refugium help

[nanonøkk]

ok so i just ordered the refugium starter pack from algae barn and i need some help.
ok so my tank has been running for 10 months and i’ve been using these fluval biomax rings for my media and i have an all in one tank and i wanna start the refugium in the first chamber where they are.
so my question is can i remove all the old media and put the bio cubes in there and the turbo start and will it be fine or will my tank crash if i do that.

 

[nanonøkk]

dose anyone have any insight on this

 

[nanonøkk]

ok so i decided to remove half of my entire ceramic media and syphoned out some detritus but can someone tell me why my nitrates went from two to zero

 

[Ippyroy]

That should be fine. If you added chaeto, it probably used all of your NO3. Do you use a skimmer? I have to turn off my skimmer and I have had to turn down my fuge light from 10 hours down to 6, I run it for 45 minutes, then 30 off throughout the night, opposite of my DT. I run my skimmer for 2 hours, then off for 3. This is beginning to help my NO3 and PO4 to not bottom out.

 

[Crustaceon]

Not sure why you added a refugium when you had only 2ppm nitrates in your system.

 

[nanonøkk]

That should be fine. If you added chaeto, it probably used all of your NO3. Do you use a skimmer? I have to turn off my skimmer and I have had to turn down my fuge light from 10 hours down to 6, I run it for 45 minutes, then 30 off throughout the night, opposite of my DT. I run my skimmer for 2 hours, then off for 3. This is beginning to help my NO3 and PO4 to not bottom out.

i didn’t get the algae yet the kit hasn't arrived yet

 

[nanonøkk]

Not sure why you added a refugium when you had only 2ppm nitrates in your system.

it’s because i’m fighting gha and also a better filtration than what i had oh also copapods and aphipods or however you spell that

 

[Ippyroy]

it’s because i’m fighting gha and also a better filtration than what i had

If you have GHA, your NO3 and PO4 is in it. Remove as much as possible each day and increase your CUC. Trochus and turbans will do a good job. Don't really worry about testing NO3 and PO4 until after the GHA is gone. It is all wrapped up in the algae.

 

[nanonøkk]

If you have GHA, your NO3 and PO4 is in it. Remove as much as possible each day and increase your CUC. Trochus and turbans will do a good job. Don't really worry about testing NO3 and PO4 until after the GHA is gone. It is all wrapped up in the algae.

ok i got 4 astrea snails and two tiny trochus and then a one inch turbo snail and then a huge turbo that hasn’t really moved much should i remove the bigger turbo

 

[Ippyroy]

ok i got 4 astrea snails and two tiny trochus and then a one inch turbo snail and then a huge turbo that hasn’t really moved much should i remove the bigger turbo

Here is a great video to watch.

Getting Rid of Green Hair Algae | Melev's Reef

Green Hair Algae (abbreviated as GHA for this article) - Derbesia - is a form of algae that looks like its name. It is usually dark green, grows quite long if left unattended and spreads across your tank rapidly. Once this problem has begun, it can get out of hand in a matter of weeks. And soon...

www.melevsreef.com

 

[najer]

If you have GHA, your NO3 and PO4 is in it. Remove as much as possible each day and increase your CUC. Trochus and turbans will do a good job. Don't really worry about testing NO3 and PO4 until after the GHA is gone. It is all wrapped up in the algae.

This, once you get the cheato in manually remove as much gha as possible manually, you want the cheato to use the nutrients not the gha.

 

[nanonøkk]

Here is a great video to watch.

Getting Rid of Green Hair Algae | Melev's Reef

Green Hair Algae (abbreviated as GHA for this article) - Derbesia - is a form of algae that looks like its name. It is usually dark green, grows quite long if left unattended and spreads across your tank rapidly. Once this problem has begun, it can get out of hand in a matter of weeks. And soon...

www.melevsreef.com

ok i’ll check that out

 

[nanonøkk]

This, once you get the cheato in manually remove as much gha as possible manually, you want the cheato to use the nutrients not the gha.

ok when i get it in the next few days because it said shipping would be 2-3 days should i do a water change and remove as much as i can

 

[Ippyroy]

ok when i get it in the next few days because it said shipping would be 2-3 days should i do a water change and remove as much as i can

Yes. But not a huge rush. Watch the video. He will show you the best way to remove it.

 

[nanonøkk]

Yes. But not a huge rush. Watch the video. He will show you the best way to remove it.

ok thanks for the help and should i stop using vibrant i heard it can kill macro algae

 

[najer]

ok when i get it in the next few days because it said shipping would be 2-3 days should i do a water change and remove as much as i can

No rush for a water change but yes this time because you are doing the manual removing which will stir up crud, be patient because it will take time to balance and get the cheato being the boss.

 

[Ippyroy]

ok thanks for the help and should i stop using vibrant i heard it can kill macro algae

I don't use anything like that. I am not against it, but I trying to use natural methods as much as possible. Vibrant is great at removing some algae, but not others. GHA is easy to remove so I wouldn't use it. It's also cheaper to just manually remove and use a CUC. If your CUC doesn't eat it, replace the CUC. They do get lazy and will wait for you to feed them.

 

[nanonøkk]

No rush for a water change but yes this time because you are doing the manual removing which will stir up crud, be patient because it will take time to balance and get the cheato being the boss.

ok should i run the light when my tank is completely black

 

[nanonøkk]

I don't use anything like that. I am not against it, but I trying to use natural methods as much as possible. Vibrant is great at removing some algae, but not others. GHA is easy to remove so I wouldn't use it. It's also cheaper to just manually remove and use a CUC. If your CUC doesn't eat it, replace the CUC. They do get lazy and will wait for you to feed them.

ok well mine comes out at night for some reason except for this one turbo snail that dosent move very much

 

[Ippyroy]

ok well mine comes out at night for some reason except for this one turbo snail that dosent move very much

I'd get rid of him. If he is big and dies, ammonia bomb. If they don't work, away they go. New ones are cheap and they will work.