hey guys, first the rundown on the tank.been up a bit more than a year. 40 gallon breeder display tank I would say moderate too heavily stocked. to Reef radiance 165 p + lights. dual corner returns with a center Herbie overflow. 1 large korellia to supplement flow. three-quarter inch sand bed in display. 6 fish, lps and softy dominated. 20 gallon long sump.12 by 12 section refugium with 4 inch sand bed, some lr. about 6 types of macros growing fairly well. very good pod population as well as worms and brittle stars. SCA 301 skimmer, heater, phosphate pad and carbon sock. full round of testing twice a month except phosphate.regularly dosing cooked baking soda and Reef advantage calcium. down to half a milliliter of vodka daily for nitrate. dosing seachem magnesium where necessary. parameters vary slightly but are generally as follows
Temp-80ºf
Salinity-1.026
Ph-8.2
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-<5
calc- 430
Alk- 9
Mag-1300
So, I have been getting more nuisance algaes lately. some bubble in my overflow and on my return heads(removed with the quickness ASAP), some of the bryopsis (removed asas) also in the overflow and sump. as well as some very light hair algae in the macros. and the last 2 weeks or so my glass has been growing the bright green film algae. the last couple days I've noticed it growing on my clove polyps and yellow polyps as well. it is time to do something.
I'm guessing my problem is phosphates. after researching I have read that most if not all phosphate tests are unreliable at best. as a general rule it seems as if you are growing nuisance algae and nitrates are in check phosphates must be high. so my thought process is that my pads are not cutting it. Although they make a great home for pods and brittle stars lol
it seems that chemical phosphate reducers R effective but may cause harm. I am generally against adding chemicals if at all possible. which led me to media. it seems as though you do not need a reactor but their use is primarily to keep the media out of your system and ensure good contact. that seems like a good idea to me. Lol so I am considering a phosphate reactor. I was curious who uses these,how effective they are and what if any problems you have? any input is greatly appreciated.
on a side note, thanks to my research I am also going to stop rinsing my pads and equipment in tap water, be more mindful of which foods I use, and start vacuuming my display tank once every two weeks probably at the same time as testing.
Temp-80ºf
Salinity-1.026
Ph-8.2
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-<5
calc- 430
Alk- 9
Mag-1300
So, I have been getting more nuisance algaes lately. some bubble in my overflow and on my return heads(removed with the quickness ASAP), some of the bryopsis (removed asas) also in the overflow and sump. as well as some very light hair algae in the macros. and the last 2 weeks or so my glass has been growing the bright green film algae. the last couple days I've noticed it growing on my clove polyps and yellow polyps as well. it is time to do something.
I'm guessing my problem is phosphates. after researching I have read that most if not all phosphate tests are unreliable at best. as a general rule it seems as if you are growing nuisance algae and nitrates are in check phosphates must be high. so my thought process is that my pads are not cutting it. Although they make a great home for pods and brittle stars lol
it seems that chemical phosphate reducers R effective but may cause harm. I am generally against adding chemicals if at all possible. which led me to media. it seems as though you do not need a reactor but their use is primarily to keep the media out of your system and ensure good contact. that seems like a good idea to me. Lol so I am considering a phosphate reactor. I was curious who uses these,how effective they are and what if any problems you have? any input is greatly appreciated.
on a side note, thanks to my research I am also going to stop rinsing my pads and equipment in tap water, be more mindful of which foods I use, and start vacuuming my display tank once every two weeks probably at the same time as testing.