biomax

[Rcpilot]

Dude,

This is EASY as eating apple pie.

You got hair algae because you got nitrates. You have large aggressive fish that eat a lot and that makes ammonia which is broken down into nitrates by your biological filtration.

All ya need is some cheato macroalgae. Use it just like a filter. It grows when you feed it nitrates and phosphates. Put some in the sump under any cheap light and cut it back 50% every month. Toss it in the trash.

All the fancy chemicals and filters in the world won't do as good a job as natural cheatomorpha macroalgae.

A DSB would help too. They convert nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas.

[UnderwaterWorld]

run phosphate remover, get chaeto, do more frequent water changes, use RO water only, and check out the Coralife Super Skimmer, it can be in sump or HOB I believe

[bri74]

Originally Posted by Rcpilot

Dude,

This is EASY as eating apple pie.

You got hair algae because you got nitrates. You have large aggressive fish that eat a lot and that makes ammonia which is broken down into nitrates by your biological filtration.

All ya need is some cheato macroalgae. Use it just like a filter. It grows when you feed it nitrates and phosphates. Put some in the sump under any cheap light and cut it back 50% every month. Toss it in the trash.

All the fancy chemicals and filters in the world won't do as good a job as natural cheatomorpha macroalgae.

A DSB would help too. They convert nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas.

k cool I will get one of those baskets that hang in the tank to put the cheato in cause I dont have a sump. My sand bed is about 3 inches deep.

[Rcpilot]

Originally Posted by bri74

k cool I will get one of those baskets that hang in the tank to put the cheato in cause I dont have a sump. My sand bed is about 3 inches deep.

You can run a CPR in-tank refugium. I'll bet it could be hidden reasonably well with rockwork. Maybe do a little aquascaping?

http://www.cpraquatic.com/products/citr.html

Some retailers:
Small
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt..._~vendor~.html

Large
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt..._~vendor~.html

I just bought one of these for a nano. It would be great on your tank with a DSB and some cheato.
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp...rodID=292&HS=1

I'm running a MJ900 on this. It has a built in skimmer and a compartment for the DSB thats 8.5" deep. 10lbs of live sand in mine made exactly 8" of sand bed. Perfect!! That will provide good denitrification. You could do the same thing. 10lbs of sand, a 10w clip-on light and a hunk of cheato and I can almost promise you'll never have nitrates again. It's going to make the tank healthier overall.

Do you have room for it? It's 14" long and sticks up 5" above the back of the tank. The cup sticks out about 3" on top of that. So you'd need 8" in one corner for the cup to stick out the top.

[McCrary]

GFO = Granular Ferric Oxide, its a good phosphate binder. Unless you have a colorimeter (or the Merck test) I wouldn't worry too much about testing for phosphates, its probably on par with asking a magic eight ball (that may be a little extreme, but not by much). Phosphates are why most people have algae. Mainly because phosphate testing requires expensive testing equipment and it can be easily overlooked. Set up a cheap reactor, two little fishes comes to mind, and fill it with a good GFO (running a good GFO on a schedule can eliminate the need to test phosphates for the most part). Aluminum based phosphate binders are inferior and there has been speculation about aluminum leeching, which can have negative affects on some coral. Dissolved organics are another problem and are usually the result of tanks that have undersized skimmers, insufficient water changes or too many feedings. With your very heavy bioload I would bet that your water is logged with organics. Chaeto is a great way to remove organics, so is upgrading the skimmer.

[bri74]

what about a in tank refugium such as this one?
http://www.aquariumguys.com/refugium.html

[bri74]

Originally Posted by bri74

what about a in tank refugium such as this one?
http://www.aquariumguys.com/refugium.html

nm I found the one I want. Thanks for the help everyone