Just take your time the more stuff you put in is more stress on the tank and thats never good. Just keep reading and read some more . Just go slow and try not to strip the water of all no3 and no4 . Just my two cents
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
This video got me off the fence to try an algae scrubber.
""
I ran a tank for 2 years with no filtration other than algae, some filter floss, and carbon. I'll never set up another system without one.
After I get an upgrade and get it set up with a sump I'm definitely going to get one myself.I'm gonna go and buy me an algae scrubber!
This is some of the best advice I’ve seen in a long time. Thanks @BigRedReefer MT !Some advice here I would consider great and some I would consider questionable.
I am currently battling GHA myself so I know your frustrations, the water change schedule is definitely helpful in this battle.
1. As mentioned before, rinse out your sponges for your canister every few days. I am running a aquaclear HOB on my 75 and cycle through 3 sponges weekly. I rinse in tap water, soak in bleach water over night, rinse again, soak in ro/di water with double dose dechlorinator over night and dry before reuse.
2. As mentioned before, test your saltwater from lfs for nitrate and phosphate, if they don't use ro/di themselves then you could just be adding fuel for algae growth with every change out.
3. Reduce your photo-period to about 6 hours a day. If your led lighting has seperate channels, then reduce intensity on the channel with red and white LEDs.
4. When you perform water changes, two ways to go about it. 1.) either zip tie a tooth brush to your drain line so it sucks out the GHA as you scrub it and removes the nutrients. Letting it float around the tank only keeps it spreading and as it decomposes it releases the nutrients back into the water column fueling more growth. 2.) When doing water changes fill your buckets with waste water but leave room for displacement of rock and your hands. I do a three part wash. In one bucket to scrub, rinse and scrub in next, rinse and back into the tank. This allows you to manually remove it and rinse excess nutrients from rock surface before reintroducing to the tank.
5. Food. Overfeeding is probably the number one cause of all issues green and slimy. I personally moved to all frozen foods thawed and rinsed in ro/di water. Pellet and flake foods are more nutrient dense than live foods, any uneaten portion is going to release much more nutrients than live foods.
6. Protein skimmer. I didn't read where you mentioned a skimmer in use so I'll just suggest you get one. I run a reef octopus classic 2000 hob on my system, a quick search on Amazon will provide you with hours of results. One thing to remember is a skimmer is essential life support. Oversized is generally better but not always. Look for something that will give you adjustability over water in and out.
7. Patience. Nothing good in this hobby happens fast. I've been battling for 6 months now. When I went to pick up my tank from my old house it was being fed and topped off by my old landlord. It had been in his care for three weeks and compared to your tank it was the frickin Amazon jungle. Now, I only grow small Tufts in the week between water changes
They’ve been there and don’t mess with anything anymore after they build their burrow they just come out to eatI I would get rid of the engineer gobies They will Stir up your sandbed and lot they love to dig and that will bring up all the junk in your sand