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gha really? - Page 3

post #41 of 62
2/11/12 at 6:07pm

Yeah. Peroxide works in small patches. But I thinkjeffs tank is overrun. Could you, Jeff, post a pic? 

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post #42 of 62
2/11/12 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 

not right now for the pic.but i will say this i have a 75 sump half is filled almost to the top with rock rubble.the next chamber has the chato with a strong light to grow.the rock rubble has absolutely no algae on it.i really do think its my compact lights on the dt.they aren't too old but they are one of the cheaper ones out there.i am going to leave just the metal halides(phionex bulbs 3 months old ) on the system and leave the compacts off for 3 days and see what happens.i did this a while back and the algae seemed to be dieing off .even if i had phosphate leaching i dont believe the 300 lbs of rock would do it at the same time.some rock is 25 years old,some 10 and 150 lbs of it is about 2 1/2.

 

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post #43 of 62
2/11/12 at 7:27pm

Ever blow it off completely with a powerhead? 

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post #44 of 62
2/12/12 at 6:32am
Thread Starter 

it wont blow off.what i do when i have a 35-40 gallon waterchange.i put my finger on the end of the tube and suck the gha into the tube and pull it off the rock into the bucket.i get alot of it out but it grows back fast.like i said starting today 3 days of no compacts.i found some odessia (spelling?) lights .24 inch .they have a 250 watt mh ,4  24watt t5's and moonlights.i figure i will buy 4 sets and hang them sideways across the tank.i will use 3 of them on this 250 then all 4 on the big tank.the gfo is on its way and i will add that when it comes in tursday or wednesday.i'll get this stuff one way or another.i would just like to have it gone by the time the other tank is here.thinking 8-10 week the latest.my supplier still hasnt gotten back with a price.probably because he wants $2000 for a powder coated stand and i am making my own.

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post #45 of 62
2/12/12 at 6:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy View Post

Dose vodka. yummy.gif



+1

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post #46 of 62
2/12/12 at 7:02am
Thread Starter 

i already went the route of biospheres which is the same as vodka dosing. adding carbon for the bacteria to grow.it messed my ph up big time

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post #47 of 62
2/12/12 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 View Post

not right now for the pic.but i will say this i have a 75 sump half is filled almost to the top with rock rubble.the next chamber has the chato with a strong light to grow.the rock rubble has absolutely no algae on it.i really do think its my compact lights on the dt.they aren't too old but they are one of the cheaper ones out there.i am going to leave just the metal halides(phionex bulbs 3 months old ) on the system and leave the compacts off for 3 days and see what happens.i did this a while back and the algae seemed to be dieing off .even if i had phosphate leaching i dont believe the 300 lbs of rock would do it at the same time.some rock is 25 years old,some 10 and 150 lbs of it is about 2 1/2.

 



No one is saying it's all your rock.....It could just be a small amount leaching quite a bit, and a combination of possibly lighting could be fueling everything.....

 

Is there any chance you could pull a couple pieces of rock.....I know you say the tank is packed full, but there has to be a few pieces you can remove and isolate in a separate container and run it in water and check phosphates on those few pieces to see what you come up with.......shrug.gif

 

I thought I remember without going back through the thread you stating you started running or just added GFO.....Keep in mind that GFO can be exhausted rather quickly if the phosphate level is high......

 

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post #48 of 62
2/12/12 at 10:27am
Thread Starter 

there is a 8 inch rock covered i can take out.i have been running two big bags of phosguard in a canister for two weeks or so.the gfo is on its way.

i can put the rock in a bucket with some water and ph,heater for a day or two and test.

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post #49 of 62
2/12/12 at 10:28am
Thread Starter 

seems by looking where the lights are not direct there is no algae

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post #50 of 62
2/12/12 at 10:38am
Thread Starter 

ok only took a minute but .i tested the new saltwater and dt ,no phosphate readings.i put two gallons of new saltwater in a bucket with a ph and i found two rocks both loaded with gha in the back of the tank.both are 6-8 inch pieces .put them in the bucket.so i will test tomorrow.

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post #51 of 62
2/12/12 at 1:00pm

Sounds good.....Might take a couple days of testing to get some results.....

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post #52 of 62
2/12/12 at 9:18pm

Deejeff,

 

Hey man just an update on my earlier entry about the sea hare. Im not trying to hijack your thread or anything but you have to see this to believe it. These pics were taken 12 days apart. 20120129_162746.jpg

add sea hare due to reef looking like a salad bar.

20120212_214724.jpg

 

This dude ate every piece of hair algae in my tank and even though he is the size of a small puppy he didn't knock over any of my rocks or corals. Look closely at the frogspawn skeleton rock at the top middle leftish of the pic, when I put him in it looked like a ball of hair algae, he spend the whole night gnawing on it and it is clean as a whistle and it never moved because he is a gentle giant. Now that all of the sea hair is gone he just does his routine maintenance on the reef then happily eats his nori seaweed sheets that I rubber band to a rock. I get a huge package of them in the Asian food section at the grocery store for $3, my tang loves them too. 

 

This sea hare is one of my favorite critters ever, he is so ugly he's cute and makes funny faces when he eats. All the fish just swim around him trying to figure out what he is. He is awesome. If you can't make anything else work to get rid of the hair you should strongly consider getting one of these dudes. Very cool critter.

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post #53 of 62
2/14/12 at 6:07am
Thread Starter 

i will have to see about getting one if this dont work.i got the gfo in yesterday.pretty fast i ordered it friday.it seems very fine.my reactor just has a screen in it.will this stuff stay at the bottom of the reactor ? i dont know if it will get through the screen.the biospheres would stay on the bottom and just circulate a bit.this stuff do the same ? i want to add it later when i get home from work.

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post #54 of 62
2/14/12 at 7:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 View Post

i will have to see about getting one if this dont work.i got the gfo in yesterday.pretty fast i ordered it friday.it seems very fine.my reactor just has a screen in it.will this stuff stay at the bottom of the reactor ? i dont know if it will get through the screen.the biospheres would stay on the bottom and just circulate a bit.this stuff do the same ? i want to add it later when i get home from work.


My reactor has a screen and a black foam filter on each end. There are several different grades of GFO, you have to get the one that matches your reactor....It should say in the instructions what grade is best to use.

 

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post #55 of 62
2/14/12 at 7:13am

Deejeff,

 

If those PC bulbs were from the cheap AT site then I would say it's a safe bet that it's at least a strong part of your problem.  Oddysea bulbs are classically crap, and their PC bulbs really don't last more than 6 months or so before they start red-shifting!  I say this from experience; I took care of a 26g bowfront with 130W PC lighting from that company and I was CONSTANTLY fighting HA in that little tank.  No amount of water changes, siphoning, etc, would curb it.

 

Heck, even GOOD PC bulbs don't seem to last more than 9 months or so.  If this was my battle to fight:

 

I'd buy the sea hare if I wanted it gone quickly, or I would spend a weekend scrubbing and siphoning every rock I could reach.

 

Once the bulk of it was clear, I'd take a strong linear powerhead like a maxijet in hand and blow down all the rock to see how much detritus blows out

 

I'd do another water change right after the blowout to prevent the detritus from settling in again

 

I'd change those bulbs to a name brand PC, or (as you mentioned) just use the phoenix MH bulbs for a while and leave the PCs off all together.

 

 

I've gotten a few fixtures from that site, and although I believe their quality control on the actual fixtures has vastly improved, the bulbs still blow chunks.  Unfortunately I think they're the only game in town for the small T5 actinics in their "pendant" MH fixture, so personally I'm up the creek on that score!

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post #56 of 62
2/14/12 at 7:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 View Post

i will have to see about getting one if this dont work.i got the gfo in yesterday.pretty fast i ordered it friday.it seems very fine.my reactor just has a screen in it.will this stuff stay at the bottom of the reactor ? i dont know if it will get through the screen.the biospheres would stay on the bottom and just circulate a bit.this stuff do the same ? i want to add it later when i get home from work.



GFO is fairly heavy.  It should stay near the bottom unless you set the flow too high....in which case it may grind itself down to dust that will pass thru the screen.  I use the basic stuff from BRS personally.  I see that they got rid of the GFO pellets...wonder why.

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post #57 of 62
2/14/12 at 2:54pm
Thread Starter 

i have a ball valve on my line from the pump.so i will set it accordingly.i dont have t5 bulbs now .i have 4 96 watt pc 's they have been off for two days.dont look like the algae is getting worse.kinda the same.no dent from the cuc yet.i will set the gfo now and see how it goes.i am just going to leave the phosguard in the canister.let them both run.

flower i have a huge reactor its 18 inches tall.the screen is very fine so i will try it.figure i will run just enough water through it for the gfo to move around.

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post #58 of 62
2/15/12 at 5:36am

Canisters can very a bit, but most that are specifically designed for such purposes will have the sponge setup.....I agree with NovaHobbies on the flow.....to fast it will grind itself up.....Nova I wonder why they stopped the pellets.......bigg.gif

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post #59 of 62
2/16/12 at 12:47pm

Any updates......

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post #60 of 62
2/16/12 at 1:50pm
Thread Starter 

just tested the bucket.been 3 days and no phosphates at all.the cuc hasnt dont too much in the dt.i am going to do the gfo today.havnt had time .

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