont establish a precise baseline in all your tests, you cannot tell if what you are doing is helping or hindering. you should have exact PH, ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, phosphate, Calcium, alkalinity and Magnesium levels before you start to treat or dose any of them. that said, the CA, MAG and PHOSPHATE are more advanced. dont sweat them now.

Personally, i dont drink the vodka, but knew a girl who drank it like water.

Flow is all relative to what you are wanting to accomplish. if you want sps, shoot for 40-60X turnover with 10-15X of that thru your sump. the rest thru powerheads or a closed loop. if you are not doing sps (your lighting is a bit deficient for sps IMO) then you will be good with 20-30X.

Oh, and one last thing, while this group here is relatively good sized, we dont know it all and cannot always respond quickly. you may want to try and start reading the rest of the forums at RC. there are many more peeps online that can answer stuff alot faster and have a broader experience level than many of us. while I have been reef keeping for over 10 years, I am very old school and am just now looking at the new methods and technologies. Go ask questions in the big RC forums, and if you do a little searching, you will find they have been asked many many times before and there is a HUGE wealth of knowledge sitting out there. just gotta go get it.

 

[nightfire]

thanks pickup,my prob is when i find a prob i jump to ask bout it even though i do read about things,as far as vodka and such im not doing that,just gonna fool with my old school methods too and do water changes lol and the newest thing im trying is gfo in my reactor lol im like ya and need to start in on this new stuff slowly

 

[Pickupman66]

mario, Get your tests first... before tempting the GFO. also, remember, that a little Phosphate in the water is good for the corals....

 

[nightfire]

thats true,i didnt think of that,this coming month ill be getting new tests along with 2 clowns and maybe a few other things