Will a skimmer fix my algae?

Ryan1996 · 09/28/2014, 04:55 PM

Hey guys,

First i'd like to say thank you all for all the information you've provided during my first year of reefing, but the problem i'm trying to overcome currently is a little bit of hair algae and which skimmer i should buy. I think that the skimmer is my problem because I have a 120 gallon display tank, 40 gallon sump, and a undersized protein skimmer which is a Reef octopus NW-110. I've ruled out every other possibility, i have two mp40 vortecs for flow, Run gfo and carbon in BRS reactors, nw-110 reef octopus, ATI t5 6x80 sunpower (3 months old) tank started with cured brs reef saver dry rock, I change 15% of total water volume a week using RODI and IO salt, siphon sand weekly and change filter socks every three days.
Also my parameters are

Salinity 35pmm
temp 78-80
alk 7-7.5
calcium 450-500
magnesium 1400
po4 & no3 0

The two protein skimmers i'm look at are the Skimz Monzter SM252 External Protein Skimmer and Reef Octopus 9" Regal 220INT Internal Protein Skimmer. I'm worried about getting a skimmer too big or too small, i plan on having pretty heavy bioload sps reef, which is lightly stocked as of right now. I'd like to spend under 950$ and space for a skimmer isn't a problem unless it's over 30" tall. Also i'm not sure which is better a external or internal, i have a solution to avoid damage if an external skimmer were to overflow. Thanks in advance.

Drae · 09/28/2014, 05:40 PM

A properly sized skimmer will work wonders on your tank. With that budget I'd look into an ATb 840v2. Arguably maybe the best 8" needle wheel skimmer made... ($650 brand new). Everything else your doing sounds like rock solid husbandry IMO. As far as the algae goes I guarantee a new skimmer will help tremendously. Your current skimmer is way to small for your tank. Btw.. Your P04 and NO3 aren't 0. What test kits are you using?

Ryan1996 · 09/28/2014, 05:53 PM

Thank you for the reply, I use Salifert test kits for the po4 and no3, Red sea for the rest. ATB does make a very nice skimmer.

Drae · 09/28/2014, 07:09 PM

Salifert is good for nitrate but no good on phosphates. Get a Hanna ulr phosphorus checker.

geckoejon · 09/29/2014, 04:01 AM

i've read of plenty of tanks testing negative for p04 and n03 because the algae soaks it up. just curious as to where you get your water? have you tested the tds on your ro and salt water?

does you r o fill up with a lot of crud on a very regular basis? seems like it would fill up constantly if it was undersized.

you stated that you have a light load. what and how much are you feeding? light schedule? have chaeto in your sump? my first tank had gha. it was a combo of all those things. i broke it down, and started with a fresh setup. i am currently gha free in all 3 of my tanks now. just trying to toss out some ideas. maybe you have already eliminated these...

have you considered vertex skimmers? maybe a Vertex Omega 180i? they crank out some nasty crud, and a rating much closer to actual usage, and are well built for half your budget. i have a 6" dual recirc in my reef tank, and a vertex omega 130 on my duplex. a vertex takes a couple days to dial in, and then they just crank. personally, i think they both work well, but the vertex is my favored skimmer.

Ryan1996 · 09/29/2014, 02:53 PM

I purify my water with a 4 stage RODI unit which also has a inline TDS meter and i always make sure it's reading 0.

Actually, my current reef octopus barley skims anything at all, i always get tea colored skimmate or a very small amount of thicker sludge, depending on how i set it to skim. The skimmer also sits with very stable water height and I've tried several different depths.

Never tried using macro algae but I plan to once i figure out how much room my new skimmer will take up in my side sump that's currently not being used. I feed 1 cube of mysis shrimp a day and a small 3" x 3" algae sheet for my tangs. The first two bulbs on my 6x80 sun power come on at 8 am and the rest of the bulbs come on at 10am then the four go back off at 5pm then the two bulbs go off at 7 pm

I like the vertex skimmers but if i got one it would probably be a alpha because i feel it would be a waste to get a space saver model when i have plenty of room for any skimmer.

geckoejon · 09/29/2014, 06:14 PM

hmm.... have you cleaned the skimmer pump lately? that is a heavy enough feeding schedule that you should have some serious skimmate. i would be checking the pump, impeller, air intake, ect... if it was under sized, you should be cranking out a bunch! my vertex slowed way down on skimming. i opened up the pump, and found a hand full of small snails in the impeller.

i would definitely get some macro under a light in the sump. i bet it will grow like crazy for awhile! where you have nutrients, water, and light you are going to have algae. personally, i would rather grow it in the sump

you could move it later.

keeping up to date on changing the bulbs? i have led's on my tanks. i've read that t5's require changing them out or you will have algae growth.

that's just my 2 cents... take it for what it's worth. although, i have no algae issues on my 3 tanks, and use a 4 stage ro / di. in my 75g i feed a cube a day of either mysis/cyclopese/enriched brine, spot feed all my lps once a week, and i feed nori sheets.

just trying to toss out some more ideas. it would bite to spend the grand like you are talking on a high tech skimmer and still have the same issue. i just bought 4g worth of high end equipment a couple weeks ago. the guy bought all the high end stuff, and couldn't hardly keep anything alive. literally dozens of dead frags in the bottom of his tank. once i bought his setup for a small fraction of what he had into it, i found out that he was starving the tank for light. black screen top, light hung too far up, and only going up to a max of 40%. so simple, and yet overlooked... it helps to get back to basics sometimes.

scubadan206 · 10/01/2014, 10:53 AM

I would agree with Geckoejon. I have had to clean out snail shells periodically. My system is at the moment very similar to yours. I designed my sump to use the skimmer I had, which is an Octopus HOB model. Mine skims very well as far as I can see. The only reason I would have to upgrade is, to a better more efficient design than the square HOB.

In my experience, a skimmer will not fix an algae problem on it's own. You need to starve it out or get something to eat it. Whatever you can to release the nutrients back into the water column.

If you only have frags in your tank ATM, then move your corals to a temp home where you can sustain them. Then turn off the lights in the DT for a while. The hair algae will dissolve, and your nutrients will spike. Then do a big water change. Also in my experience, tangs like new algae better than old. Kind of like deer and rabbits in the garden.

Daniel.

09/28/2014, 04:55 PM	#1
Ryan1996 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: St augustine FL Posts: 3	Will a skimmer fix my algae? Hey guys, First i'd like to say thank you all for all the information you've provided during my first year of reefing, but the problem i'm trying to overcome currently is a little bit of hair algae and which skimmer i should buy. I think that the skimmer is my problem because I have a 120 gallon display tank, 40 gallon sump, and a undersized protein skimmer which is a Reef octopus NW-110. I've ruled out every other possibility, i have two mp40 vortecs for flow, Run gfo and carbon in BRS reactors, nw-110 reef octopus, ATI t5 6x80 sunpower (3 months old) tank started with cured brs reef saver dry rock, I change 15% of total water volume a week using RODI and IO salt, siphon sand weekly and change filter socks every three days. Also my parameters are Salinity 35pmm temp 78-80 alk 7-7.5 calcium 450-500 magnesium 1400 po4 & no3 0 The two protein skimmers i'm look at are the Skimz Monzter SM252 External Protein Skimmer and Reef Octopus 9" Regal 220INT Internal Protein Skimmer. I'm worried about getting a skimmer too big or too small, i plan on having pretty heavy bioload sps reef, which is lightly stocked as of right now. I'd like to spend under 950$ and space for a skimmer isn't a problem unless it's over 30" tall. Also i'm not sure which is better a external or internal, i have a solution to avoid damage if an external skimmer were to overflow. Thanks in advance.

09/29/2014, 04:01 AM	#5
geckoejon Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: cocoa, florida Posts: 1,278	i've read of plenty of tanks testing negative for p04 and n03 because the algae soaks it up. just curious as to where you get your water? have you tested the tds on your ro and salt water? does you r o fill up with a lot of crud on a very regular basis? seems like it would fill up constantly if it was undersized. you stated that you have a light load. what and how much are you feeding? light schedule? have chaeto in your sump? my first tank had gha. it was a combo of all those things. i broke it down, and started with a fresh setup. i am currently gha free in all 3 of my tanks now. just trying to toss out some ideas. maybe you have already eliminated these... have you considered vertex skimmers? maybe a Vertex Omega 180i? they crank out some nasty crud, and a rating much closer to actual usage, and are well built for half your budget. i have a 6" dual recirc in my reef tank, and a vertex omega 130 on my duplex. a vertex takes a couple days to dial in, and then they just crank. personally, i think they both work well, but the vertex is my favored skimmer. __________________ jonathan -- always curious, trying to learn, and try to pass along what others have shared with me -- Current Tank Info: 220g mixed reef & a red sea reefer bad fish tank :0)

09/29/2014, 06:14 PM	#7
geckoejon Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: cocoa, florida Posts: 1,278	hmm.... have you cleaned the skimmer pump lately? that is a heavy enough feeding schedule that you should have some serious skimmate. i would be checking the pump, impeller, air intake, ect... if it was under sized, you should be cranking out a bunch! my vertex slowed way down on skimming. i opened up the pump, and found a hand full of small snails in the impeller. i would definitely get some macro under a light in the sump. i bet it will grow like crazy for awhile! where you have nutrients, water, and light you are going to have algae. personally, i would rather grow it in the sump you could move it later. keeping up to date on changing the bulbs? i have led's on my tanks. i've read that t5's require changing them out or you will have algae growth. that's just my 2 cents... take it for what it's worth. although, i have no algae issues on my 3 tanks, and use a 4 stage ro / di. in my 75g i feed a cube a day of either mysis/cyclopese/enriched brine, spot feed all my lps once a week, and i feed nori sheets. just trying to toss out some more ideas. it would bite to spend the grand like you are talking on a high tech skimmer and still have the same issue. i just bought 4g worth of high end equipment a couple weeks ago. the guy bought all the high end stuff, and couldn't hardly keep anything alive. literally dozens of dead frags in the bottom of his tank. once i bought his setup for a small fraction of what he had into it, i found out that he was starving the tank for light. black screen top, light hung too far up, and only going up to a max of 40%. so simple, and yet overlooked... it helps to get back to basics sometimes. __________________ jonathan -- always curious, trying to learn, and try to pass along what others have shared with me -- Current Tank Info: 220g mixed reef & a red sea reefer bad fish tank :0)

09/28/2014, 05:40 PM	#2
Drae RAIDER NATION! Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: City of sin... Posts: 3,476	A properly sized skimmer will work wonders on your tank. With that budget I'd look into an ATb 840v2. Arguably maybe the best 8" needle wheel skimmer made... ($650 brand new). Everything else your doing sounds like rock solid husbandry IMO. As far as the algae goes I guarantee a new skimmer will help tremendously. Your current skimmer is way to small for your tank. Btw.. Your P04 and NO3 aren't 0. What test kits are you using?

09/28/2014, 05:53 PM	#3
Ryan1996 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: St augustine FL Posts: 3	Thank you for the reply, I use Salifert test kits for the po4 and no3, Red sea for the rest. ATB does make a very nice skimmer.

09/28/2014, 07:09 PM	#4
Drae RAIDER NATION! Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: City of sin... Posts: 3,476	Salifert is good for nitrate but no good on phosphates. Get a Hanna ulr phosphorus checker.

09/29/2014, 02:53 PM	#6
Ryan1996 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: St augustine FL Posts: 3	I purify my water with a 4 stage RODI unit which also has a inline TDS meter and i always make sure it's reading 0. Actually, my current reef octopus barley skims anything at all, i always get tea colored skimmate or a very small amount of thicker sludge, depending on how i set it to skim. The skimmer also sits with very stable water height and I've tried several different depths. Never tried using macro algae but I plan to once i figure out how much room my new skimmer will take up in my side sump that's currently not being used. I feed 1 cube of mysis shrimp a day and a small 3" x 3" algae sheet for my tangs. The first two bulbs on my 6x80 sun power come on at 8 am and the rest of the bulbs come on at 10am then the four go back off at 5pm then the two bulbs go off at 7 pm I like the vertex skimmers but if i got one it would probably be a alpha because i feel it would be a waste to get a space saver model when i have plenty of room for any skimmer.

10/01/2014, 10:53 AM	#8
scubadan206 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Kenosha WI Posts: 985	I would agree with Geckoejon. I have had to clean out snail shells periodically. My system is at the moment very similar to yours. I designed my sump to use the skimmer I had, which is an Octopus HOB model. Mine skims very well as far as I can see. The only reason I would have to upgrade is, to a better more efficient design than the square HOB. In my experience, a skimmer will not fix an algae problem on it's own. You need to starve it out or get something to eat it. Whatever you can to release the nutrients back into the water column. If you only have frags in your tank ATM, then move your corals to a temp home where you can sustain them. Then turn off the lights in the DT for a while. The hair algae will dissolve, and your nutrients will spike. Then do a big water change. Also in my experience, tangs like new algae better than old. Kind of like deer and rabbits in the garden. Daniel.