GFO Reactor or New Skimmer or ???

[Cheechako]

I've been battling green hair algae for about a year now and it's very frustrating.

Here are my tank specs:

46 gal bow front
DIY 10 gal sump with refugium
2 Koralia 750
Tunze DOC Nano skimmer (pulls out only a couple ml of green gook a week)
50-60 lbs live rock
Use only RO/DI water for topoff and water changes (Instant Ocean salt mix)
AquaClear HOB filter with GFO and PhosGuard in separate media bags

Nitrates 0
Phosphates read 0 (Salifert test)
SG 1.025
pH 7.9 (can't seem to get it above this number... Kalk in ATO water?)
Temp 78-80
5 gal water changes every two to three weeks.

Mix of soft and hard corals
Handful of hermit crabs
Couple turbo snails
2 maroon clowns, Tomini Tang, Sixline Wrasse, Yasha Gobi shackin up with a pistol shrimp)

I've tried several things to get rid of the hair algae:
- Manually remove (just can't get to it all, even pulling the rocks out individually and scrubbing)
- I dipped my refugium rocks in diluted Hydrogen Peroxide (that actually worked, there's no more down there, PLUS I've permanently shut off the light down there) - NOT an option for all the rock in my display tank.
- Vodka dosing (clear water, no change in algae, not able to consistently dose because of multi-day work schedule)
- Sea Hares (gone through 4 of these guys- they ROCK when it comes to snarfing up the algae, but when it's gone, they die.. willing to try again and get some Nori sheets??)
- API Algaefix (tried this about 8 months ago, was inconsistent... giving it another go)

So now I have a couple hundred bucks saved up to get some new equipment.

I'm looking at either a GFO/Carbon reactor from BRS or a new skimmer (one to hang on the sump- no room in the refugium. Looking at Octopus BH-1000(100?) or Aquamaxx HOB)

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Skimmy]

46g with a tunze 9002?? thats definately part of your problem...
so you've saved a couple hundred for new filtration?? well you can get both new gfo reactor and new skimmer...
and yes, you do have room in your sump...
even if you have to start over with a new 10g tank and some eggcrate baffles for a sump...which is mega cheap at petco/petsmart,
but im hoping you might b able to even get a 20g under the 45g bow...it would depend upon your stand.
so for a 45g tank w/10g skimmer/fuge sump,you could do this skimmer:
65 GALLON PROTEIN SKIMMER
and this media reactor:
SWC 80 Reactor

done and done...

 

[Skimmy]

if you can get a 20g under your tank, then i would get the bigger skimmer:
150 Gallon 2 pieces Protein Skimmer

and honestly, that bigger skimmer can still fit in a 10g, it would take up the first seven inches, then baffle, then leaving you about 12x12" to split between a
fuge and end chamber for return pump. iif it was me, i would put the bigger skimmer in the 10g. especially at that price...

and as far as the 7.9 ph...
are you buffing ALL your top off water with ph/alk buffer?? because if your not then your just diluting your ph down with fresh ro water which is usually around 7.0 ph

and get that tang out of a 36" aquarium!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cheechako]

Thanks, Skimmy!

I just might be able to get that skimmer in my fuge/return chamber.... I'm not real keen on getting a 20 gal sump. I've got just enough room underneath the display tank for my 10 gal, some storage, and my ato tank.

I could just move the crushed coral and some rock rubble to the first chamber (where the Tunze is now) and have my skimmer and return occupy the large chamber with maybe a couple pieces of live rock??

I like the look of that skimmer... do you have any experience with the SCA skimmer?

Here's my current setup...

 

[Skimmy]

the sca skimmer is a knock off of a knock off...
they are pretty new, and completely new to me...
but whats not new to me is the pump they are using,
the atmann pumps are a less expensive chinese pump,
but they are just as good as the pump on an octopus skimmer,
better than the pumps on vertex skimmers,
and the same pumps as what are on some eshopps, SWC and bubble magus skimmers.
the design of the body it's self is pretty solid, the sca -65 being almost identical to a bubble magus nac-3.5 skimmer:
BUBBLE-MAGUS - Aquarium Internal skimmer|external skimmer|Dosing pump|Calcium reactor|Nitrate reductor/NO3 reductor|Filters|Turtle shell lampshade|Water monitor and controller|Additives|moonlight LED
and the larger pump in skimmer body sca 302 skimmer almost identical to the nac-7 cone as well:
BUBBLE-MAGUS - Aquarium Internal skimmer|external skimmer|Dosing pump|Calcium reactor|Nitrate reductor/NO3 reductor|Filters|Turtle shell lampshade|Water monitor and controller|Additives|moonlight LED

 

[Cheechako]

Ordered the 65 gal skimmer, should be here by the end of the week!

I also ordered a GFO reactor from Bulk Reek Supply.

I think I can remove one of the baffles and fit the skimmer in the first chamber and keep the cube/return chamber the same size.

Thanks, again, Skimmy.


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