cleaned tank
 

And every reef keeper should have a good sized
refugium with macro algae.

Wayne Sallee



Wayne Sallee wrote on 2/20/2008 9:20 AM:
Yep that's right. And also limit nutrient input.

And when you have fast coral growth you have a form of nutrient uptake.

Wayne Sallee



Pszemol wrote on 2/19/2008 9:38 PM:
"jthread" wrote in message
...
The light from the kitchen on and the sky light are just too much
light. I've cut the aquarium lights and I'm hoping
by just vacuuming it regularly the algae will die out.

Just this statement sugests that something is seriously
wrong with your tank setup or stocking - there should be
never too much sun/light in a reef tank!
You do not limit the light intake, you increase the
nutrients export from the tank to avoid algae outbreaks.

Red algae usually means too much phosphates.
Have you measured if you have them as low as in the real ocean?

cleaned tank
 

"Pszemol" wrote in message
...
"jthread" wrote in message
...
The light from the kitchen on and the sky light are just too much light.
I've cut the aquarium lights and I'm hoping
by just vacuuming it regularly the algae will die out.

Just this statement sugests that something is seriously
wrong with your tank setup or stocking - there should be
never too much sun/light in a reef tank!
You do not limit the light intake, you increase the
nutrients export from the tank to avoid algae outbreaks.

Red algae usually means too much phosphates.
Have you measured if you have them as low as in the real ocean?

Checked Phosphates this morning. Didn't even register.

Nitrates 20ppm

The tank is pretty healthy. Coral are growing propagating. Fish would be fat
if I let them. I just get that algae by the sunlight.

cleaned tank
 

"jthread" wrote in message ...
Checked Phosphates this morning. Didn't even register.

What test are you using? What is its expected acuracy?
What is the lowest number on the scale?
Do you have the reference sample to check if test is ok?

Note, that phosphates are harder to measure, because
desired concentrations are much, much lower miligrams
than nitrates. Regular concentration of phosphates on
natural reef are below 1mg/l, more at 0.5mg/l level.

Red slime algae in my tanks appear when I have nitrates
very low, below 1mg/L and phosphates above 1mg/l.

Nitrates 20ppm

The tank is pretty healthy. Coral are growing propagating.
Fish would be fat if I let them. I just get that algae by the sunlight.

Once again - sunlight IS NOT A PROBLEM in the reef tanks.
If we have this chance, we would all like to have the
reef tank under the skylight or with no roof at all :-)

Red algae can be in many shapes and forms - to be more
specific I was talking about red slime algae, cyanobacteria.
This type can survive in the environment low in nitrate
because it can syntethize nitrogen in the gaseous form
diluted in the water. Other types of algae cannot do
this trick so they need nitrates or ammonia in water
as a source of nitrogen. All algae, including cyanobacteria
(red slime) require phosphate as a source of phosphorus.

Having more than 20mg nitrates and low phosphates I guess
your red algae is not slime and not cyanobacteria...

cleaned tank
 

s.

Having more than 20mg nitrates and low phosphates I guess
your red algae is not slime and not cyanobacteria...

Chemi-Clean works over night on red slime.. and its reef safe

cleaned tank
 

"Pszemol" wrote in message
...
"jthread" wrote in message
...
Checked Phosphates this morning. Didn't even register.

What test are you using? What is its expected acuracy?
What is the lowest number on the scale?
Do you have the reference sample to check if test is ok?

Note, that phosphates are harder to measure, because
desired concentrations are much, much lower miligrams
than nitrates. Regular concentration of phosphates on
natural reef are below 1mg/l, more at 0.5mg/l level.

Red slime algae in my tanks appear when I have nitrates
very low, below 1mg/L and phosphates above 1mg/l.

Nitrates 20ppm

The tank is pretty healthy. Coral are growing propagating.
Fish would be fat if I let them. I just get that algae by the sunlight.

Once again - sunlight IS NOT A PROBLEM in the reef tanks.
If we have this chance, we would all like to have the
reef tank under the skylight or with no roof at all :-)

Red algae can be in many shapes and forms - to be more
specific I was talking about red slime algae, cyanobacteria.
This type can survive in the environment low in nitrate
because it can syntethize nitrogen in the gaseous form
diluted in the water. Other types of algae cannot do
this trick so they need nitrates or ammonia in water
as a source of nitrogen. All algae, including cyanobacteria
(red slime) require phosphate as a source of phosphorus.

Having more than 20mg nitrates and low phosphates I guess
your red algae is not slime and not cyanobacteria...

thanks for your input. i'm just saying that is where it is growing

cleaned tank
 

"Peter Pan" wrote in message . ..
Having more than 20mg nitrates and low phosphates I guess
your red algae is not slime and not cyanobacteria...

Chemi-Clean works over night on red slime.. and its reef safe

From the biological point of view, it will kill the cyano
and release all the nutrients back to the water column.
So you are destined to have the tank back to ugly in weeks.

cleaned tank
 

"Pszemol" wrote in message
...
"Peter Pan" wrote in message
. ..
Having more than 20mg nitrates and low phosphates I guess
your red algae is not slime and not cyanobacteria...

i meant less than 20. looked about 15 ppm

pretty good for that tank. it's usually about 20 ppm.

it has to do with the canister. (i think) maybe I should gut it and just use
it to circulate water?

the red slime is slime. it's gotta be - and there may be some other red
bacteria growing. Vacuuming works the best. I take the rocks out and scrub
them( in battery acid :-P)



the other tank maintains 10ppm it is almost full of lr. that and a small
filter and a protein skimmer.

i never have to change. just replace evaporated water.

cleaned tank
 

No no no, you need to scrub them in phosphoric acid. :-)

Wayne Sallee



jthread wrote on 2/20/2008 11:25 PM:
I take the rocks out and scrub
them( in battery acid :-P)

cleaned tank
 

"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message
...
No no no, you need to scrub them in phosphoric acid. :-)

Wayne Sallee



jthread wrote on 2/20/2008 11:25 PM:
I take the rocks out and scrub them( in battery acid :-P)

I was thinking of taking the guts out of my canister and put a couple of
chunks of lr and a small filter disk. then change the disk about every three
days. what do you think?

backwash it with Clorox and drain 'o'

cleaned tank
 

I would not recommend using a canister filter
containing live rock and filter fiber. If you want
to take the guts out, then leave it gutless.

Wayne Sallee



jthread wrote on 2/21/2008 3:05 PM:
I was thinking of taking the guts out of my canister and put a couple of
chunks of lr and a small filter disk. then change the disk about every three
days. what do you think?