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Water temp: 75 Salinity: 1.024 Ammonia: 0 Nitrate: 0 Nitrite: 0 Phos: 0 I'm assuming that if there is any PO4 that the existing algae has consumed it as there was some additional green on the glass. Manually removed as much hair as I could reach, cleaned the glass, and did a 2.5g PWC. Put...

Planning a PWC this evening and will pull numbers before/after...will visit the LFS today and restock the PO4 test supplies so I can get a complete set of number.

Inline TDS meter showing zero on the output side (averages 220 on the input) so from that perspective things seem to be working. PO4 testing supplies need to be refilled - was using them fairly regularly to test when the algae first came up so vigorously. All tests came up with no/low readings...

I'll give the blackout a shot - as soon as I find some heavy paper to block out the ambient room light. Any thoughts on what might be feeding the algae? I wonder if the membrane on the R/O unit could be "leaking" nasties??? Carbon, pre-filter and DI resin were changed in June and the membrane...

Oh yeah - should have been a three-fer... Was feeding clowns blender mush (very small cubes - less than 1/4" square on average - rinsed with R/O water and soaked in selcon) every three or four days with VERY occasional flake as a "treat". Always made sure that they were fed slowly so as to...

going for a "two-fer" and answer both... Was thinking of turning out the lights and blackout conditions for a week to see if that would help get rid of the algae, but was worried that the mushrooms wouldn't have enough light for photosyn and would end up harming them. Thoughts? The one...

...sigh... Have had a 12g nano up and running for 12-14 of months. After everything settled in and looked "mostly" good for a number of months, but continued to battle some algae issues - mostly green stuff growing on glass. Had a sudden outbreak of hair algae (I think - pictures attached for...

Latest numbers: PH = 8.4 PO4 = .02 NH3 = 0 NO2 = 0 NO3 = 5 Not a lot of room in the nano for Chaetomorpha or Caulerpa and I don't have the plumbing or desire to run a refugium (the wife gets a bit nervous when I get my drill and threaten to add some additional 'ventilation' to her fancy...

Instant Ocean - PWCs of at least 20% on a mostly-weekly basis, just completed a 50% change on Thurs as nitrates were somewhat high (somewhere in the 10 range according to the Salifert test). Filtration is LR rubble in both rear compartments, about 15-20 lbs of LR in the tank, and 2"-3" DSB.

thanks - I'll give the soaking a shot... I was also going to give a try to rinsing the mush with RO/DI to see if I can help get down the PO4 - soaking will help to put back in any of the 'goodness' that gets washed away by the rinse. They've been getting fed about every other day - although...

I guess I'll tell the wife it's time to move :p I'm sure that'll go over big. Once again the plague of living 1000 miles from the nearest ocean strikes again. I guess I'll stick with the mush and keep the brine shrimp for 'movie night!' Maybe I'll hang out behind the local 'high-end' seafood...

Been working on a PO4 problem that I believe is causing a cyano problem along with some increased algae growth. Been doing regular PWC (just completed another 5 gal out of 12 total since nitrates were a bit on the high side - about 10) and all water parameters been looking good. I wanted to...

No problem with the 'harassment' - I think you may be right. Unfortunately they're 'refugees' from a previous 55gal that had to be taken down for a number of reasons and I haven't been able to find a good home for them locally. I was hoping that the 12 would be enough space for them given that...

12 gallon nano...it's been up for a couple of months. Things have been fairly stable other than an outbreak of hair algae a few weeks ago that seemed to be under control with the addition of the inverts and cutting down the feedings and light. I had thought that the problem might be diatoms...

must have stirred up something when I did the redecoration...sigh... thanks for the feedback. Now to figure out where the excess nutrients are coming from that are fueling these guys. I'll plan on a bigger-than-usual PWC this weekend and for the next couple of days. I guess that would also...

Thanks to all that responded to Part I of this post a few weeks back... After the hair algae had calmed down to a reasonable level and diatoms had started to go down, I did a little landscaping to rearrange LR. As a part of that, I naturally had to disturb the DSB. After a couple of days...

Appreciate the comments about the Percs and will keep it in mind going forward. I also agree about the test kit and it's accuracy. Unfortunately it's what I had available from the LSF. New kits (Salifert in all likelihood unless anyone can recommend better or equal with lower pricing) are on...

the numbers are as follows (assuming my test kits are reading properly): SG=1.0215 PH=8.4 Alk = "high" Ammonia = 0 NO3=<0.2 mg/l NO4=<0.2 mg/l PO4=<0.2 mg/l temp = 79-80 I'll run a check on the RO unit tomorrow. I've also adjusted the light timer to 9 hours. Interesting - Other posts in...

I'll keep up the PWCs - do another couple of gallons this weekend and change feedings to every other day at the max. Cycle completed about two weeks ago as best as I can tell. Lighting schedule is approximately 10 hrs (compact fluor.). Been thinking about taking it down to 7-8. Will do...

Nano tank has finished cycle and things are looking fairly good. Except for this algae that seems to have popped up in multiple places, including in the DSB, back wall, and LR. Bio-load is relatively light for the 12 gal tank - two Percula Clowns, a lone hermit, and a handful of Nassarius...

I have a mature (3 year old) 55 gal tank that is doing nicely. However, after adding filters, powerheads, skimmers, and phosphate reactors the back of the aquarium has little room left and the inside of the tank has more associated pumps, intakes, and outflows that are detracting from the look...

Sounds like it's time to run off and buy a nice RO/DI unit and clear out a space in the basement. Thanks for the help from another relative newbie. Having gone thru a CC to DSB conversion and a HUGE learning curve, I feel a little dumb at times. :D

Water changes (5 gal per week) are tap that gets mixed and stands for 24hrs. Been thinking of getting an RO unit, but $$ and place to set up are a holdup right now. Assuming it's cyano, what's the best way to get rid of it?

DSB on my 55 gal FOWLR has been up and running for about 6-7 months now (after converting from CC). DSB is 4-5 inches deep and was built using Pure Carribean Aragonite (about 120 lbs) and 30 lbs of LS from the LFS. Shortly after establishing the DSB, some "interesting" colors showed up against...

my kingdom for a few more mega-pixels and a fast "shutter" CCD! A bunch of encrusting sponges have taken up residence...perhaps you are right and these are cousins of some variety. There goes the neighborhood! I'll work on improved pics and repost (maybe I'll get an X-Mas present early?!?!?)...