filter option

[leaffish75]

my 6 has a HOB refugium but i still have alage growth and the return makes bubbles. should i switch it over to a aqua clear and add a skimmer?

 

[drty811]

how often do you do water changes? what size and make of hob refugium is it? theres two many veriables, this is a start. it took me a while to get everything set.

 

[leaffish75]

water changes are done week to week and half (30%) refugium is about 18" long 7" high and 3inch wide. i got a kit off ebay. all parts recut i just had to glue them. Currently i have 4inch sand bed with about 4lbs of LR rubble and a bunch of cheato. Flow rate is about 90 to 100 gph. light is a slimeline 65K coralife NO fixture.

 

[drty811]

if theres a overflow into your return pump, put a piece of foam or divider to block any air bubbles getting sucked into the pump.
what kind of dechlorinater are you using? it makes a difference.
i have also added a bunch of snails to my refugium to help with my problem, and a bunch of different algeas.
i also dont do water changes as much, cause of my set up and filteration.
will have pics this weekend, hopefully

 

[leaffish75]

i dont have a return pump. this is a hob refugium. water is pumped into it then gravity feed back to tank. i dont use dechlorinater because i have no chlorine in my water. I live on a bay so we dig our own well. my water has sulfates in but i got a kick butt RODI unit to filter that out. I have 1 mexican turbo that i took from the main tank and added it to the refugium, and some nass snails.

 

[incysor]

drty811,

You shouldn't need to use dechlorinator if you're using the proper water, (RO/DI), to begin with.

Leaffish, where do you get your water? If you've got your own RO/DI, when was the last time you changed the filters out? What type of lights, are they new? How long is your photoperiod? And finally, I can't remember how old the tank is?

My wife fought algae issues for quite awhile in her 10g, because she added fish to it before she really should have, then she changed from a small penguin powerfilter to the aquaclear fuge, and before it was really broken in well she upgraded her lights significantly. She got tired of it as things finally started to settle out, and now I've got to finish breaking down the tank. :evil:

B

 

[leaffish75]

tank is about 10 months old. lights are 300 watt vhos about 3 months old now. I get the water from my well which is run thru my RODI unit. The RO DI unit is about 2 months old. Im replacing the Di resing because it turned tan on me. photperiod is from 8or9 hours.

 

[incysor]

:shock:
300w over a 6g? Wow. Are you trying to make this an SPS tank?
What were you running before this?
Did the algae problem start after you put the new bubs on?
Have you tested for phosphates, and silicates?
I forgot to ask how much, and what you feed?

B

 

[leaffish75]

oops wrong tank :lol: i have 18 watt pcs which have been on the tank since i sit it up which is about 4 months now. alage problem started about 2 months ago. I have tested for phosphates and there arent any. I feed about 4 drop of DTs and a small (1/4 cube) krill. the alage is not hair alage but some green slimy stuff

sorry my mind is on my 20L which is having the same problem but 20 times worse.

 

[leaffish75]

one more thing when my DI resin gets in im going to go ahead and replace the ro filter.

 

[incysor]

How often are you feeding the phyto and krill? Do you have something in the tank that requires the phyto?

B

 

[leaffish75]

just some filter feeding clams I got from galveston. phyto once a week and krill with the phyto with some brine once in a blue moon

 

[drty811]

i have to use a dechlorinator cause i have city water and the nearest place that has RODI water is 2 hours away. i could buy one but i havent had any problems with my tank or water paramiters. so where does it say that the only water to be used in a reef tank has to be RODI, if it does, than i have been very lucky.

 

[incysor]

It's your tank. Your welcome to play russian roulette with it if you want. It's pretty well accepted that RO/DI water is necessary to keep a reef tank long term. No reason to believe me. Check all the major forums/websites on the subject. And I agree. You've been very lucky. One of the other members on here lost his tank due to using tap water. Chlorine isn't the only thing that water treatment facilities put in our drinking water, and dechlorinators can't handle everything that's used.

B

 

[puppetmaster_6000]

there's always copper and people dont check to see if they have an alarming amount of it which can kill everthing in the tank. :shock:

 

[djconn]

I ALWAYS use RO/DI. I can't even imagine how nervous I'd be if I used tap water. :mrgreen: