Water parameters for a newb

[Lowsdime]

Hey Carey what's this new stuff I've found growing?? The dark red I've noticed a few spots like that forming today

 

[carey]

Looks like red slime algae. is it mushy or hard?

 

[Lowsdime]

Seems mushy to me, it's not hard like rock

 

[Greenmaster]

Seems mushy to me, it's not hard like rock

Cyano...

 

[Lowsdime]

How do I get rid of this stuff??

 

[Lowsdime]

Ok little update I went and bought a phosphate test kit to add to my arsenal and tested some of my ro, and it came up zero so that was good so did a nitrate test, then I tested the tank for everything ad came up with
Am 0 trite 0 trate 10 phos .025 ph 8.3
So everything is ok except the phosphates how can I lower that number? If the water going in is testing 0? The green hair algae is still thriving, I used my tds meter on the ro and came up with 30 so that is not good I'm going to order the filter kit on marine depot and change them out because I don't know how old they are. This is a picture of my unit is there filter media in the white cylinder on top that I need to worry about? I'm not seeing any replacement for that one

 

[Lowsdime]

So I believe the red slime and hair algae is under control I am seeing .25 ppm phosphate in the tank, 0 trates, no more hair algae just a few here and there still hanging on that I think the blenny will take Care of, and red slime is mostly gone except on little bit on a rock and a thin dusting of it on the top of the sand.. How can I get rid of this? I've heard it can be attributed from poor flow? My ro has 0 phos and trate, and my tds is 1, also I read on this forum that when using a gravel cleaner to only do the surface because it will release nitrates and you go all the way to the bottom is this true?

 

[carey]

Yep, you don't wanna dig a vacuum into the sand like you do in freshwater, it can release losts of nasties from the sand.

You could out some GFO into your filter or sump to get the phosphates down a bit.

Also, I had phosphates reading at .53 and I added something called "phosbusters", it lowered my phosphates down to .13 after 2 days. I'm never one to advocate putting stuff in a tank, but it appeared to work. Just a thought.

 

[Lowsdime]

What is gfo?? And I will head your warning about digging into the sand, I saw some snails that borrow and clean the sand would these be a good idea??

 

[carey]

Yep, nassarius snails. They don't eat algae just sift through the sand. I have a ton in all my tanks, I love em.

GFO= granular ferric oxide. Its' also sold as rowa-phos and under a few other brand names. You just put it into a filter bag and put it where the water flows, whether it be in a hob or in your sump. They also have GFO reactors but that seems a tad extreme for now. lol

 

[huma-huma]

I need some gfo...not a replacement for pwc's though

 

[carey]

Nope, it's especially helpful if you have corals since the phosphates can be detrimental to them. I believe it inhibits the coral from absorbing calcium.

i think anyways. I've read it somewhere on here. LOL

 

[Lowsdime]

Ok well I'll give it a few more water changes and see if it comes down before o try it but thanks for the tip... So what do those snails eat if they don't eat algae?!

 

[carey]

They eat uneaten food and other crap that floats around. I actually feed my 55g and all I have are snails and hermits.

 

[Lowsdime]

Haha ok I gotcha sounds like they may be a good idea, how many per gal would you suggest w those snails

 

[carey]

In have 20 in my cube so I'd say 10 maybe? I'm way overstocked on those snails lol

 

[Lowsdime]

Alrite sounds good, they look cool too

 

[Lowsdime]

Ok so I just did a test before a pwc on my freshly made ro 0 phosphates after I mixed my salt looked looked like I was around .25! Could my salt contain phosphate?? I bought a mid range priced salt. Maybe that's forming my red slime? It's really only on te sand now and the siphons not really picking it up likes it's too heavy ugh and I'm not sticking the siphon deep into the sand anymore either this is the salt I bought been using it buckets almost gone , and that slime is starting to get annoying lol atleast it's not growing on the rocks anymore

 

[carey]

If theres a chance theres phosphates in your salt just try a different salt mix. I use the cheap instant ocean salt and can't complain.

 

[Lowsdime]

Well maybe I'll switch to that next time when I finish this bucket, is it maybe time to change my canister filter media?? How often should I be changing it