new sump setup help!!

[Jereli]

Lol...PA...CA.... Yea definately not gonna happen

 

[Jereli]

So I added some sand in my fuge today.. its not a dsb tho but I Might at more sand later..i also added couple pieces of live rock some chaeto and tigrious californicus pods..water really cloudy after adding the sand since I failed to rinse it out..i did rinse half tho after I realized it..hopefully it clears up soon

 

[cmor1701d]

The skimmer level needs to go down a bit. You are skimming wet, and want it a bit drier. A dark tea color would be good.

The sand will blow around till the bacteria population starts growing on the surfaces. That liitle bit will help it settle to the bottom. Give it a few days to a week or so.

Don't go DSB in that small of a space (IMO).

 

[Jereli]

Thanks..it settled the next morning...my skimmr level is down now I'll see how that goes

 

[Jereli]

ok so its skimming more dark now and not so wet but now i have another issue that i been noticing...i have noticed this red hair like on my sand bed and some on a rock near by..what is the solution to this my levels all seem ok i dont know what the issue could be or the solution?

 

[Jereli]

ph 8.4 (lights been on for couple hours now
NO3 - 0
NO2 - 0
Ammonia - 0
calcium 420
KH - 11
phosphate - .25ppm

 

[mr_X]

cyanobacteria. it's from excess nutrients. water changes while vacuuming it out is the best method of attack.

 

[Jereli]

How about lowering my phosphates ..how can I get it down to almost zero..well what's a good method of doing so

 

[mr_X]

implement a phosban reactor.
i really don't think you need to worry about this right now.

 

[ChizerBunoi]

Just do you regular water changes and maintenance. Be patient and don't make all these drastic changes. Give the tank some time to mature.

 

[Jereli]

We'll the tank itself has been running for almost ten months now... the only new major addition was The sump...I just don't like the algae..been trying to deal with it for while now .... my local fish store told me to use this product they had called Ultra Life red slime?? Anyone know something about it...

 

[mr_X]

that's erythromycin, a powerful, bacteria killing, antibiotic. you are just taking away a symptom of the problem which is excess nutrients. water changes while vacuuming out what you can will be more effective and better for your delicate ecosystem long term.
also, what do you think will happen to the beneficial bacteria that your system needs to survive, when you add a bacteria killing antibiotic?

 

[Jereli]

Ooh yea that doesn't sound like it would be good idea for the rest of the bacterias I never thought about it that way. Ill just try to keep scooping it out and syphoning some out..if usingqa reactor what would be better choice of media in the reactor, carbon or some of that phosban stuff?

 

[mr_X]

it depends what you want the reactor to do. if you have phosphate issues, granular ferric oxide (phosban) is what you need.
i really think everyone should run carbon on their tanks.

 

[Jereli]

so is most algae problems caused by phosphates? i am wondering would what benefit more in a reactor. i am looking to purchase a reactor to either run phosban or carbon. if the phosban will eliminate my algae problems that would be great and i would lean more towards the phosban media but i been reading alot that carbon is really important in tanks as well. can i run two reactors in series or something..one with phosban and one with carbon? does this sound right?

 

[Jereli]

i am looking into the phosban reactor 150 from fosterandsmiths website..or two little fishies from aquacave..i think their the same anyway

 

[Jereli]

will running carbon also reduce algae growth?

 

[mr_X]

i don't think so. it won't remove nitrate or phosphate. it will clear the water up though, and allow light to penetrate better. it will also help with any odors.

 

[Jereli]

K well I am gonna have to decide what's going to be better for me to run..

 

[six2sevenproductions]

I had a really bad red slime problem about 8 months ago. It was so bad that it made me want to give up. I agree with mr x, you don't want to add anything that might kill the beneficial bacteria. Everyone told me keep up with water changes and it should go away but the solution itself is not just water changes, if you do not find the source you will never win. Personally I did three things, and it completely won the battle. I am not sure which one it was or if it was the combination. I did them all the same week and in two weeks time it was gone.
1. My bulbs were old so I replaced them.
2. I added two power heads both with circulation towards the sand. Red slime is lighter than the sand and will float off if it is getting hit by a direct flow.
3. I added a uv sterilizer.

Also you said Los Angeles! What city? I've been to about every lfs store from thousand oaks to fountain valley