R.Kowalski
Member
coralline algae?
Why the 2 hour off period in the middle?I have two compact fluoresccents 96 watts each on 3 1/2 hours off two then on four another 5 1/2 hours.
Reducing the photoperiod will help when adding/increasing lighting to prevent new algae growth but rarely does much when the algae has already established itself IME. With hair algae the best means of erradication is manual removal as often as possible. If you have a good amount of grazing snails (primarly turban species) they will keep it short. Most types of "cleaning animals" you will add will have a hard time with long growing algaes. If the algae is pruned by you as well, they will show much more interest in it. You need to also find the source of nutrient fueling it's growth. If the tanks been established for any length of time, I usually find food types used to be the culprit, primarily flake/dried. Increased frequencey of water changes with RO/DI water and a quality skimmer will also help.R.Kowalski said:The two hour off period was some advice I was given for interrupting the growth of green thread? algae.
The ideal range for both of those is undetectable. Nitrites must be zero but the animals (depending on species) can tolerate nitrates to a degree, still a worthy goal to eliminate them.I use the easy test strips for testing my tank. It says the nitrates and nitrites are in the ideal range, I forgot what the equivalents are for readings. I'll have to check the coralline algae more closely to see if they are peeling.
Generally speaking this is a very poor choice in skimmers for efficiencey and performance. How much skimmate are you removing weekly?R.Kowalski said:a seaclone100 protein skimmer
This will help with nutrient export only if the algaes are being harvested and tossed in the refuse on a regular basis. The nutrient remains bound up in the algae but if it dies some, the nutrient is released again so be sure you remove it instead. This will also help prevent it from reproducing sexually. Caulerpa's are not that well recommended to keep in the main system, personally I would opt for a non caulerpa species (caulerpacin problems) in a refugium application.There are two types of caluerpa and atleast several species of different algaes growing in the tank along with the coralline algae.
RO water alone will not be sufficient when dealing with nuisance algaes. The membrane is not sufficient to remove PO4 and Si. Only a ion exchange resin/DI stage can do that. I would be worth the extra bit to add that. Home depot should have it for quite reasonable price.I use ro water for water changes. maybe I've been feeding more then I used to.
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