I have been battling long hair algae for almost 2 years now. Been trying many treatments and have wound up at a media reactor and dosing with Red Sea NO3 PO4X simultaneously. Have reduced amount of white light to 20% the rest in blues, violets, 5% red/green. Using an oversized Reef Octopus Skimmer. Have a 5" sand bed w/ 4 - sand sifter stars cleaning it. And if that wasn't enough I have "slimer" the dolabella Seahare . I really expected the nitrates to bottom out by now I've been doing gigantic 50% water changes every two weeks. Using RODI NEWLY replaced filters. I feel like there is something counterproductive I must be doing I know I have a heavy load of coral and fish in a tank Overstock for sure and I know the wife overfeeds the fish but I really thought with the sheer amount filtration and skimming and chemical an bio pellets I'd b farther along. Arrgghhh. So is it possible the two big bags of carbon I have for safety sake is counterproductive to what I'm doing
Will using carbon effect the bacteria growth from media reactor?
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EmdeReef
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Algae will “feed” on both nitrate and phosphates and can also take up ammonia. Algae in general are highly adaptive and very efficient at extracting nutrients so reducing only nitrates may not be enough to stop the problem you’re having.
To lower nitrates you may need to increase your nopox dose. How long have you been dosing?
Bags of carbon won’t adversely affect bacteria, which will over time colonize it and make it less efficient. Hope that makes sense, sorry getting late...
To lower nitrates you may need to increase your nopox dose. How long have you been dosing?
Bags of carbon won’t adversely affect bacteria, which will over time colonize it and make it less efficient. Hope that makes sense, sorry getting late...
I had to lower my nutrients, lower feeding, reduce light period, employ algae eaters, and remove my deep sand bed before my algae even noticed that I was at war with it.
Welcome to R2R!
Welcome to R2R!
As to Emdereef , I've been doing with NoPoX for about a month an a half. I've been running the bio-pellets for 2-months. I have been turning the reactor's pump off during feeding times 10-15min 3 times a day I am curious if shutting down the reactor effects the bacteria growth within tremendously or hardly not at all. After all has been said an done I will say I've reduced the growth rate by 30-40% but I really need to beat this. The long hair algae is crowding out certain corals and affecting colonies.
Just be careful not to strip so much out of the water and end up harming your coral's nutrition. I'd suggest doing one change at a time and waiting for results. You are taking so many different routes here that if any of them work you won't even know what you did, therefore you will keep stripping the water unnecessarily.
Test your nitrates and nitrates at least three times a week with every new tactic that you employ, observe it for a while before going nuts with it. Also, an oversized refugium with good lightning on a reverse schedule can do the trick, did you try that?
Good luck!
Test your nitrates and nitrates at least three times a week with every new tactic that you employ, observe it for a while before going nuts with it. Also, an oversized refugium with good lightning on a reverse schedule can do the trick, did you try that?
Good luck!
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