So, I am taking a moment to jot down some thoughts and questions related to an issue I am having because it is so pervasive in nature, and pervasive problems tend to be the types that drive people away from our hobby. Now, I’m not there yet - far from it, but these issues seem to be turning my hair even more prematurely gray than normal, and are certainly diminishing my enjoyment of my small reef tank.
I have two setups, a 29 gallon prop tank (with a 29 gallon
sump/fuge) and a 29 gallon display tank. I have protein
skimmers on both setups. I believe the hair algae came into my system on a
frag, which was placed in the prop tank, and which has since been pervasive in both. Oddly, my
phosphates in both tanks test at ZERO, and as I mentioned previously, I do have a
sump/fuge on the prop tank, which I thought would remove most of those types of inorganics from the water column.The best advice I have at this time (from what I regard to be an exceptionally reliable source) is that most
phosphate testing kits are crap, and that I just need to invest in some phos-ban or similar
phosphate removing product, the hair algae will die off (I will need to keep my eye on this and do a significant water change) and then I will be good to go.
Now assuming this solution works (and by the time I have posted this, I will have phos-ban actively running in BOTH systems) the question is WHY did this happen and HOW can I prevent it in the future? I am running
RO/DI water with 0
ppm total dissolved solids. Should I be further treating this water before putting it in my tank? Is there something proactive I can do?
Now, on to the
Cyanobacteria. I have been told that lack of flow and overfeeding are the two main sources of
cyano outbreaks. Additionally, lighting may or may not play a part. Well, in my little 29 gallon reef, I have TWO Seio 620 power heads, for a combined flow of 1240
GPH. Thats over 40X flow, which I purposely did to avoid problems such as this. Additionally, I have cut WAY back on my feedings, to once a week or LESS (the fish don’t seem as fat, but aren’t emaciated, by any means) I run a Coralife Power Compact hood with the 10K,
Actinic and Moon Lights. The bulbs are brand-spanking new.
I will also add that I have several Aptasia anemones in there... I keep nuking them with Joes Juice, but they are apparently fruitful. SOMETHING is feeding these nuisances, but I don’t know what.
I have used used a
cyano treatment several times, with
skimmer turned off. I don’t remember what brand it was (I can easily find out) but it seems to knock it down a little, for a while (my leathers don’t like it much) but inevitably the stuff comes back.
This morning I ONCE AGAIN fished a ton of this crap out of the tank, and I am going to treat it again. But after that, what will it take? I have seriously considered removing EVERYTHING and starting from scratch! Now I hope it doesn’t come down to that, but I am at least being honest in admitting it as a possible course of action.
The ONLY thing I have been lax about is my water changes. It’s the summer... and it always seems to work this way. So, for both problems, perhaps this is a mitigating factor that can only be attributed to my own laziness. I’m prepared to hear that answer as well. Actually, I’m prepared to hear just about any answer that helps me solve this problem.
So, have I provided enough information? Do you understand my question / dilemma?
I’d sure love to hear your input.
