hair algea, chaeto and carbon ?

outy · 11/01/2006, 11:56 PM

my 100g has been up for 15 plus years 10 im my possesion. LR gets cooked every couple of years.

i put a new dsb in 3 months ago i have a 50g sump/fuge with chaeto i use and change rowa in the phos reactor regularly and im getting a little HA again.

ro/di filters and membrane are 3 months old and tds is only 21ppm going in and 0 going out.

i use carbon 24/7 and change it out monthly its a cheaper brand supposed to be as good as kent.

ive been mixing with reef crystals

is the carbon my phos source?

my fuge i use one 23w melev bulb, should i use more lighting.? my chaeto grows but im guessing not fast enough as the HA is coming along.

any other ideas are welcome

Craig Lambert · 11/02/2006, 12:21 AM

From what I've read, carbon does not leach anything back into the water.

seanb · 11/02/2006, 01:10 AM

Some carbon can contain phosphate, if you have a Phos test, try adding a piece of the carbon to the water in the test vial and then test for Phosphate.

reefD · 11/02/2006, 01:17 AM

your resetting can be source. newly sand bed is now void of excess bacteria which is good for nutrient absorption. check your feeding. some foods can be source of phos even when they say contains no phos. there is minute amouts that build up. also filter/coral foods can be a definate source. do you feed corals or dose water with phyto foods? i would refrain for sure as it may be a factir and better to eliminate a cause now. if its not it at least you eliminated a cause. but i suspect your new sand bed is an issue as its new and void of the normally huge population of good bacteria that absorbs/feeds on nutrients like this. once tank is stable sand bed will become a bacteria load and should be ok for many years as long as bioload never excedes bacteria load. easier said than done but a good rule is let your tank rest often. no additions for months help greatly as bacteria exceads and controls the bioload.

reefD · 11/02/2006, 01:20 AM

as stated i also feel carbon is never a significant cause or source of phos even when leaching. best way to look at it is if its collecting large amounts of phos and getting full better to ask where its comming from rather than ask why its leaching.

outy · 11/02/2006, 02:29 AM

i think with the rowa and the chaeto and a little HA i wont be getting any decent test results. [i always get 0 with salifert]

i feed every other day lightly with spectrum [small spheres] and im not feeding anything else.

i added a sea hare last week and im keeping an eye on the HA growth. my thoughts are if the fuge lighting was a little better the chaeto might out compete the HA for nutrients. i think since its been 3 months it wont be to long to the denitrifing anarobic bacteria population builds in the dsb. i missed a few water changes cause of my new daughter but i have done some 30% water changes with no visible effects on HA and i didnt really miss that many.

oh ya the lighting is only 6 months old so i think ive got a little longer on the xm 10k bulbs

outy · 11/02/2006, 10:49 PM

anyone else have an idea

11/01/2006, 11:56 PM	#1
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	hair algea, chaeto and carbon ? my 100g has been up for 15 plus years 10 im my possesion. LR gets cooked every couple of years. i put a new dsb in 3 months ago i have a 50g sump/fuge with chaeto i use and change rowa in the phos reactor regularly and im getting a little HA again. ro/di filters and membrane are 3 months old and tds is only 21ppm going in and 0 going out. i use carbon 24/7 and change it out monthly its a cheaper brand supposed to be as good as kent. ive been mixing with reef crystals is the carbon my phos source? my fuge i use one 23w melev bulb, should i use more lighting.? my chaeto grows but im guessing not fast enough as the HA is coming along. any other ideas are welcome

11/02/2006, 12:21 AM	#2
Craig Lambert Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,897	From what I've read, carbon does not leach anything back into the water. __________________ "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will spend all day in a boat drinking beer." Current Tank Info: 75G Tank, 29G Sump, 100lbs LR, AquaC EV-180, Iwaki MD-20RT return Tunze nano streams 4X54 t-5/Icecap Ballast & SLR's 2x110 vho actinic

11/02/2006, 01:10 AM	#3
seanb Premium Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Central Coast, CA Posts: 236	Some carbon can contain phosphate, if you have a Phos test, try adding a piece of the carbon to the water in the test vial and then test for Phosphate. __________________ The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..."' - Isaac Asimov Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef tank

11/02/2006, 01:17 AM	#4
reefD Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Schenectady,New York Posts: 4,968	your resetting can be source. newly sand bed is now void of excess bacteria which is good for nutrient absorption. check your feeding. some foods can be source of phos even when they say contains no phos. there is minute amouts that build up. also filter/coral foods can be a definate source. do you feed corals or dose water with phyto foods? i would refrain for sure as it may be a factir and better to eliminate a cause now. if its not it at least you eliminated a cause. but i suspect your new sand bed is an issue as its new and void of the normally huge population of good bacteria that absorbs/feeds on nutrients like this. once tank is stable sand bed will become a bacteria load and should be ok for many years as long as bioload never excedes bacteria load. easier said than done but a good rule is let your tank rest often. no additions for months help greatly as bacteria exceads and controls the bioload. __________________ DAVID Current Tank Info: it has four sides and a bottom...oh yeah and it has water in it. lol

11/02/2006, 01:20 AM	#5
reefD Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Schenectady,New York Posts: 4,968	as stated i also feel carbon is never a significant cause or source of phos even when leaching. best way to look at it is if its collecting large amounts of phos and getting full better to ask where its comming from rather than ask why its leaching. __________________ DAVID Current Tank Info: it has four sides and a bottom...oh yeah and it has water in it. lol

11/02/2006, 02:29 AM	#6
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	i think with the rowa and the chaeto and a little HA i wont be getting any decent test results. [i always get 0 with salifert] i feed every other day lightly with spectrum [small spheres] and im not feeding anything else. i added a sea hare last week and im keeping an eye on the HA growth. my thoughts are if the fuge lighting was a little better the chaeto might out compete the HA for nutrients. i think since its been 3 months it wont be to long to the denitrifing anarobic bacteria population builds in the dsb. i missed a few water changes cause of my new daughter but i have done some 30% water changes with no visible effects on HA and i didnt really miss that many. oh ya the lighting is only 6 months old so i think ive got a little longer on the xm 10k bulbs

11/02/2006, 10:49 PM	#7
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	anyone else have an idea