Tank problem (water?)

[FlopNewsom]

Am posting some pictures. In February we bought a used 210 gal, 75gal sump set-up and replaced our 75gal. The sump is really too big for the cabinet and cannot be removed without breaking the whole thing down. The protein skimmer is the same way. We had our local lf guy do the move and I don't know anything about the skimmer except to empty and clean the top part. I am having water problems because I have an algae outbreak that is getting worse instead of better. I use RO/DI water and am changing out about 25gal every 5 days. Nitrates and phosphates test very low to none but of course that could be the algae. I am feeding 3 times a week. Look at the pictures and see if you have any suggestions. I've tried chempur and put a filter sock over the input to the sump. Any suggestion appreciated.

 

[ganiel]

If your nitrates and phosphates are low, one source of algae issues is your lighting. Old bulbs radiates more to the red side of the light spectrum which is what algae needs to photosynthesize. Check or replace your bulbs and make sure its rated not less than 10,000K. Good luck

 

[bskerrichard27]

The tank could be leaching phosphates and nitrates do u run a reactor of any sort

 

[FlopNewsom]

Those are two things I hadn't thought of. I will go back and check record on the lights. I will read up on reactors. I had thought of an algae scrubber but I'm not sure I can get one set up- its so tight in that cabinet. I did read about vodka dosing. Have any of you tried that?

 

[bskerrichard27]

Yea but imo chemicals are never the solution including vodka dosing

 

[danbstrong]

Yea but imo chemicals are never the solution including vodka dosing

Do you have fuge?

 

[200 gallon reef]

I have that skimmer, and it is also hooked up to a 200 gallon tank. Make sure u have the reef octopus set exactly right to get a good skim. Also those skimmers have a small plug on the bottom of the collection bowl. I know it sounds silly but sometimes the plug will get lost and all of bad liquid will drop into your tank.

 

[David S]

how do you empty and replace water ?

 

[FlopNewsom]

Reef- can u give me some guidance on adjusting it? I printed out the manual but it didn't help. I feel could be an issue.
I do not have a fuge.
I change water with 50 ft vinyl tubing. Siphon out, then pump fresh in with a pond pump. I store in a Rubbermaid trashcan. I've tested water from it. If it stays in the can for several days, I will get a low reading of phosphates so I try to use it within 24 hours

 

[200 gallon reef]

The depth of the water the skimmer sits in is crucial.

 

[bioteacher]

Those are two things I hadn't thought of. I will go back and check record on the lights. I will read up on reactors. I had thought of an algae scrubber but I'm not sure I can get one set up- its so tight in that cabinet. I did read about vodka dosing. Have any of you tried that?

I dose vinegar because I had an algae issue. It has worked really well. I used to have a ton of green algae on my walls. I would scrape it off and it would be back in about 3-4 days. So annoying to have to get wet up to your shoulder to scrape that frequently. Anyway, I followed a dosing regiment on the Internet and it has worked very well. You do get a little white growth on your lr but it has subsided and things are settling down again. My algae problem is resolving. I do not yet have a media reactor. I am looking at a dual reactor from brs so I can run carbon on one side and gfo on the other. Once I get that going I might discontinue vinegar. We will see.

 

[bskerrichard27]

Did the vinegar change the ph....

 

[bioteacher]

Did the vinegar change the ph....

It has not been bad so far. My tank is 125g and about 30 g in the sump. I am only adding 22ml per day currently, so as long as your KH is high enough you will have the buffering ability to prevent any drastic changes. I am about 4 weeks in and I have only noticed a drop of about 0.1 units.

 

[FlopNewsom]

I may try that if I don't have any improvement in a couple weeks. I was thinking of investing in a canister filter to kind of boost the biological one.

 

[FlopNewsom]

The depth of the water the skimmer sits in is crucial.

So deeper increases skim?

 

[bioteacher]

I may try that if I don't have any improvement in a couple weeks. I was thinking of investing in a canister filter to kind of boost the biological one.

Here's a link to learn a little more about it. I followed their dosing chart. http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index...ar-dosing-methodology-for-the-marine-aquarium

I would avoid the canister. I don't know that much but have heard that they become nitrate factories.

 

[FlopNewsom]

Thank you. I'll be reading.

 

[David S]

make sure you clean the tubing after each water change as nitrates will be present in the tube.

 

[bavass]

25g water change is not enough once a week if you are having issues with algae. I would suspect that you have nitrates and or phosphates. The algae you have will consume the nitrates and the phosphates to the point the test kits will not read them. I would start doing more frequent water changes and clean the algae out daily. I would also look into a gfo reactor

 

[bioteacher]

25g water change is not enough once a week if you are having issues with algae. I would suspect that you have nitrates and or phosphates. The algae you have will consume the nitrates and the phosphates to the point the test kits will not read them. I would start doing more frequent water changes and clean the algae out daily. I would also look into a gfo reactor

Yes, I have heard that limiting phosphates is the most effective means of algae control. Algae basically needs three things to grow-nitrate, phosphate, light. If you can limit one of these nutrients you will limit the algae growth.