Red Algae

[tawolcott]

According to the "Hydor" post, that appeared at the same general time, it's all taken care of

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

i got the water tested and i was told to put phosphate in my filter to bring down my nitrates. but he said my ammonia was real low and my ntirates kinda high...

Just to reiterate what was already said, I'm guessing they told you to put a phosphate REMOVER in your filter. Not only do you want to remove phosphates, I've never seen anything on the market that would put phosphates back in! Maybe that's a desirable thing with freshwater, but it's not in saltwater. (I'm not a freshwater person, so I have no clue about "the other side.") Phosphate removers will remove phosphates but will do nothing for nitrates. The only good way to reduce your nitrates is by doing partial water changes.

Kinda strange comment they made about your ammonia, if that's what they said. You want "real low" ammonia... like 0.0 ppm! Any ammonia is too much.

Excess phosphates and nitrates will fuel cyano, but it sounds like with the additional circulation you're getting that under control.

 

[fijiwigi]

Scott, thanks for the short answer. It amazes me how childish some people are when they come here looking for a quick answer, but know nothing about their tank or its inhabitants, and refuse to do even basic research. How did they find AA in the first place?

When I first started I thought keeping fish anybody could do it how hard could it be. I thought it was as simple as putting water in a tank and adding fish. That I didn't need to know anything and I knew everything. I thought people who spent too much time on their fish tanks were a bunch of geeks. Then I had some problems with my freshwater setup several problems. It got frustrating and expensive Luckily I am the type of person that likes to find the answers to every problem Mainly the Why behind things? So I bought the book The simple guide to the freshwater aquarium. Then I realized there was so much to learn. I was hooked thirsting for knowledge. After a while of keeping cichlids I got bored and loved the look of saltwater creatures. So I decided to go Saltwater then found this site. The obsession began. There is something to learn everyday. NOW I AM THE FISH GEEK. LOL

 

[roka64]

LOL! I agree, I was there at one time too! Lucky for me and my critters I found this site (the first forum I found and ever used).

 

[mandown123]

LOL i started WANTING to be the geek and making sure my tank could kick the most possible BUTT haha. It is hard even when you are getting great advice and you are researching all the stuff you should do. I still am battling hair algae and have some problems but my setup is on the upswing!

Being the "geek" definitely helps a lot!

 

[blindskate]

i think i might of been saying it wrong. ill see what the box said and tell u, i guess it wasnt phospahte. it was a bag of white pebbles that they told me to put in my filter. i feel stupid now, u guys really make me feel dumb. lol...w/e it is, i assure you my fish are fine, i just have the cyano problem. that's all. i have books and i read and i aprpeciate everyone's help, believe me, i tell all my fish friends about this site. thank you, i have really no ammonia the guy said and my ph is perfect and everything else, just ciphoning my tank and getting rid of the "red slime". i will get back to everyone on whatever i was told to put in my filter...(white pebbles in a bag). thanks.

 

[pitt420dude]

It got frustrating and expensive Luckily I am the type of person that likes to find the answers to every problem Mainly the Why behind things?

Exactly my problem, if it is a problem and not a virtue. It's why every answer to one question leads to two more questions. It's like one step forward and two steps backwards: the more I learn the more I want to know.

I will admit though, I too find myself just wanting a simple answer sometimes when there is not one. I just want to know for sure that I'm doing it "right" when there are really several ways to do it or no one single "right way". In this hobby in particular there seem to be many different ways that people do things or approach an issue. Gleaning the common denominator amongst all of them can be tough, but I've found judging people's advice by the pictures of the tanks they keep is a good litmus test. The stunningly beautiful tanks kept by many AA members are not there because they just got lucky.

i feel stupid now, u guys really make me feel dumb. lol...w/e it is, i assure you my fish are fine, i just have the cyano problem. that's all. i have books and i read and i aprpeciate everyone's help, believe me, i tell all my fish friends about this site.

OH no! Don't feel stupid, the ones who should feel dumb are the people who don't bother to ask at all!

I bet the bag is crushed coral or ceramic pebbles to help give the nitrifying bacteria some surface area to grow on.

 

[blindskate]

yea, theyre tanks are awesome. my fish are great but making my tank more high tech in time, theyre just so pretty. sometimes i want a quick fix and easy answer, but PITT24DUDE. thanks for answering nicely, atleast u know where im coming from. ive had my 20 for 6 months now and no problems, its great. just recently the cyano problem. but i notice that almost everyone does somethign different, theyre is no right way. 50% of my customers at work tell me its easier to go big for salt and te others say small is better. who knows, every experience is personel i guess. thanks guys.

 

[roka64]

I doubt it would be CC for phosphate removal. I know phosban is brown. Not sure about Rowaphos (sp?). It may even be purigen, but that is not for phosphate removal.

 

[mandown123]

50% of my customers at work tell me its easier to go big for salt and te others say small is better. who knows, every experience is personel i guess. thanks guys.

I just started a 30 and I wouldve started a 50 if i had to do it again. I found the tank in someones trash so I can't complain. But ifyou have the choice - try to estimate what you want to keep and the limitations a smaller setup will impose on you. Good luck!

 

[pitt420dude]

I doubt it would be CC for phosphate removal. I know phosban is brown. Not sure about Rowaphos (sp?). It may even be purigen, but that is not for phosphate removal.

Ceramic? I'm not a saltie so really have no clue, I'm just trying ot think of all the filter additives I've seen and the only two that come to mind are crushed coral and ceramic, though I've never seen any in the form of pebbles. I've seen thick sand for CC and rings for ceramic, but never pebbles.

 

[tawolcott]

If it was for phosphates it's probably some GFO product though from the description it sounds like Purigen

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Seachem's phosphate remover (Phosguard) is little white spheres. It's an aluminum based product. Phosban and the others are rust colored granules and is ferric oxide based. Aluminum based removers can cause issues with *some* soft corals - the one that comes to mind is clauvaria.

 

[JoshsReef]

While I agree that there are no quick fixes in this hobby I do swear by one product, the only product other than water conditioner and calcium suppliment that I have used and that is Red Slime Remover. Red Slime Remover | Pet Solutions This stuff works, Cyano is hard to get rid of, I did **** near daily water changes for weeks while continually manually removing the stuff and I seemed to make no ground. One dose of this product and the Cyano is gone for good guarenteed. I suffered no ill effects to my tank, I havent lost any fish, I still have my snails as far as I can tell. I swear by this product.

 

[blindskate]

it was purigen!! thats it, haha

 

[blindskate]

Yea...the white pebbles was purigen I put in my filter. And my manager told me to use the red slime remover, so I'm buying that next. He says he used it on his 250gal and its' all gone. so I trust him, hes been a salt guy for over 20 yrs. the purigen helped balance everything out thanks.

 

[roka64]

Purigen will not absorb phosphates. It does absorb ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes. You can also recharge it every 2-4 months, depending on your bioload.

 

[blindskate]

im all confused. whatever he gave me was right becuase i got my water tested and its perfect. so maybe i dd have high nitrates and low something else. dont know, but its all good now.

 

[cmor1701d]

You should consider buying some quality test kits so you can test for your self on a regular (weekly) basis. Then you will know the 'real' numbers of your water parameters and can prevent a catastrophe that causes you to lose all your livestock.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Purigen will not absorb phosphates. It does absorb ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes. You can also recharge it every 2-4 months, depending on your bioload.

And actually, Purigen doesn't even claim to absorb ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. In other words, if you put it in a tank full of nitrates, it won't remove them. It definitely has no effect on phosphates.

What Seachem does claim though is that it removes the "precursors" to ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. So if you use it continuously in your tank, like carbon, it will keep your nitrate levels low because it will absorb stuff before it can get to that point. It obviously doesn't remove everything because then your bacteria would starve.

I've used Purigen for about a year now and am happy with it. But it won't remove phosphates or existing nitrates.

Agree with cmor... get your own test kits and start doing your own tests so you can understand for yourself your water quality, and then decide what to do about it. In this hobby, if you ask three different people the same question, you'll probably get four different answers! And that does nothing but confuse the heck out of you!