Coral Reef Forum

Algae needs 3 things to grow in your tank. 

1. Nitrate
2. Phosphate
3. Light

What I do is prefilter the water with phosphate pads, that way it reduces the phosphates in the water and it is a lot cheaper than buying a RO Unit.  I would also treat the water with the proper chemicals to also reduce the nitrates that way I have pure water when I do a water change.

Hum.......i think I am battling an algae bloom right now. I can use my little magnetic tank cleaner three times a day, and there still seems to be a green algae film on my glass all the time.  When I go over it with the magnetic cleaner, the algae looks like whisps of green smoke trailing off the glass. 

I have only had my tank set up for a month, but recenly there has been an  over abundance of algae.  I do not have an RO/DI filter yet.  I have been been getting water from a machine outisde the grocery store that says it uses RO as its filtering process, but even with weekly water changes, I am not seeing an improvement.  I am thinking of changing 25% of the water twice a week until the algae stablizes.  Any thoughts?  Some additional information:  I leave the lights on for 12hrs per day, we feed our fish a small ammount twice a day, and our nitrate, and nitrite levels are 0ppm.  (we have the water tested once a week) PH was a little high this past week at 8.8 this was the day before our weekly water change. 

Jhw81 at 09:15PM on Feb 16, 2010

Hum.......i think I am battling an algae bloom right now. I can use my little magnetic tank cleaner three times a day, and there still seems to be a green algae film on my glass all the time.  When I go over it with the magnetic cleaner, the algae looks like whisps of green smoke trailing off the glass. 

I have only had my tank set up for a month, but recenly there has been an  over abundance of algae.  I do not have an RO/DI filter yet.  I have been been getting water from a machine outisde the grocery store that says it uses RO as its filtering process, but even with weekly water changes, I am not seeing an improvement.  I am thinking of changing 25% of the water twice a week until the algae stablizes.  Any thoughts?  Some additional information:  I leave the lights on for 12hrs per day, we feed our fish a small ammount twice a day, and our nitrate, and nitrite levels are 0ppm.  (we have the water tested once a week) PH was a little high this past week at 8.8 this was the day before our weekly water change. 

I wouldn't trust the water at the grocery store because it may not be properly filtered.  You should check your phosphates levels in your tank.  Phosphate leads to algae blooms.  To get the highest highest level of water pureness, you must use a RODI unit.  Remember tap water is different everywhere you go. You should not do a water change twice a day. I do not use a RODI unit, you can check out my video on how I treat my water in the videos section.  Also a protein skimmer could also help your situation.  You have to find what works for you.  Everyone does saltwater differently.  Here I show what works for me, check out the video's section.

nycoralfrags at 05:09PM on Feb 17, 2010

Jhw81 at 09:15PM on Feb 16, 2010

Hum.......i think I am battling an algae bloom right now. I can use my little magnetic tank cleaner three times a day, and there still seems to be a green algae film on my glass all the time.  When I go over it with the magnetic cleaner, the algae looks like whisps of green smoke trailing off the glass. 

I have only had my tank set up for a month, but recenly there has been an  over abundance of algae.  I do not have an RO/DI filter yet.  I have been been getting water from a machine outisde the grocery store that says it uses RO as its filtering process, but even with weekly water changes, I am not seeing an improvement.  I am thinking of changing 25% of the water twice a week until the algae stablizes.  Any thoughts?  Some additional information:  I leave the lights on for 12hrs per day, we feed our fish a small ammount twice a day, and our nitrate, and nitrite levels are 0ppm.  (we have the water tested once a week) PH was a little high this past week at 8.8 this was the day before our weekly water change. 

I wouldn't trust the water at the grocery store because it may not be properly filtered.  You should check your phosphates levels in your tank.  Phosphate leads to algae blooms.  To get the highest highest level of water pureness, you must use a RODI unit.  Remember tap water is different everywhere you go. You should not do a water change twice a day. I do not use a RODI unit, you can check out my video on how I treat my water in the videos section.  Also a protein skimmer could also help your situation.  You have to find what works for you.  Everyone does saltwater differently.  Here I show what works for me, check out the video's section.

Thanks!!  I will take a look at your video section.  As for the protein skimmer, it is next on my list.  I was looking at the Biocube brand made for my setup, what do you use on your Biocube?  Once again thanks!  My girlfriend and I are both new to saltwater, and fish tanks in general, so any info helps. 

jimmy

For me I just bought the skimmer the Oceanic had to offer for the Biocube.  Make sure you do your research on salt water tanks and you will be on your way to having one beautiful tank