phosphate reactor

i've had this green hair algae problem in my tank for almost 6 months now. ive tried the chemicals, massive water changes, phosban in the media bag. i've even taken all my rocks out and scrubbed and then boiled them for 15 seconds apiece even then its coming back. all my corals and fish seem to be doing great otherwise. i think i need to start using a phosban reactor but i don't want to spend the money if its not necessary. so i guess after all my rambling my question is do you think its a wise purchase ?

 

I think its a wise purchase

Steve

 

i run a phosban reactor in every tank I have! It will help However what I would recommend you doing is reduce the nutrient level in your tank....turn off lights for a week or so (completely), reduce your feedings massively. You might even want to consider a tang depending on the size of your tank. But yes, phosban reactor will help also IMO...do all those

 

I agree with Steve and schackmel. And stop boiling your rocks, all that's doing is killing bacteria which process nutrients that is fueling your algae issue.

And add 20 turbo snails.

 

...turn off lights for a week or so (completely),

is that safe for my corals?

 

I am having the same problem. I asked if turning off my lights for a period of time would help, but I was told that it wasn't smart to do for corals and anemones (which I have). So i'm thinking of going the reactor route too..
Just letting you know that your corals will hate you if you turn lights out for a week!

 

I have 2 Phosbans and wouldnt run a tank without them. Get a good CUC, reduce lights and feeding. Increase water changes and make sure you are using RO/DI water for ATO and water changes too.

 

absolutely safe to turn off lights for a week...I did 10 days when I had a dino outbreak. I had SPS and several clams, (at that time I also had a rose anemone)

Tell most saltwater tank owners to turn off their lights and they think it is going to affect their coral (I was very hesitant also!) However it is not unusual for that to happen in the ocean...storms etc. Your corals will do just fine!

Where you have to be extremely careful is when you turn the lights back on. You have to acclimate it back to the lights by SLOWLY increasing the light schedule. When I turned mine on it took about 2 weeks to get the light schedule back to where it was. I went couple days just with the actinic and then slowly added the MH