so for those following along a brief update before getting to the point.
my 50 gallon has had a horrendous out break of algae!!! and it looks like a few different types .. so my journey to battle this pest has taken me to some odd places and now i have a few thoughts that i would really love some advice on...
step one 2x HOB filters with pads on front of tank, turkey baster, and blow the junk up into the water column to pull it out..
effect 24 hours then back to square 1
ok step two leave 1x hob on the tank (placed in back) changing pad every 48-72 hours do 12 gallon water change and research my eyes out!!!!
effect 24 hours or so and still an issue but not as bad
step three on day 3 after last water change do it again this time gravel vac the sand bed supper clean (back to white!!) read that carbon could be a contributor (especially old stuff and mine is about 4 months old) remove all 3 bags from the sump (just for kicks i put it in a bucket and added some clean water to it to rinse and see how bad it was the water almost instantly turned to mud!! this may have been a huge part of the issue)
this was last night so at this point i am not sure of the effect but after more research i have begin to consider bulding a phosban reactor, and or running some chemi-pure. i have one more water change to do this week just to make me happy and to continue on the original plan.
recent changes to the system were addition of a sound muffler to the skimmer air input (works great but not related) and changing to new piping for the over flow (went from 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch the flow is much much faster now!!)
also a recent addition to the tank is a pencil urchin who does not appear to be even attempting to eat the algae... (potential bad health and only having it since Friday may be a contributor here)
ideas thoughts concerns questions all welcome
before its asked i use treated tap water and have done so since day one this outbreak is only in the last 2-3 weeks
my 50 gallon has had a horrendous out break of algae!!! and it looks like a few different types .. so my journey to battle this pest has taken me to some odd places and now i have a few thoughts that i would really love some advice on...
step one 2x HOB filters with pads on front of tank, turkey baster, and blow the junk up into the water column to pull it out..
effect 24 hours then back to square 1
ok step two leave 1x hob on the tank (placed in back) changing pad every 48-72 hours do 12 gallon water change and research my eyes out!!!!
effect 24 hours or so and still an issue but not as bad
step three on day 3 after last water change do it again this time gravel vac the sand bed supper clean (back to white!!) read that carbon could be a contributor (especially old stuff and mine is about 4 months old) remove all 3 bags from the sump (just for kicks i put it in a bucket and added some clean water to it to rinse and see how bad it was the water almost instantly turned to mud!! this may have been a huge part of the issue)
this was last night so at this point i am not sure of the effect but after more research i have begin to consider bulding a phosban reactor, and or running some chemi-pure. i have one more water change to do this week just to make me happy and to continue on the original plan.
recent changes to the system were addition of a sound muffler to the skimmer air input (works great but not related) and changing to new piping for the over flow (went from 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch the flow is much much faster now!!)
also a recent addition to the tank is a pencil urchin who does not appear to be even attempting to eat the algae... (potential bad health and only having it since Friday may be a contributor here)
ideas thoughts concerns questions all welcome
before its asked i use treated tap water and have done so since day one this outbreak is only in the last 2-3 weeks