Marinoman08 sent me a PM as follows Quote:
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Originally Posted by Marinoman08 whats RO/DI? and i have a testing kit but not for phosphate how do i test for that? |
This was my response others please suggest any other ideas that may help as well
RO/DI is reverse osmosis/deionized water
RO/DI water is the best way to have a reef. The filter removes all the TDS (total desolved solids) from the water such as silicates, chlorine, calcium, copper,.....
Check this site out, this is who I got mine from and others on this site love these guys as well, just do a search on the forum to read more.
The Filter Guys(best $200 I have spent on any equipment so far in this hobby)
It will be the best investment in a SW tank that you can have, trust me, others will agree as well.
Phosphates and nitrates are the main contributors of algae growth in an aquarium. Overfeeding and overstocking are the two main causes of phosphates and nitrates. Algae can still grow with a low phosphate/nitrate test. This is a false negative which means that the algae is removing the nutrients as fast as they are being produced so there isn't really any to test for, but that is still the problem. Best way to combat the algae problem that you seem to be reffering to (Cyanobacteria) is as follows:
RO/DI water (for all water changes and top off)
Reduce feeding (once a day is plenty, a fish's stomach is about the size of their eye to give you a comparison)
Increase flow (total turnover of water volume in an hour by your tank. Take all your powerhead/pumps GPH rating and add them up and divide by gallons of water in system, good number to shoot for is around 20-30 times turnover per hour, Cyano doesnt' like flow)
Less of a photoperiod (shortans the amount of light to algae to slow growth, don't cut back much if you have corals but around 8 hours is fine for a while)
GOOD PROTEIN SKIMMER (this is a must have for any reef)
Eliminate dead spots (spots of very low to no water flow in the tank)
Manually remove algae (suck it out with a small diameter tube, if you take out some sand that is okay, this will help remove it from the system)
Look into a Phosban Reactor from Two Little Fishes (great $40 investment)
One more question is how old is your tank? Some algae blooms are normal and will dissipate with time and some work on your part. Also post a pic on your original page so that others may chime in as well. I will also be posting this PM on that page so that others can add/delete any information that they find prudent.
Hope this helps,
Kirby