bpeitzke
Aquarium Advice Activist
We have a 36-gal FOWLR tank with 4 fish - 5" green speckled puffer, 4" maroon clown, 3.5" yellow tang & 1.5" zebra damsel, no inverts. Lots of LR and some dead corals. Fish have been thriving. We feed 1/3 cube of frozen angel food (main ingredient is marine sponge as I understand it), & a pinch of marine fish flakes nightly, and every other night put some seaweed on a clip for the tang (and damsel picks at it a little).
Our problem is the rampant brown algae. it covers everything rapidly, and we have to clean tank walls 2x/week. We've started using RO water from dispensers at local market, changing 5-7 gal/week. NH3, NO2 & ph all OK, keeping salinity in 1.023-1.025 range, tank ~ 81 degrees. We have 3 24" fluorescent lights that we keep on ~ 6:30am-10:30pm. I've tested nitrates (NO3?) and they are moderate ~= 15ppm IIRC. Don't have a way to test phosphates - is there a kit for that? The protein skimmer is filling its catch cannister a lot faster than it used to.
Appreciate any suggestions.
Our problem is the rampant brown algae. it covers everything rapidly, and we have to clean tank walls 2x/week. We've started using RO water from dispensers at local market, changing 5-7 gal/week. NH3, NO2 & ph all OK, keeping salinity in 1.023-1.025 range, tank ~ 81 degrees. We have 3 24" fluorescent lights that we keep on ~ 6:30am-10:30pm. I've tested nitrates (NO3?) and they are moderate ~= 15ppm IIRC. Don't have a way to test phosphates - is there a kit for that? The protein skimmer is filling its catch cannister a lot faster than it used to.
Appreciate any suggestions.