No RO/DI unit, any hope left?

[IdahoGearHead]

So being my first post, i thought id include it here in the beginner's section. I normally can find the answer to my questions but i thought it was about time to post a question about my unique scenario.

My main question: is there any hope of getting rid of nuisance algae w/o a RO unit?

Ready for the novel? Here it is:
Btw I am a college student in Mechanical Engineering, the only reason i switched to salt was my part time job at the LFS and all the free stuff i received from other graduating students.

I am trying to stay away from an expensive ro/di unit as i am only staying in my current residence until i graduate in the spring, nor is there enough pressure from any of our water supplies. Id rather wait til after i graduate (and get a job) to buy a nice unit instead of skimping now at the sacrifice to beer money.

So here is the setup:
38 gal display, 20 gal sump.
Two turbine powerheads provide excelent flow
2 30W Epistar Module LED spotlights (460nm & 10k) 6in off surface of water
(advertised as 250watt MH alternative each) 8hrs for actinics & 10hrs for 10k
4-5in fine sand bed

500 or so gph return pump
1st chamber: 4 in sock for overflow
5lbs live rock rubble
intake to skimmer (HOB rated for 75gal)
intake to BRS dual reactor (GFO & Carbon) (currently dumps to display)
2nd chamber:
Deep sand bed (mentors always advocated natural filters/nutrient sinks)
Green Killing machine 24watt UV sterilizer
2-3 Sealab No28 Blocks for trace element replenishment
3rd chamber: bubble baffle to return pump

Livestock:
Fish: Tomato Clown, Bicolor Blenny, Diadem Pseudochromis, Baby Snowflake Eel
Nems: Small GBTA, Med Haitian Condy, Med Sebae, Rock flower, Maxi Mini
Corals: all are tiny frags except the pom pom Xenia, ive been fragging and spreading the Xenia in hopes of more natural filtration.
SPS: Pink Birdsnest, Green Acro, Teal Acro, Tan Monti Cap, teal lepastria
LPS: Acans, Candy Canes, Christmas Favia
Misc: 3 Blue spot mushrooms, Kenyan tree, red cluster duster fan worms, Green Paly's, and zoa colony of about 15. And a 3in Gold Maxima Clam (loves my high nutrient/light XD )
***: serious population of what i believe to be Hawaiian fan worms and tunicates? These guys are everywhere, tunicates are in low light areas, even in the sump, largest specimens about 1in round. I figured these tunicates are thriving off the silicates in the city water...
CUC:4 nassarius snails, 20 or so ceriths (eggs show up very often), 2 emerald crabs, 2 hermits (one huge, one tiny), 6 turbos, and several various snails i cant remember,

You're probably thinking right now that this guy is crazy, way overstocked, no wonder he has algae problems... Heres the kicker. My Params:
Sal=1.025-26
Nitrate= 0 <---- No joke, tested 3 times throughout the day just to be sure
Phosphate= >.25 (the current battle)
Ammonia=0
dKH=9-10
Calc=480-500
Ph=8.2
Mag=????
*I understand most of the excess nitrates/phosphates are being sucked up by the algae and therefore the tests show near or at zero.

I also have a 10x4in barrier of blade algae (nitrate control) in the main display separating my Condy & its home from the rest of the tank.

The routine:
Every day: Check salinity w/ refractometer. add top off water with small amounts of kalk mix (helps Sealab Blocks last longer), empty and CLEAN skimmer cup. I run the skimmate super wet and still comes out tea color
Weekly: clean out filter sock (biweekly actually), 5gal water change
Bi-Monthly: Pick a component to clean; overflow box, sump chamber. Switch out GFO or Carbon. Test params

Feeding: I am one of the few super frugal feeders out there, i dont need anything more working against my battle with brown algae. I feed every other day.
I soak aquadine pellets to soften them up just a bit(trick i developed working at the LFS to avoid wasting food), and feed 1 pellet at time until saturation, the snowflake eel took to the pellets relatively quickly. Twice a week i cut up fresh talapia/cod/shrimp from my actual meals and feed the nems n eel (very small bits go to the acans and candy cane) Stopped all Phytoplex & zooplex feedings with my fanworm bloom and haven't seen any noticeable changes. I figure my sand bed supplies ample critters to the water column.

The SCARY Part(s):
Ive never lost a fish to this setup (nor my ten gallon). Never experienced ich or any other disease in my tanks. I received my first Monti Cap, Zoa colony, and Candy Cane from a graduating friend which started my pursuit to reefing. The only critters ive lost are 2 montipora and one acropora frag to sediment damage when my supplier for No28 blocks ran out and my system nearly crashed and my coraline algae nearly disappeared.
Nowadays my 3 strains of coraline (red, peach, and purple) are spreading nicely and the new dry rock is currently colonizing. Everything seems happy, but the sand & glass still develops small amounts of diatoms/brown algae and small traces of green hair on my overflow box, its not much to complain about but it does take away from an otherwise beautiful little tank. Its a bit worse now as my replacement bulb for my UV sterilizer is in the mail.

Growth: My sps have shown growth, but the sediment damage to my two remaining monti's. my teal acro, and lepastria frag has stopped growth completely. The green acro has retained its color and its polyps are even extended, however only 1/4in of growth in the 2 months ive had it. No thanks to my phosphates. The single Acan head now as 5 budding heads, 2 candy cane head show one more head growing. Birdsnests show new spikes everywhere and polyps well extended. The nearly lost the xmas favia but it has recovered nicely and is working its way off the plug as we speak. zoas n paly's are extending gradually. Nems expand really nicely.


Side Notes: I tried bare bottom, it works great but roomates and girls think its ugly so no go, and the critters love the sand. This is a college tank and therefore is not completely serious, the life of my critters is my top priority, but there are things like a jagar bottle, deer antler, and tungsten carbide end mill bits chillin next to my condy's skull. BTW i LOVE that darn condy almost as much as my maxima clam and eel, so no bashing on my condy plz.

Oh yes the Tank is about 6 months old seeded from the ten gallon that was completely cycled after 3 months. Most of my supply is online as the closest fish store is 1.5hr drive away, my local fish store owner i worked for is a brilliant chemist, just not a good business woman, so that LFS no longer exists.

Plans:
I plan on getting rid of the tomato clown, it never took to the larger sebae and it was stressing out my tiny GBTA so it got put in the sump for now until i find a home for him. My bioload wouldnt complain. I plan on doing a 3 days of darkness this week. Got live amphipods &copopods coming in the mail from reef2go.

ADVICE??:
Other options for me to pursue? Should i take up vodka dosing? RO units that are cheap & dont require booster pumps (anything is better than my brita filter)? 3 days of darkness? 10 days of darkness? Make my own ATS?

Sould i use my old 24in dual T5HO (and put 6.5K bulbs in) to make my sump a refugium w/ mangrove plants? (would rather stay away from upping the power bill atm)

If you made it this far thanks for reading! I tried to provide as much info as i could to give the clearest picture. I feel i am pretty successful at reefing considering my circumstances, but theres always room for improvement. I hope to hear from some of you old ballz out there with some friendly advice. Just plz remember im a broke college engineering student, id rather make something for cheap than spend my precious beer/date money.

* I can post pictures of anything you ask for in particular...
THX ill shut up for now...

[chrisfont23]

Yeah.. you'll be fine. Plenty of people were successful before RO DI became popular - look at it that way.

[acabgd]

If you're looking to improve your water quality you can always buy distilled. Considering your tank is rather small that's not a really big expense.

[ArrowCrab]

Your LFS should sell RO/DI water, it might get more expensive in the long run but in the short term it will be better since you don't have to shell out $150 all at once. As chris said, plenty of people use tap water and can get away with it. Just make sure to check the parameters of your tap water so you know whats going in the tank and keep a check on the nitrates.

[Denbf58]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...84&pcatid=4484 here is what i started out with. long term it cost more to run but the start cost is less

[gbru316]

Why do you have drill bits and deer antlers in your tank?

Have you ever heard of bone meal? It's literally ground bone and used as a phosphorous source for terrestrial plants. Antlers are made of bone. Probably isn't good to have a phosphorous source in a tank, while fighting high phosphate levels.



My advice? Take your tank seriously. This hobby isn't cheap. If beer money takes priority, or If the purpose of the tank is to impress others, get rid of it and save yourself the headaches.

[Kyle918]

Originally Posted by gbru316

Why do you have drill bits and deer antlers in your tank?

Have you ever heard of bone meal? It's literally ground bone and used as a phosphorous source for terrestrial plants. Antlers are made of bone. Probably isn't good to have a phosphorous source in a tank, while fighting high phosphate levels.



My advice? Take your tank seriously. This hobby isn't cheap. If beer money takes priority, or If the purpose of the tank is to impress others, get rid of it and save yourself the headaches.

That makes a good point but even still, if he wants to have a SW tank then let em. He just seems to be a young kid that wants to add his own twist to his setup. I see nothing wrong with his setup. He has never lost a fish in such small tanks and for being in college at the same time? I could barely keep focus and on top of my water changes for my 3 gallon betta tank back when I was at UCF...let alone keep all his stuff alive in the crazii envirnment of a college dorm room

Anyway, I would say test your source water. If it is high in nutrients then you are SOL with the algae problem. Also, the britta filter is probably more expensive in the long run. If you don't have any other option than tap water, I would suggest buying distilled water from your local grocery store. Gallon jugs are about a dollar or less per gallon. That is right on par with my LFS for their RO/DI fresh water per gallon.

Also, could that deep of a sandbed be traping Nitrates??

[gbru316]

Originally Posted by Kyle918

That makes a good point but even still, if he wants to have a SW tank then let em. He just seems to be a young kid that wants to add his own twist to his setup. I see nothing wrong with his setup. He has never lost a fish in such small tanks and for being in college at the same time? I could barely keep focus and on top of my water changes for my 3 gallon betta tank back when I was at UCF...let alone keep all his stuff alive in the crazii envirnment of a college dorm room

Anyway, I would say test your source water. If it is high in nutrients then you are SOL with the algae problem. Also, the britta filter is probably more expensive in the long run. If you don't have any other option than tap water, I would suggest buying distilled water from your local grocery store. Gallon jugs are about a dollar or less per gallon. That is right on par with my LFS for their RO/DI fresh water per gallon.

Also, could that deep of a sandbed be traping Nitrates??

being young and wanting to add a personal "twist" to a setup is no excuse for poor husbandry.


his setup is, at the very least, contributing to the problems he is experiencing via the unnecessary introduction of excess po4... at worst, it's creating problems that haven't arisen yet.

[thegrun]

Most of the lab buildings on campus will have RO/DI water, I'm sure they wouldn't mind donating a 5 gallon bucket of their water for your use.

[IdahoGearHead]

Thanks for the input!

I've never heard of the bone meal as a phosphate source, but it makes complete sense, so that antler is gone!

That DI unit is actually right inside my price range, looks like ive found my next purchase! Having that would set my mind at ease.
(tap water tests no NO4 or PO4 and ph around 7.3-8.1 depending on recent rainfall)

A couple more disclaimers: I rent a house w/ 3 other ppl, no more dorms for me. I did however scold a fellow who gave my tank a "sip" of his beer during a house party. This hobby for me is purely out of passion and not at all a source of headaches, so yes i would have scrapped it a long time ago if i didn't enjoy it. If i was just out to impress people i would have stuck with my planted cichlid tank, gorgeous but unrewarding (the trick there was separating their rock quarry home from plants they wouldn't eat).

I may be a dumb kid but im here to learn. Saying i have "poor husbandry" seems a bit far (them be fightin' words). If my husbandry skills were not up to par i would have failed a long time ago with my setup, i wont deny i have room for improvement tho. By writing this novel i hoped to convey my level of dedication and passion for the hobby despite my temporary financial handicap, but to post all of my experience would be uber long(er). I do realize that there are a lot of tards out there that do have poor husbandry habits, so ill try not to get butthurt over that comment lol...

Btw the tungsten carbide tips are a gift from my shop master, as i work extensively in the machine shop (we specialize in automotive transmissions), and they are completely inert unlike that antler. The two roommate trinkets are saltwater safe aquarium decor. The jagar bottle is just glass, no stickers or whatnot.

Dont take a few visual trinkets as me not taking my tank seriously. The livelihood of my inhabitants is my top priority, thus the strive for continuous improvement. I would rather have only the eel in there, but im not giving them away to hillbillies that dont know what a water change is, and as i mentioned before my LFS doesnt exist anymore as of recently so i cant just trade em in for credit.

Anywhoooo, the antler out of the tank, Ill test n post params tomorrow and later in the week.
Thanks for the advice everybody, minus the lone bitter comment :P (but i wont hold it against you :] )