Originally Posted by
Stanlalee
http:///forum/post/2827516
A) API phophate test is useless. it reads 0.0 and the next reading is something like 0.25ppm or 0.5ppm if I'm not mistaken. you need something that reads down to much finer resolution. you need to use a kit that reads at least down to 0.01ppm and scaled to 0.01, 0.02, 0.03 ect. 0.02ppm is good. 0.06ppm is high.
Astrea work great to keep the liverock clean (key word is "keep", once algae has taken a good hold not so much). Mexican turbo's are probably the best lawnmowers as long as you dont have anything they can knock over. At this point I'm convinced granulated ferric oxide (GFO) such as phosban, rowaphos, pura phoslock ect are the best thing going for algae control. Put in the GFO (media reactors works best $40 but you can put them anywhere you'd put media. have mine in the sump between dividers). If you can, manually remove the algae or as much as possible a few days after you start using the GFO (I did this, took out every rock and scraped them down one by one but that was before I added and epoxied corals). From there it should come back much slower (and this is where the adequate clean up crew comes in). UV helps to but more for the film algae. nowhere near as well as GFO though.
I wouldn't feed 1/2 a cube to a 55g ESPECIALLY if your feeding daily. What exactly are these five fish besides the blenny (you shouldn't add anything for him with the algae). darn the corals and shrimp (the corals can feed off the fish poo, scraps or be target fed and the shrimp are suppose to scavenge). If you have bigger fish feed a few chunks they can eat whole without wasting any. If you have small fish grade a few thin shavings off a side of the cube.
the skimmer is inadequate (okay skimmer for up to 30g, add another 10g if youa have clone 150) although I dont think its the problem and your bulbs might be old but I dont think thats the problem either. I dont buy into that spectrum shift theory. I believe they lose intensity which you probably wont notice over time but you certaintly notice when a halide is significantly whiter or yellower than it used to be and it take a hell of a shift to go from 10-20k to plant grow bulb unoticed. I do believe their is a color spectrum shift with age just not enough to cause an algae bloom in a tank established enough for the lights to get that old. what I do believe is relatively high intensity lighting (such as two 175w halides and 2 T5s over a 55g), especially if the halides are white spectrum bulb are inherently more prone to algae management problems. you buy it to help corals grow fast but it can do the same for algae wether the bulbs are 2 days old or 2yrs old.
I don't have the cash for GFO, but right now I run phosguard in my tank. I feed my fish every other day and sometimes every two days. I have a percula clown, a firefish, a PJ cardinal, a sixline wrasse and a blenny (not a LMB, he eats brine shrimp so i'm not sure what kind he is). I know that my skimmer is bad i'm gonna get a new one next week hopefully. So what do you suggest I do about the lights?
