Possible phosphate

[starsbravo]

I have had my tank up and running for about 3 weeks now and just noticed yesterday that im starting to get some algae. Mostly because i have been running my halides for about 8 hours a day. I used pure RO/DI water when I set up the tank. Could this be a phosphate problem? Would it hurt the tank to run one of the phosphate removers like phos-pure or phos-ban??

 

[mbbuna]

algae is normal in a new tank. i dont think it would hurt to run a PO4 remover but you might still get algae growth.

 

[kfisc]

Have you tested for phosphate? It depends on what you have in the tank, of course, but I haven't had any bad luck with rowaphos- I also think your tank may still be cycling, so the algae is predictable at this point- also, as I'm sure you're aware, factors such as water flow, bio-load (any at all right now?), daylight hitting the tank, etc. in addition to cycling would play a large role. If no corals are in the tank, the halides could be cut back to four or so hours at this point- possibly even less, depending on your goals- good luck-

 

[Capt_Cully]

I agree, cut down your halide time 3-4 hours. Use a phosphate binder if you have a sump in a filter bag.

Other thing is, you're going to get algae blooms of several different genera over the first year your tank is stabilizing. deal with each as they come, don't get discouraged.

Water change could help out too.

Good Luck