Things looking good on the reef!
- Thread starter srusso
- Start date
brannock_16
Member
So what is your secret to beating Bryopsis?! I have been battling it in my tank and it always comes back! Haha.
srusso
Active member
I run only an algae scrubber, for filtration. Scrubber keeps the nitrates so low the tank became nitrate limited. This allowed PO4 to build to 0.30ppm. Just low enough that it doesn't show on a salifert test... But the bryopsis was loving it... Got a Hanna PO4 Checker, started making adjustment to the scrubber and running GFO to remove the extra PO4 for now. Just got LEDs to build a new more powerful scrubber, cant wait to get that done!
Every tank is different but I'd be happy to help
This looks to me like meteor shower cyphastrea.
Grats on finally getting the better of the green beast!
srusso
Active member
Thanks, it was a hell of a battle, I just wish I figured it out sooner...
srusso
Active member
WOW! That's scary! But it looks like you figured out the problem and kicked b*tt. Great job! :thumbsup:
Now you need frags!
Tell me about it! I lost so much coral to that algae, don't really want to even think about it. The corals I have now have earned their right to stay, made it through the war and back again. Real troopers!
So needless to say I am ready to host another meeting!! Happy to show off the tank again, I can host October if its still open.
We always need meeting places! Pls coordinate that with Georgi.
As for the tank, what level are you running PO4 at now? And what about NO3?
I've found that I can easily vary my PO4 by adjusting the hours per day that I run my ATS light. And NO3 levels stay so low it's rarely worth checking.
What levels are you running at now?
As for the tank, what level are you running PO4 at now? And what about NO3?
I've found that I can easily vary my PO4 by adjusting the hours per day that I run my ATS light. And NO3 levels stay so low it's rarely worth checking.
What levels are you running at now?
srusso
Active member
NO3 is undetectable always... I started to believe that salifert was screwing with me... stopped testing... then kit expired.
PO4 is 0.05ppm when I checked on Saturday. It hit 0.00 once, during the first drop from 0.31, since then I get about 0.02ppm - 0.09ppm which I believe is still coming out of the rocks.
Bryopsis died once the PO4 fell below ~0.15ppm, in theory a skimmer wouldn't change much for the issue I had. Heck I bet with all the liverock people use their traditional tanks, they too become nitrate limited! Then the PO4 builds to a point to allow things like bryopsis to take over. But peoples efforts to do water changes to keep N's & P's down is futile! Its crazy to me people even do water changes! No water changes where done to fix this issue.
PO4 is 0.05ppm when I checked on Saturday. It hit 0.00 once, during the first drop from 0.31, since then I get about 0.02ppm - 0.09ppm which I believe is still coming out of the rocks.
Bryopsis died once the PO4 fell below ~0.15ppm, in theory a skimmer wouldn't change much for the issue I had. Heck I bet with all the liverock people use their traditional tanks, they too become nitrate limited! Then the PO4 builds to a point to allow things like bryopsis to take over. But peoples efforts to do water changes to keep N's & P's down is futile! Its crazy to me people even do water changes! No water changes where done to fix this issue.
terahz
1x10^12 Hz
Thats job well done man! For a moment there I thought you'll show how you got a couple of angles and start telling people it is a fresh water tank ;P
October is yours if you want it (though it is our off month).
As for P04 - nothing works like GFO imho (yes, you might need lots of it if you have a really bad problem). If you can get the rocks out, maybe lanthanum chloride.
October is yours if you want it (though it is our off month).
As for P04 - nothing works like GFO imho (yes, you might need lots of it if you have a really bad problem). If you can get the rocks out, maybe lanthanum chloride.
Good to know that about the Bryopsis. That's a great data point. Not sure I agree about your skimmer conclusion though. But don't have enough knowledge to speak comfortably on the matter.
However...
Being Nitrate limted was caused by an excess of Phosphates. And live rock does not leach Phosphates. Dead rock can though, at least until it is cured. And in a tank... that could be months. Your current PO4 reading, is that in a tank with the rock I gave you?
If so, it's certainly possible that I got my fully cured and partially cured dead rock mixed up. If so, that could be a source of your Nitrates I'm afraid. Sorry.
N & P reduction is only one small reason for doing water changes. And IMO, anyone who's doing them with that as the principle reason does not understand the hobby. Regular W/C's - unless done on a silly large scale - are a poor way to achieve significant N & P reduction.
W/C's replenish trace elements, and keep many, many things that would be destructive to corals at an acceptable level. Contrary to what some appear to believe, algae will not absorb all the bad stuff that makes its way into our tanks. As an example - sliver. Granted, that should never been present in thing beyond low trace levels. But it's bad for corals and really bad for other photosynthetic organisms too. Like algae. And algae is not going to take in a poison. It's not a sponge, taking up anything in the water. It's an organism that only takes in things that are good for it. IMO that's why we need W/C's. Not N & P reduction. And while a skimmer may only pull out DOC's many of the compounds in DOCs may well be things that algae does not want either.
BUT it would be fascinating if I were wrong! Can you point to any reliable proof of a reefer that grows SPS (the more sensitive variety of coral), and have done so for years successfully, with no water changes, and no filtration other than an ATS? If you can point me to such evidence, I've got a ten dollar bill that I'll hand you at our next meeting.
Thanks for the reply! Interesting subject. And congratulations again on figuring out the problem and fixing it!
srusso
Active member
That's interesting, I equated the excess phosphates to the food we feed, and man was I feeding a lot!
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry
I figured b/c my tank has only natural forms of filtration, and based on the findings of Randy and the Red field ratio which gets lost in my tank b/c I cant feed only live food, or food in which the red field ratio remains in balance. In turn lead to excess P's... *
Also from my research, any porous rock in a while exposed to excess phosphates or nitrates, will contain the same level as the water contained. If that level changes the rock changes slower then the water will. In effect slowly leeching back out again.
The rock you gave me was my backup plan if this didn't work :beer:
The ability for algae to consume loads of "bad stuff" has been proven so well that commercial operations offer it as a service. And algae time and time again has cleaned the worst of conditions.
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http://articles.baltimoresun.com/20...ae-bloom-algal-turf-scrubber-harbor-pollution
loads more where that came from...
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Steve - you are exactly right. I incorrectly thought you were pointing to live rock as a SOURCE of phosphates. Which as you have stated, is not. It is however a SINK for phosphates, and as such can delay the export of it from your tank.
:thumbsup"
Sorry. Misunderstood your point.
