hi, this is lax man 10 and I have an algae problem. Could it be the chemicals? Here they are: temp. 74, salinity1.04, ammonia 0,nitrite 0, nitrate 0, ph 8.2, phosphates 1. Could it be the salinity or the phosphates? Please respond fast its spreading quickly.Its a redish brown film. Thank you for your help. bye, lax man 10

:eek: :sad:


I can kick your wrasse in lax.!!!!!!!:D

eh?

confirm temp and SG?

What do you mean, i'm new here? What is sg bye

sorry, your salinity, 1.04? normal is 1.025ish, 1.04 would not support fish I dont think. temp is a bit low unless this is a cold water tank, most run closer to 78-82 for a typical tank.

obviously phosphates could be in question, but no way to say for sure without testing, but the Salinity is a red flag from the parameters listed.

edit: sorry you did test, yeah 1ppm of phosphates would do it too, but the SG still seems out of wack.

you using RO/DI water? some salts also have phosphates in them, small ammounts but if your adding so much to 1.040 SG, it could add up.

If the phosphate is reading 1 ppm I would say that would be a great place to start..

thank you all start with the phosphates.:yay: :thumbs: :D

I would start with the salinity and temperature.

Your best remedy is 2 EASY steps:

1. Turn up the heater-4 degrees is tooooo cold. 78-82 is where you want to be.

2. Do some water changes. These will increase your SG and return all other parameters to a basline reading.

What are you using to measure SG? I'm guessing it's not a refractometer. You'll want to look into purchasing one of those asap for a more acccurate SG reading.

How long has your tank been setup?

Welcome!!!:D

You must export the same or more nutrients than you put in. Overfeeding, tap water, high phosphate foods, etc.


Phosphate reduction/ removal and high trates could be the answer. Wet skimming with a skimmer that is rated at least double your water volume. If you cannot get a fuge or sump (you can maybe make a "Rubbermaid sump with cheato in it for a few bucks) you can get a $35.00 hang on phosphate reactor for your tank and put some GFO in there. In the future, you'll most likely need a refugium with Macro algae. If you choose GFO, you’ll need to start VERY SLOWLY! Use 25% of the recommended media, slowly increasing every 2-4 weeks. You need to acclimate your tank inhabitants over at least a 2 month period especially is you have any stony corals. Once acclimated you’ll need to change your Iron based media in the phosphate reactor more often. Your media will get saturated in 2 weeks or so depending upon how much is bound up in your rocks, tank, algae, etc. Use less media, change every 2 weeks. Use a great test kit like DD Merck, Hack, or colormeter or send to AWT. If you already have a fuge & reactor, be aggressive & change the media every 2 weeks.

When you do your water change, take the end of the hose and suck all the algae down like a vacuum. It'll take a few water changes, but it works (especially after the phosphate remover kicks in)

Use a phosphate reactor with some phosar or ROWA or whatever, and something to lower nitrates like a fuge, AZNO3, Vodka, or other carbon source.


check out:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php)

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php)

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2003/chem.htm

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php)

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/eb/index.php (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/eb/index.php)

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1349443

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2002/chem.htm (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2002/chem.htm)

by the way its a tank with fish and live rock no coral.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh help i changed the filter and it stopped but now its there agian!!!!!!!!!!!