Hey what’s everyone using for po4 testing? I’m torn between using Red Sea, Salifert, or Hanna checker. I’d like to go with the digital but I’m breaking down and buying a reactor and GFO. So I’m trying to keep my cost down since I’ll be dosing as well. Red Sea didn’t get good reviews on BRS or Amazon and everyone loves the Hanna checker… Just wanna know what everyone else uses! Thanks!
If you’re going to keep SPS, and keep your nutrients on the low side, i.e. PO4 ~ .03, I would suggest using a Hanna checker as the most accurate of the hobby grade test kits available to us. The phosphorus checker would be the most accurate in the ultra low range, 0-200ppb(0.0-0.6ppm).
I have a heavy live stock which in turns means heavy feeding to keep aggression down. I’ll prob quit being cheap and just go with the Hanna but I didn’t know what other experiences ppl had w/ the other ones
I’ve also been doing some reading and it seems GFO will rob your tank of essential elements so I’ll have to dose… Anyone ever use BRS dosing pumps and chemicals?
Justin you need to slow down a little bit! Your tank is heavier populated? What does that mean? You dont need to start dosing instantly! And with that being said all you need to dose is trace elements! And if you keep up with water changes your trace elements come in your salt.
You shouldnt make 10 changes at the same time. If ::hitsthefan::shit hits the fan you have no idea what caused it and why! Algea scrubber will help with po3, however if your limit on space then gfo is the answer. I run gfo and carbon and only things i add is trace(mostly cause im too lazy to do wc),iodine, sometimes ph buffer and my calcium reactor. I have alot more live stock then you do and i dont have to dose very much.
LoL I’m not going too crazy… I have around 30 fish in 300 total gallon system. I also am “lazy” when it comes to water changes just because of the process of how I have to do it here… I do have an algae scrubber and a large protein skimmer but I feed very heavy due to the 5 tangs and 10 clowns I have (there are 15 other fish I have too). I want to be prepared to dose and not just dose right away. I’m just setting up a more efficient tank because I am tired of the lack of color in my tank and I want to have nice coral
Ok so no dosing pumps or craziness like that yet, but I do have algae issues that I need to resolve. So I’m going to press on w/ the GFO setup and monitor from there. I’m trying to revamp my ro/di station in the basement and if I had a basement sump it would make life easier! :
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Hey you said it not me!
Im not sure you can afford to be lazy if you have a setup like that. I think people who do what your doing plan ahead and expect these problems. So the po3 problem is it causing an algea issue? If so what kind and what color?
Well the seahorse tank has cyano algae which really bugs me because I actually do 5 gallon water changes on that bi-weekly. Yet the coral I have in there are actually doing well (they haven’t died) and are showing slow growth (to be expected in the folder 72 degree water) but due to the messiness of the seahorse which get fed one block of mysis shrimp a day (1 split and fed twice). The other tank is the bigger issue… My pretty elegance coral just shriveled up and died in a day… I have a diatom issue in the clown tank and a little cyano, and the big tank well I have enough “goats” in there to eat anything. The tangs do an extreme job of keeping the algae at bay but man I spent several hundred dollars at the frag swap and the only thing I have left really is what is in my seahorse tank… I have 2 little peices left in the 60 gallon and a hammer frag in the display tank but that’s it… I mean I have pulsing Xenia that’s growing but hell I don’t think I could even kill that stuff!
Ok well cyano is not an algea. Its a bacteria and water changes normally just keep feeding it. You should syphon that out every chance you get. Nothing will eat that stuff, it can get toxic if left too long.
The fewding for the ponoes doesnt seem too excessive. Now as for the big tank you didnt mention the food amounts on that tank but im sure thats probally too much. Your fish will eat any and everytime you feed. They are not like you and i when we get hungry we get up from the table and walk away, not them! You might want to cut the food in half untill you get things under control and back to a managable range. Let the fish pick at the rocks and eat whats available to them in the tank. Maybe feed some frwsh fruit such as bananas,watermelon,lettice,strawberries, and that will help eliminate some of the phosphates your putting within the foods your feeding.
The big tank does get fed twice daily. Usually algae hakari pellets in the am and 2 blocks of food in the pm. I just need any fish attacking each other due to lack of food. I do like the idea of using fruit or veggies though