Jonathan G.
Aquarium Advice Freak
i have recently set up my tank, 75g, in february and have 40# live rock and plan on adding 75 more lbs of base rock. i have a 150g rated wet/dry filter with a mag7 for return, i also run a penguin 330 on the back for added circulation and to help remove surface scum. in the tank i have 2 maxi jet 900's for water movement. i use tap water but so does 2/3 of my lfs around here and they all have about $40k worth of corals and inverts in their tank so im guessing our quality of tap water is better than most. but i plan on getting and RO/DI unit asap and putting in a refuge sometime soon.
anyways the algea is not a hair algea but is more of a brown film. like a dark brown smear. it started off small but has slowly taken over small parts of my tank. mainly in my overflow box, my U tube and in my maxi jets. but also on the rocks and substrate in some places. i added some base rock that was white and in less then a few days it was like a brownish color and has discolored some of my liverock. i dont test for phoshates but i plan on getting a test kit for it soon, but i have been putting in phosphate pads for the past week and haven't really seen too much of a difference. i have some turbo snails and some astreas but should i get more? i also have a LMB but he doesnt touch the stuff.
is this just a phase that my tank is going through? should i take out all the problem parts and clean them? is this a bad sign or a good sign? should i keep using phosphate pads? should i add more hermits and snails?
anyways the algea is not a hair algea but is more of a brown film. like a dark brown smear. it started off small but has slowly taken over small parts of my tank. mainly in my overflow box, my U tube and in my maxi jets. but also on the rocks and substrate in some places. i added some base rock that was white and in less then a few days it was like a brownish color and has discolored some of my liverock. i dont test for phoshates but i plan on getting a test kit for it soon, but i have been putting in phosphate pads for the past week and haven't really seen too much of a difference. i have some turbo snails and some astreas but should i get more? i also have a LMB but he doesnt touch the stuff.
is this just a phase that my tank is going through? should i take out all the problem parts and clean them? is this a bad sign or a good sign? should i keep using phosphate pads? should i add more hermits and snails?