wet and dry filter

mac77 · 11-20-2005, 09:47 PM

I have a 75 gallon tank that I bought used. The tank I calculate is about 10 years old. It was a saltwater fish only tank. I converted to a reef tank, I added about 30 lbs of live rock and put a new light system. The lights are a total of 260 watts, the manufacture calls a full spectrum sysmtem, its name is satellite; something like that. It has a wet and dry filter, I added a protein skimmer to it, sits inside the sump.
That was almost a year ago, and since then I have big problems with all kinds of algae. So yesterday I asked the owner of the store that sells saltwater fish what could be the problem. I know that by increasing the lights I was fueling the algae but its too much, something is wrong. I told him that the wet and dry filter does not have bio balls, it has like a roll up mat ( you can see its an old one ) so he said that, that is a problem, those roll up mats are not used anymore because they introduce a lot of garbage to the tank and thats why I have algae problems. He told me to remove the filter and just leave the skimmer in there, because the filter now is the live rock, so I wont need that filter again. He told me also to turn off the lights for 4 days to kill off the algae.
My question to you is if what he told me is correct, was that old filter giving me the algae problems? will it fix it by just using live rock and skimmer alone? By the way my water parameters are good, he tested my water and said my water is perfect.
Any comments and advice would be greatly appreciate.

Rich D · 11-21-2005, 08:24 AM

as far as I know the wet/dry filter would have no adverse effects in creating more algae. the purpose of a wet/dry filter is to create a biological (bed) for anaerobic? bacteria, that eats the negative bacteria that creates ammonia. the live rock does the same thing but on grander level. A wet/dry filter is great for a fish only tank but not necessary for a reef tank. I would not use the wet/dry portion and utilize that portion for a refuge. You should loose the old media in any case because it will do more harm than good if it collects enough algae to clog the porous area your nitrate levels will sky rocket.

I am new to the hobby so if the pro's will confirm or correct that would be great.

Rich D · 11-21-2005, 03:08 PM

algae also feads on nitrates, if you only have 30 lbs of live rock it is only doing about 1/3 of the bio-filtration. You should be adding more live rock.

Diver_1298 · 11-21-2005, 04:08 PM

There's nothing wrong with cutting back on the lighting to help get rid of Algae if that is part of the problem... Just don't cut back so much that it harms the corals that you have. What type do you have? It would not hurt your live rock and would probably help with the problem. The problem with the matt type filters is the collection of organic material on them turning into nitrates which will help fuel the Algae. If you clean them regulary, I don't see it as a major problem. Yes, you definitely need more liverock

The more the merrier or at least until you run out of money

jk

Jim

mac77 · 11-21-2005, 08:00 PM

I dont have a lot of corals, right now I just have an anemone and a coral called a flowerpot; which since that day I put it in my tank it has not open up, it was beautiful open in the store tank but in my tank it never did. I dont know what is wrong with it, maybe it didnt like my lighting I dont know. What do you think guys?

mac77 · 11-21-2005, 08:03 PM

Also this flowerpot coral gets algae stuck on it. Its a spongy brown algae, well right now it has almost nothing since I clean it and did a water change before I remove the matt filter and shut off the lights.
I had for almost a year a torch coral, it was doing very well but lke two weels ago it died, it turned hard and white, I dont know what went wrong.What do you think ?

Diver_1298 · 11-22-2005, 07:47 AM

IMO you dont need to remove your filter media, just keep it free of excessive organics. Make sure you have adequate water flow and test your basic water parameters to make sure everything is right in your tank. The use of RO/Di water also helps reduce the chance of an algae outbreak. Algae loves phophates and nitrates. Make sure you read the posts in the Algae forum. There is a lot of useful information in there.
Some corals will grow fine in your tank and not in mine. Try to pick the ones that are better suited to the environment they are from.
Flower Pots or Goniopora here are some pictures. Is this what you are talking about? http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gonioporapix.htm
They are definitely for the advanced aquariust with a mature tank. They have a high light requirement. Good Luck

Jim

kb.bear · 11-22-2005, 12:04 PM

The wet dry filters are famous for creating nitrates
30 lbs of live rock is about 1/3 the amount of rock recommended

jasond56 · 08-30-2006, 11:13 AM

I would definitely make sure you're using RO/DI water instead of tap. Also, if your phosphate levels are high, try adding a nice phosphate sponge to your sump. That, along with RO and a good skimmer should knock out the algae problem.

I had a problem with algae blooms too (before I started using RO water) and I used this stuff called CHEMI-CLEAN by Boyd Enterprises. It worked really well getting rid of all the algae. It's totally reef/invert/desirable algae safe. Just my opinion...

RAVEN · 08-31-2006, 09:07 PM

You haven't stated what your Nitrates and phosphorus levels are. High levels of nitrate and PO4 + light=algae. Also, what spectrum bulbs do you have and how old are they. As bulbs age they must be replaced. One last thing, how many fish do you have in the tank and how often are you feeding? Feed sparingly in a reef tank to keep the nitrates and PO4 down.