get rid of excess nutrients...HOW!!

[wetone]

Have been getting outbreaks of green hair on my LR and now some brown and red film on top of the sand. I have added a new Precision Marine Bullet 2 skimmer and a new RO/DI for top off and water changes. I have done about 70G worth of water change in 8 weeks since getting new RO/DI. My hair algae has slowed considerably since those additions, but there is still some "fuzzy" green algae growing. I did a phos test on some water with the pellet food I feed in there and it dis show some PO3 traces.
I have a 75G with 100lbs LR in the main tank and 40G sumps with 5" DSB in sump and another 40lbs LR. There is only about 1" of sand in the main tank. Lights are 2 250W MH and 2 110W VHO actinic, all have been replaced in past 4 months. My params show 0 nitrate and phosphate. PH = 8.2, DKH is 9.5, Cal = 395.
All corals are doing great...4 fish get fed once a day, sometimes small pinch of pellet or frozen brine, mysis etc.
My question is how do I rid tank of these excess nutrients which seem to be causing these blooms, even though my params look ok.....HELP

 

[jonthefb]

whats your clean up crew like?
water changes
waterchanges
waterchanges!
good luck
jon

 

[ophiura]

Do you grow any macroalgae in your sump (with the DSB and LR)? Macroalgae growth competes with the hair algae (and other bad algaes) for nutrients. Harvesting and trading in to the LFS (or tossing out) this macroalgae results in removal of these nutrients from the system.

 

[hairtrigger]

I would recommend aiming some powerheads at the source of the nutrient deposits. That would prevent them from building up, and disperse them into the waterflow. in turn, the skimmer would be much more effective because it could pick up the dissolved nutrients that are now in the water instead of stuck building up in the tank.
also, you could put an extra powerful (careful though) pump on your skimmer to help it reach maximum potential. I am not too familiar with your skimmer brand. But, barracuda recently showed me a kent venturi upgrade that really looks promising. I know aggressive skimming is very important in reducing nutrient deposits. also, you may begin to notice some cyano starting if you don't take care of it soon. And depending on how long the tank has been established has a lot to do with it.
I would also recommend putting in a DSB in your size tank. The great bugs and worms really do a great job with reducing this problem. And like jon asked... a good clean up crew is also dire. Good luck.

 

[hairtrigger]

PS---- oph just posted while I was writing my reply. But, she has a great point. Consider going with a fuge also. Caulerpa loves to eat nitratre and excess nut.

 

[wetone]

Jon
My cleanup crew is weak, I know I need to add more hermits and snails. I have an arrow crab which I heard may be killing the snails and hermits, I have never seen him do this, but I can't seem to keep them around. I still think I have some silicate and/or nutrients from an old RO only unit with old filters I was using, thats why I'm doing so many water changes (usually 5-10G per week)
Susan
I have 2 sumps set up, one with the DSB designed to be a refugium but I haven't added any macros yet...any suggestion for lighting this sump? I want to make it successful but not spend a fortune on lighting a tank in my backroom!!

 

[ophiura]

Definitely beef up that clean up crew, and consider trading the arrow crab back in. I don't think it is killing hermits and snails, but it is killing various worms and other good critters. I think they are cool, but better for a species specific tank.
I think the suggestions given are all good one's!
As for lighting the fuge, you don't have to spend anywhere near what you spend on the main tank. Generally people use Home Depot type lights, Lights of America, etc. Do a search on refugium lights, or start a new topic on that in particular. I think you will find that you don't have to spend too much at all!

 

[wetone]

Is this Home Depot light a complete unit or just a bulb??

 

[wetone]

Is this Home Depot light a complete unit or just a bulb??

 

[maryc137]

I bought a Gro-light at Lowes for about $5. The bulb said to use only a ceramic fixture because of heat, so I bought a cheap ($10) porch light type fixture I could mount over the refugium.