HELP with algea

[Davidbugera]

I have a 90 gallon soft reef with 30 gallon mantis tank and 30 gallon ehopps sump.
IN SUMP:vertex280in skimmer
2x little fishes 550 reactor one with carbon changed once a week the
The other with phosban changed every three days
2x8" sock filters then threw a sponge and finally threw bio balls to my
Return pump
MAIN TANK: 70ish lbs of live rock plus a live rubble bed 4 clown fish 2 tangs 2manderine gobies ,hawk fish and various soft coral
MANTIS TANK: 1x 5" mantis shrimp 1x3" mantis a 10" carpet anemone,a maxi mini carpet and seabe anemone

LIGHTING. Whites run 6hrs a day and actinics 12hrs
90gallon has 16xwhite and 16 blue 3w led chips,2x 54w 10000k t5 and 2x 54w t5 blue.
Mantis has 2x96w purple ish blue actinics and 22000k 150w metal halide

Why am I still gettin massive algea,is not hair algea ist all most like the algea my cichlid tank used to get

[fishytime]

consider ditching the bioballs(slowly).......they saturate extremely quickly and leech nitrates back into your system.....what do you feed and how often?.....how many and what kind of fish do you have?.....was the tank started with any dry rock....if so, how much?

[reefwars]

dave ditch the phosban its no good for reducing phosphates its ok to keep them in check but i find they are not that strong.switch to rowaphos or someother type of ferris oxide:)

as doug said ditch the bio balls.

im betting alot of it is from frozen food or fresh seafood are you rinsing very well for frozen and fresh??? alot of that stuff is packed with oily stuff you dont want in your tank:P

[Davidbugera]

2 true percs 2 skunk clowns 2 manderane gobies green and blue ,yellow tang and a blue tang 2 peppermint shrimp 2 cleaner shrimp 2 fire shrimp a dozen Halloween hermits ,Sally light foot crab 2x huge green serpent star fish inmy sump they produce baby serpent stars so far only counted 5,2xmantis shrimp
The rest of live stalk is polyps zoas palys colts mushrooms and anemones

[Davidbugera]

dave ditch the phosban its no good for reducing phosphates its ok to keep them in check but i find they are not that strong.switch to rowaphos or someother type of ferris oxide:)

as doug said ditch the bio balls.

im betting alot of it is from frozen food or fresh seafood are you rinsing very well for frozen and fresh??? alot of that stuff is packed with oily stuff you dont want in your tank:P

The only food I don't rince is the silverside and I feed every second day sum times every day

[reefwars]

The only food I don't rince is the silverside and I feed every second day sum times every day



would def ditch the phosban,rowaphos is much more effective its alot pricier but also lasts alot longer. i also heard that phosban releases the phosphates back once its absorbed all it can, not sure if theres any truth to it or not but when i switched i stopped getting the "green dye" all over my coarse sand and rocks:)

[Davidbugera]

It can leach them back in to the tank when it get full of w/e it releases it back to the system, that's why I use large amount of phosban and change it every 3 day to stop this from happing. But still algea grows wild

[Aquattro]

Where did the rock come from?

What are you using for source water?

What are your current levels of PO4/NO3?

What is your water change schedule?

Can you post a pic of the algae?

Can you post a pic of a typical day's food on a plate?

What type of skimmer are you running and how often do you have to empty it?

[Davidbugera]

Where did the rock come from?

What are you using for source water?

What are your current levels of PO4/NO3?

What is your water change schedule?

Can you post a pic of the algae?

Can you post a pic of a typical day's food on a plate?

What type of skimmer are you running and how often do you have to empty it?

30 ish lbs of figi live rock at three years old and threat was macro rock. I run a vertex280 in sump skimmer and I drain the 5 gallon pail once a week,it's uasaly a light skimmate but varies. I do a weekly 25 gallon water change and to tell the truth havent tested the water, just buy what the store tells me to lol. My top up water is tap water with prime add to it and water changes are done with rodi water from local store. I feed a toonie sized piece of brine/mysis shrimp every second day and my anemones get silver side every day just about

[Aquattro]

Probably first step then is to get the LFS to test for PO4 and NO3

[sully08]

consider ditching the bioballs(slowly).......they saturate extremely quickly and leech nitrates back into your system.....what do you feed and how often?.....how many and what kind of fish do you have?.....was the tank started with any dry rock....if so, how much?
What kind of algae problems would the dry rock cause?

[Aquattro]

What kind of algae problems would the dry rock cause?

Even the best dry rock will not denitrify very well, if at all, in the first few months or longer. Therefore the NO3 will build unless you do substantial water changes.
Also, if the dry rock is previously used live rock, it's likely a time bomb for phosphates. PO4 will accumulate in the rock, and any life in the rock once removed from water will die off, causing a dry reserve of nutrients that once wet, will leech back into the tank.

[TimT]

Hi David,

If you want to get rid of the phosphate go to Red Coral and buy some Foz Down. Add it to your tank as per directions. It immediately gets rid of Phosphate. I make and use it so I know it works and is safe.

Unless you are trying to culture your anemone I would only feed it every 3rd day.

Cheers,
Tim

[Aquattro]

I wouldn't get rid of any phosphate until you know you have phosphate. Until then it's just throwing more muck in the soup. Test, determine the problem, then treat accordingly.

[Davidbugera]

Bio balls are out sockfilters are new and rowaphos is in. Got to get water tested and see from there