Phosban reactor a necessity?

[JCT]

Hi all,

Tanks been up about 6 weeks, has cycled and parameters all look good. CUC has been in about 2 weeks and are doing a reasonable job. Definitely had some phosphates measured at ~ 0.03, probably led to the algae in the pics below. I have since scrubbed the green algae away, scolded the CUC and added chemi-pure elite on top of the little refugium in the 2nd chamber of the 34G Solana.

I'm concerned regarding the algae and whether the current measures will keep things in check once I add some wildlife. Had these pics posted in my tank thread and Lenny suggested we set up a phosban reactor ASAP. I suppose we could go ahead and do this, but I'm curious as to how many folks go this route on such a small tank. Wouldn't mind some input as we're a little discouraged around here. And we have only used RO/DI water in the tank with weekly 5-gal water changes.

FTS_Nov

Side View Nov

Top down Nov

What are these guys?

Thanks,

JT

 

[DrHarryLopez]

Congrats n welcome to MR. You will need some sort of phosphate and nitrate removing system. Phosban reactor is a current system. For your 34 g tank I'm not sure if you may need it, the experts on smaller tanks will chime in later.

 

[Mikei70]

Your tank looks good-- you have some nice rock in there. The phosban reactor isn't a necessity, but it helps keep phosphates down between water changes. It might help you knock out that algae you have growing on the back before it spreads any more.

Those reddish things look like red macro algae to me. Nothing wrong with leaving it in there-- it's not harmful and looks nice-- but don't get too attached to it. Some fish might eat it.

 

[JimmyR1rider]

A phos ban reactor is not on the level of being a necessity until you have a tank with a fair amount of SPS corals BUT it can never hurt and will always help. If you had phosphates show up on a test kit- theyre a lot heavier than they show I would bet. The only true way to get phosphate readings is with a hanna meter. If thats what you used Id say that was the acual level of PO4 if a test kit- theyre not accurate and I wouldnt rely on them.

For the little bit of money youll invest in running a reactor with phos ban in it I think its well worth the thousands of dolars of investment youll possibly have along the way in corals.

I would also run carbon as well just to polish your water that much more.

Just my $0.02

 

[JCT]

OK, I definitely feel better-- I was at a loss as to why I would be battling phosphates/algae with such a negligible bioload right off the bat. But the point is very well taken that for a relatively minor expense I can get a handle on this.

Thanks for the diagnosis on the red growths, Mike -- I was a bit worried. I'm really happy with the way the rock "grew out". It has been a fun process to watch.

That's a great point re: the sensitivity (or lack thereof) regarding the phosphate test kits (didn't use a meter). I actually added Chemi-pure elite over the weekend and it seems to have some charcoal in it, the clarity of the water the next day was almost startling.

Since the pics were taken I have removed much of the algae off the wall to get ahead of the game, but it does crop back up (slowly). I'm hoping the chaeto in the refugium will also help compete out the algae over time.

So I think I will invest in a phosban reactor and nail this problem down before I add any corals or fish.

Thanks guys!

JT

 

[JimmyR1rider]

No prob- you can get a TLF- TwoLittleFishies phosban reactor for under $30 and the phosban will run you another 20 or so.

All you need then is some black vinyl tubing, some elbows and a mini-jet 404 pump for it. Loop it from and back to the return chamber of your sump or from wherever you put the pump.(thats up to you)

If you used lights during your cycle before you put in your CUC all that does is aid in the growth of algae and may have been where your algae got its foothold.

But no matter what you can always get a hold on it again- will just take time.

Remember....Diatom outbreaks, green hair algae, cyanobacteria(red slime algae) all will occur throughout different points of you having your tank. Its a matter of not freaking out, asking lots of questions to reputable people and erradicating the issue that causes them.

Only hint I can give you also is dont cut back your lighting cycle unless you have them on for much longer than you should-which I doubt you do. Eliminating the light the algae needs to grow doesnt solve it, as soon as you bring your light cycle back to where it should be itll come back. Same with cyano thats usually caused by high nitrates. Increase your flow, heavier water changes etc. will help get rid of it, cutting back your lighting cycle is never the fix, you need to rid the system of whats causing it, once you do that youll have it whooped and will know what to do next time if it happens again as well.


Best of luck with the tank and welcome to the hobby and to MR......Jimmy

 

[masterswimmer]

No prob- you can get a TLF- TwoLittleFishies phosban reactor for under $30 and the phosban will run you another 20 or so.

All you need then is some black vinyl tubing, some elbows and a mini-jet 404 pump for it. Loop it from and back to the return chamber of your sump or from wherever you put the pump.(thats up to you)

If you used lights during your cycle before you put in your CUC all that does is aid in the growth of algae and may have been where your algae got its foothold.

But no matter what you can always get a hold on it again- will just take time.

Remember....Diatom outbreaks, green hair algae, cyanobacteria(red slime algae) all will occur throughout different points of you having your tank. Its a matter of not freaking out, asking lots of questions to reputable people and erradicating the issue that causes them.

Only hint I can give you also is dont cut back your lighting cycle unless you have them on for much longer than you should-which I doubt you do. Eliminating the light the algae needs to grow doesnt solve it, as soon as you bring your light cycle back to where it should be itll come back. Same with cyano thats usually caused by high nitrates. Increase your flow, heavier water changes etc. will help get rid of it, cutting back your lighting cycle is never the fix, you need to rid the system of whats causing it, once you do that youll have it whooped and will know what to do next time if it happens again as well.


Best of luck with the tank and welcome to the hobby and to MR......Jimmy

+1
Wow, that was some really nicely thought out info. Good job Jimmy.

- I'd also reduce your feedings, most people overfeed their tanks.
- If you feed frozen food (specifically the cubed mysis), you should thaw the cubes in tank water and rinse the thawed mysis either in more tank water or RO/DI water. The gel that the mysis is frozen in is loaded with phosphates and nitrates.

And as the others have said, welcome to MR.

Russ

 

[JCT]

That's an awesome how-to, Jimmy -- thanks a million. I had only pulled the lighting back by a hour to start, I'll readjust it back up after the reactor is up early next week.

And hah, Russ -- that rock came from Jim's tank, I'm heading over to your site to order the reactor stuff now...

This is what worried me about the algae as we aren't feeding *anything* as of yet.

Hopefully this will do the trick!

Jil

 

[JimmyR1rider]

Anytime Jil,

Im sure Jim or Russ will tell you too but remember to rinse the phosban real well until clear water comes out of it before using. It has a lot of dust on the surface that needs to be washed off before using. The correct flow to set it at is when the surface looks kind of like its boiling without the grains of media goin waterborn.

Also a little trick to get the vinyl hose on the elbows(if you dont already know I didnt and Russ had to tell me about it) is to heat a small pot of water to a boil, dip the last couple of inches of the hose in the water for 15 seconds or so then slide it on the elbow. After the second or third one youre gonna think you burned the snot out of your hand but hey itll let ya know youre alive lol. As the hose cools itll tighten onto the elbow nicely.

 

[pweissma]

Hi and welcome to MR. New tanks usually have an initial algae bloom that later subsides. I used chemipure elite in my Solana for a while and thought it did a great job. I also had it in the second chamber and I should warn you of a potential problem. For me, after a while the chemipure elite got a bit guncked up and water didn't flow through so easily. This caused a difference in water volume between the second and third chambers. Since I have my ATO sensor in the the third chamber, fresh water was added to raise the water level causing a decrease in salinity. The solution was to move the chemipure elite to the third chamber.
I now have a some some sensitive stuff in my tank and use a reactor. If you can hang it on the back of the tank and don't mind the look then this is an easy way to go. I have a BRS reactor under the tank in the cabinet. With the bracket removed it fits nicely. If you plan to set it up this way then you would need an additional ball valve on the input side so the water doesn't siphon out when you change media. You would also need a good pump such as an MJ1200 that can handle the head height. Otherwise you may run into problems getting the pump going after a water change do to air in the line. I also have a T on the output side and use the return to siphon water out when I do my water changes. I could post pictures if you're interested.