equiptment

[hoonder]

I am looking to upgrade some of my stuff and I would like some recommendations
I have an 80 gallon tank with about 90 lbs of live rock. With currently 6 fish and a bunch of hermits. I have a blue tang, a ebili angel, 2 clowns and 2 purple chromis I believe. Anyway I have tons of red algea growing and my nitrates are extremly high. I have been slowly removing my bioballs and doing bi-weekly water changes approx. 15% of water. I want to upgrade my skimmer it is a seaclone 100 I believe. I was also looking into investing into a ro/di unit and a uv sterilizer. Any other suggestions would be appreciated to

 

[gypsana]

Use LR rubble in place of the removed bio balls. Getting a new skimmer is a great idea. I have an Octopus and I am very happy with it. A RODI unit is worth every penny spend. I have an Air Water Ice system that is great.How often and how much are you feeding? That also could be a contributing factor to your algae/nitrate issue, if it is algae. Where is the algae located and what is it's appearance? Do you have a sump/fuge?

 

[salt210]

flow could help with the algae as well, how old is the tank?

 

[hoonder]

the algea is pretty much growing on everything but it is not slimy. I only feed once a day and the tank is approx 9 months old. I bought it already put together and moved it all. I have an overflow going into a sump

 

[deejeff442]

what lights do you have and how old are the bulbs?
what is the phosphate reading?
get a phosphate reactor from two little fishes.

 

[salt210]

are you using RO water or tap for changes?

 

[gypsana]

Originally Posted by hoonder
http:///forum/post/3034235
the algea is pretty much growing on everything but it is not slimy. I only feed once a day and the tank is approx 9 months old. I bought it already put together and moved it all. I have an overflow going into a sump
Is it coralline growth? If it is hard and a dark maroon/red it i9s coralline, not all coralline is purple.

 

[hoonder]

It is impossible to scrap off of the rocks and with a wire brush I have light purple and green coraline on other rocks but it doesnt seem to grow every where like this red one. The bulbs are pretty old I have not replaced them since I got the tank and Im not sure how old they were when I got it. I use tap water at the moment no means to transport ro from the store. I have been using water conditioner.

 

[gypsana]

I had the red/maroon coralline for awhile. I upgraded my lights and it is going away. It seems to be a lower light coralline, at least that is my experience. It is not going to hurt your tank none the less. What kind of lights are you running? 9 months is not that old.

 

[deejeff442]

lower light coraline? thats a new one
if they are florecent light only good for 6 months
mh 12-16 months
t5 2 yrs.
if the spectrum in the light changes because of old age algea follows.
still need to get a phosphate reading and post the powerhead ratings.
is there any direct sunlight on the tank?

 

[gypsana]

Originally Posted by deejeff442
http:///forum/post/3034398
lower light coraline? thats a new one
That was a what I experienced with my coralline. There is also another person that had the same thing happen in their tank, so it is an assumption I have but no proof. I never stated it was a fact.
Originally Posted by deejeff442
http:///forum/post/3034398
if they are florecent light only good for 6 months
mh 12-16 months
t5 2 yrs.
if the spectrum in the light changes because of old age algea follows.
still need to get a phosphate reading and post the powerhead ratings.
is there any direct sunlight on the tank?
Two years is pushing it for T5's. I would say a 12 months, 18 at most.A light/lux meter gives you the only way to know if the bulbs are good or not anymore. Well worth the money considering the replacement bulb cost.

 

[deejeff442]

t5's are good for 2 yrs .
experience 2 yrs is still a noob as far as i am concerned .
it takes atot of years to become an experienced keeper,you can read all the books you want but experience comes frome trial and error .
i get a kick out of noobs that have a couple years in and know more than some of us with 20+years in this hobbie.caring for easy fish like clowns and gobies isnt going to teach much .
i have 25 yrs in this hobbie and am still learning thing here and there and i only give advice i know to be right.
no such thing as low light coraline.

 

[gypsana]

Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/post/3034806
t5's are good for 2 yrs .
experience 2 yrs is still a noob as far as i am concerned .
it takes atot of years to become an experienced keeper,you can read all the books you want but experience comes frome trial and error .
i get a kick out of noobs that have a couple years in and know more than some of us with 20+years in this hobbie.caring for easy fish like clowns and gobies isnt going to teach much .
i have 25 yrs in this hobbie and am still learning thing here and there and i only give advice i know to be right.
no such thing as low light coraline.
This is kind of rude and you do sound like you are saying you know it all. If you have not had an experience yourself with a certain tank issue do not dismiss it as not true. I never claimed to know it all, I am sharing my experiences and never stated them as fact. Be polite to others please. BTW here is a thread about coralline and lighting issues
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/353662/coraline-dying

 

[forcrz6]

Originally Posted by hoonder
http:///forum/post/3034164
I am looking to upgrade some of my stuff and I would like some recommendations
I have an 80 gallon tank with about 90 lbs of live rock. With currently 6 fish and a bunch of hermits. I have a blue tang, a ebili angel, 2 clowns and 2 purple chromis I believe. Anyway I have tons of red algea growing and my nitrates are extremly high. I have been slowly removing my bioballs and doing bi-weekly water changes approx. 15% of water. I want to upgrade my skimmer it is a seaclone 100 I believe. I was also looking into investing into a ro/di unit and a uv sterilizer. Any other suggestions would be appreciated to
I would follow what others have said and get the 2 little fishies Phosban reactor.
I had the same issue. Once I toned down the lighting from 12 to 7 hours the Algiea diminished but did not dissapier. But the Phosban reactor is taking care of the rest.
+ 1 on phosban reactor.

 

[spanko]

Hoonder do you have a picture of the red algae you have growing? It would better help to diagnose what it is and what to do about it. If it truley is coralline, why do you want to get rid of it? Coralline is the glue that binds natural reefs together and is not doing any harm to your tank.

 

[deejeff442]

it was meant to be rude,
you are telling this guy that you had maroon coraline and added new lights and it went away.
and it wont hurt anything.
well upgrading lights took the algea away because it was bad for the tank.
well it is bad for the tank.
maybe if you said i didnt know what it was and when i changed the bulbs it went away so it might have been bad.
i wouldnt be so rude.i still learn things all the time but i sure wont tell someone it wont hurt the tank when i dont know.

 

[sepulatian]

deejeff442, please conduct yourself in a civil manner. If you disagree with a poster then back up your claims in a non offensive way.

 

[hoonder]

Pic On the left is part of my lower tank and on the right is part of the upper tank. If it is good algea I will keep it but its out of control so I figured it was bad. I do have my lights running for 12 hours should I lower it? I gave it time for the sun rise and set but maybe to much

 

[sepulatian]

Does that have a slimy texture? It looks like cayno bacteria to me, not Coraline.

 

[hoonder]

I tried getting some off the rocks but it wont come off. The part that is on the glass does feel kinda slimy though