Refugium/Sump

[cuttingras]

OK, I'm going to pick up a 55 gal tank, this lady is giving me and I'm using it for a refugium/sump. I know this is kinda big for my 55gal, but I'm going to split it in half with plexi-glass. I have a lot of questions about a refugium...

I'm having a few other problems too, so I'm adding them here, since I think they all probably related...

1. Will it make my tank less green? I'm having another algae bloom. Seems like as soon as I get my tank clear, the algae explodes again. I know phosphates are likely the cause. I've ordered new filters and membrane for my ro/di and I use phosban. I just changed it about a month ago.

2. Should I take half of the sand out of my tank and put it into the refugium, or get new live sand?

3. What kind of plants should I use for it?

4. My snails are slowly dieing off, again. I know either copper or ammonia. My ammonia is at 0 and I use cuprisorb in my filters all the time.

I am using kalkwasser(mrs. wages) 2tbsp per gallon of ro/di. I don't use it every night. Every other night seems to keep my Calcium up to 480-500 and my pH at 8.3 and it keeps my top offs regular. I just added over the past week enough Magnesium to go from 820 to right at 1500.

5. I did notice my SG is up to 1.026-7. Is this too high?

6. Also, my temp has been fluctuating from 73-78. Could this be the cause?

7. We torn down an old barn of ours and there is a concrete slab under it. This was poured way back in the 40's. If I cured the rock do you think it would be ok to use it in the fuge?

I know this is a lot for one post, but........

TIA!!!
Linda

PS, my fish, flower anemone, finger leather, zoa's and mushrooms are all doing great!

[lunatik_69]

Hey Linda.........ok lets start.....
1- I think you need to find out why you keep getting these algae blooms. Is your tank getting any direct/indirect sunlight?
2- new sand
3- any kind of macro-algae like chaeto, mangrove, etc...
4- Again, investigate why. copper, brass fittings, somethings rusting...
5- that is a personal pref. I like mine at 1.023-24
6- Temp should be stable. I like mine at 78-80
7- I wouldnt use it but thats me, remember cheaper now might be more expense later.

[cuttingras]

1. it's what I'm trying to figure out. We installed new pvc plumbing though out the house last spring. I know it's not the plumbing. Maybe a piece of rock I have in there?

2. 10-4 on the new sand, how much(deep)?

3. Are some macro-algae better at keeping water clean, naturally, than others?

4.. Everything is either pvc or plastic other than a ground probe and my heater, which is glass and that's going bye bye real soon. It doesn't keep a constant temp, and it's glass.

5. I was keeping it at 1/024-5 and it went up recently, without the addition of new water or excessive evaporation. Not sure why it's like that. Will too high SG promote algae? It seems like a vicious battle, I'm always fighting.

6. Again, new titanium heater on the way.

7. Thought again about it and I think I've talked hubby into doing a small project with me and make all new live rock for my tank and putting a few select pieces that are currently in my tank into the refugium. The ones with the least algae.

Anything else you can think of? I get so discouraged....It goes good and I start to get coralline growing and everything is good. I don't change what I'm doing and then, poof, it's shot within a week......

I have reduced my feeding to about 3-4 small pieces of flakes every other day. It seems my fish are starving. My Foxface is getting skinny and they act hungry all the time. They are focused on the window when I enter the room.

I feed the zoa's, mush's, finger leather and anemone once a week if that and they are all doing fine. I take 1/4 of the square of frozen cyclops and melt it with tank water and squirt it to each of them. I turn the filters and skimmer off for about an hour each time I do that.

My lights 4x54 T6, 2-10k, 2-actinic. I have the moon lights on at night 7pm until 7am then the actinics turn on. I turn on the 10k's at about 9 am and they stay on until about 2pm. then it's actinics again until the moon lights come on. The tank is in my laundry room which only has one window and that's behind my monitor and a bookcase, so it's pretty much always dark in this room and I have a towel over the window to block the rest of the light.


ughhhh...
Thanks for your help!

[lunatik_69]

Have you tested your water? What are your param's? What do you use for top off? Algae can only grow if theres a presence of po4 or no2-3. A high ph will help in reducing algae growth, like 8.4-8.6. The only place that I have long hair algae growth is in my corner over flow chamber that gets direct/indirect sunlight. The rest of the tank is algae-free.

[cuttingras]

doing that right now...will let you know.. I'm going to do a full round of test and let you know the results. brb(in a bit)


ok here we go

SG 1.028
pH8.6
KH 20
NH3(ammonia) 0 mg/l
NO2, <0.3 mg/l(test doesn't go lower)
Calcium 500
Magnesium 1140(still lower than I'd like) trying to raise it slowly... It's high one day and lower the next, but has been above 1000 for a few days now. I figure it'll go higher as I raise it and stay steady at the same time...(?)

[reef_guru]

your Mg shouldnt fluctuate that much, whats your Sr?

[cuttingras]

Sr...ReefGuru?? What is Sr?

[reef_guru]

Sr=strontium
its the brother of Ca
use it carefully to much is poison
are you testing dKH or KH theres a difference
dKH of 20 for Ca of 500 seems high
is your tank clear
i keep my tanks Ca at 500 and dKH around 17-18

[cuttingras]

nope don't test for it and I don't add it either... the walls of my tank continually have green on them and the water, when I take some out and look at it against a white background is clear. the test I do for KH is in my tetra test kit. that has always been high....don't know why either..

[cuttingras]

when I do the fuge, will I still need my hob emporer400 filter? or will the fuge become the filter?