Thinking of dosing tank

justisathomesea · 05/05/2010, 06:24 PM

My tank is about 5-6 weeks old, I had an issue with hair algae for a while and it went away, well now I have an issue with red algae and slime algae and starting to get the hair algae back. I took my water to the lfs and check my own water parms. amm 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 5 alk is low, my calsium is good just not sure the number, and my phosfates are at 0. So I'm confused about what is going on, I know the tank is new. So I was I told to start dosing magnesium, and that should help with the algae but what about my alk, is doing my regular water changes going to help that or is there something else that I can do. Thank you for any suggestions or comments and what chemicals do you recommend.

Potsy · 05/05/2010, 06:38 PM

When there is an algae bloom taking place, phosphate levels usually test as zero because it's taken up by the algae. New tanks often go through a series of algae blooms before they settle down. I recommend investing in the following test kits: alkalinity, calcium, nitrate, and magnesium. Balance your alk. and calcium so that they're at 7 - 11 dkh and around 400 - 450ppm. Keep your magnesium at 1300-1500ppm. Raising your magnesium to combat algae will only work if the magnesium product is TechM by Kent and the algae is bryopsis (feathery strands that look like miniature ferns). You can maintain your alk and calcium levels through water changes provided that your salt mix has adequate levels and you don't too many lps and sps corals. Eventually you might want to start dosing your aquarium to maintain alk. and calcium with a two part system that you can mix yourself through inexpensive ingredients from places like bulkreefsupply.com. It's much cheaper than purchasing it ready made and will last you a long time.

05/05/2010, 06:24 PM	#1
justisathomesea Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Midlothain, Virginia Posts: 180	Thinking of dosing tank My tank is about 5-6 weeks old, I had an issue with hair algae for a while and it went away, well now I have an issue with red algae and slime algae and starting to get the hair algae back. I took my water to the lfs and check my own water parms. amm 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 5 alk is low, my calsium is good just not sure the number, and my phosfates are at 0. So I'm confused about what is going on, I know the tank is new. So I was I told to start dosing magnesium, and that should help with the algae but what about my alk, is doing my regular water changes going to help that or is there something else that I can do. Thank you for any suggestions or comments and what chemicals do you recommend. __________________ Chris Current Tank Info: 55 gal, aquaticlife 4x54 w/ 8 leds,koralia 750, quietone 4000, swc xtreme 200, 20 gal sump

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05/05/2010, 06:38 PM	#2
Potsy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Kinnelon, NJ Posts: 1,827	When there is an algae bloom taking place, phosphate levels usually test as zero because it's taken up by the algae. New tanks often go through a series of algae blooms before they settle down. I recommend investing in the following test kits: alkalinity, calcium, nitrate, and magnesium. Balance your alk. and calcium so that they're at 7 - 11 dkh and around 400 - 450ppm. Keep your magnesium at 1300-1500ppm. Raising your magnesium to combat algae will only work if the magnesium product is TechM by Kent and the algae is bryopsis (feathery strands that look like miniature ferns). You can maintain your alk and calcium levels through water changes provided that your salt mix has adequate levels and you don't too many lps and sps corals. Eventually you might want to start dosing your aquarium to maintain alk. and calcium with a two part system that you can mix yourself through inexpensive ingredients from places like bulkreefsupply.com. It's much cheaper than purchasing it ready made and will last you a long time.