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cinematek
11/25/2007, 09:34 PM
I am battling green hair algae. Research led me to go buy a phosphate reactor, some phosban and a Salifert PO4 test kit.

I did an initial test before hooking up the reactor, and was surprised to get toally clear results. 0 phosphates! I did the test again, this time doubling the quantities. Still 0 phosphates.

I thought I would do a "control" test using tap water. Same results.

Has anoyone else had this experience with the Salifert Phosphate kit?

Aquarist007
11/26/2007, 09:50 AM
its not the kit---this is a natural occurence in many cases--the algae is eating the phosphates as quick as they are being added to the tank--so you get a 0 reading.

I would check how the phosphates are being introduced to your tank:
use only r/0 water
feed less but more often
risnse all frozen food with r/0 water or tank water prior to using
consider running phosban in a phosban reactor.
lightly baste the substrate and rocks weekly with a turkey baster--this gets debris back into the water cycle where it can be filtered off.
what's the actual flow rate through the sump--should be only about 3-5 times total water column for skimmer to work effectively.

bertoni
11/26/2007, 03:48 PM
I agree that the test kit probably is fine. The more common approaches to hair algae problems are better skimming or growing and harvesting a macroalga. A phosphate reactor often seems to be able to outcompete algae as well.

cinematek
11/27/2007, 08:39 AM
Thanks for the great feedback, team!

My answers to capn_hylinur's suggestions...
- I only use r/o in my tank
- I used to feed every day, alternating between a pinch of pellet food and a half-cube of frozen mysis. I either let the mysis defrost before feeding or I "quick defrost" under tap water at the advice of my lfs. Perhaps this is one source of phosphates? Since the big hair algae outbreak (past 2 months) I have reduced feedings to every other day.
- I started running phosban in a phosban reactor two days ago. It's the via aqua reactor with PhosBan media - if that matters.
- I blew off the rocks with my powerhead before my last water change, but that was only the second time I had cleaned the rocks in the 8 months I've had my tank. I will do this more often now.
- According to the RC head loss calc, my return pump is giving me 167 GPH. For a 25 G system, this represents a 6.7x total volume overturn rate - a bit higher than you recommend, although it doesn't seem excessive. Should I look at ways to reduce the flow, or am I okay?

cinematek
11/27/2007, 08:56 AM
Also, do I need to be concerned about removing the algae as it dies? I have a cleanup crew, although it's not huge. 5-6 hermits. About 10 Nassarius snails, 5-6 margaritas and 2 turbos. I also have a purple sea urchin.

Here's a picture from a few weeks ago, but the algae level is about the same - maybe a bit more algae now. I have also added 2 new corals since this pic was taken. There is now an 8-inch tongue coral and a slightly-bigger-then-fist-sized flower pot on the left side of the rockwork.

http://mikedp.com/images/tank/tank_ws.jpg