Sat

[Becki67]

I've been catching up on my reef reading (slow day at work) and I've noticed a lot of individuals mentioning SAT. We have had constant outbreaks of the brown algae daily since we first cycled our tank. We did have a horrible outbreak of hair algae, too, but Shrek took care of that.

Will the SAT take care of the brown algae? We've tried everything but it still keeps coming. Our LFS told us that the hundreds of gallons of RO water we buy from them has copper in it so we bought some stuff to take that out. But, that didn't help.

Any suggestions?

 

[yote]

Their RO water should not have any copper in it AT ALL.Copper= death to inverts like starfish,pods,worms,corals,shrimps.Do yourself a favor and pick up a copper test kit.Test their water before ever mixing salt in it.If it shows copper,take all the rock,sand,animals,tank,the whole 9 yards to them,tell them to shove it where the sun dont shine.And then find a new store and start all over.
Now for S.A.T..It will help with the algae,although not over night.Its a live bacteria that help lower nitrates and phosphates.It effectively out competes the algae for nutrients.

 

[ccCapt]

WOW, if their RO water has copper, they are adding it after it's been filtered. I'm with yote here. Test for copper and if any shows up, take everything back to them.
As far as that SAT stuff, I'm a firm believer in finding the source of your problem (probably excessive nutrients) and fixing it. You have nusiance algea for a reason. Find out why. Low quality water for water changes? Overfeeding? High nitrates, phosphates, silicates?

 

[daugherty]

ro water should have nothing in it. if it does have copper in it your rock and sand are trash. and i would make them pay for it.

 

[Bifferwine]

Like others have said, copper is fatal (even in miniscule doses) to all types of inverts. Copper will permeate your sand and rocks, making them totally unusable. I agree with everyone else, get a copper test ASAP and test your water. If it has even a trace of copper in it, your entire tank has been jeopardized, and your rocks and sand are worthless (short of using acid to soak the rock and strip it, which is usually more trouble than it's worth).

My LFS has all their fish only sale tanks copper treated, so the water in the bag that the fish come with has copper in it (this is fairly common for stores to do). But I have NEVER heard of a fish store making RODI water and selling that with copper in it. That is death to a reef tank.

There is filter media you can buy (like carbon) to take copper out of the water, but the problem is that once you've had copper in your tank, your rocks and sand will continue to leach it out for the indefinite future. Basically, if your tank is testing positive for copper, you need to scrap everything and start over again.

Sorry, but Marine SAT and algae are the least of your problems now.

 

[Hornet]

Maybe now might be a good time to consider purchasing your own RODI filter. Least then you can have no worries about the water your putting in your tank. Plus you don't have to lug water from the LFS.