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kona reefer

Nutrient Issues: need help getting my tank back on track

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by
kona reefer
, 10-01-2011 at 06:30 PM (961 Views)
Think green. You name it, my tank has got it. Bryopsis, Dictyota, and Valonia all growing without a care in the world. What can I do so I can finally start enjoying the tank instead of constantly scrubbing algae off the rocks?

What I have done so far:
-installed RO/DI filter, giving me 0 TDS water for top-off and water changes. I have been slacking on my water changes though
-installed GFO reactor. It helped a little bit, but I still get consistent crops of algae
-limited feedings. feed primarily frozen food, all food is rinsed with tap water and then dried before adding to tank. Feed only 1-2x a day. Turn off all pumps and target feed fish with turkey baster.
-replace light bulbs every 6 months. I know PCs aren't the best light source, but the corals seem to be doing ok.

Issues:
-Tunze 9010 skimmer only producing ~100 mL of skimmate A WEEK. Shouldn't the skimmer be producing a lot more? Seriously considering upgrading to an Octopus skimmer
-Some LR I added a few months ago and a considerable amount of detritus in it. was in a buddy's system the whole time with no lights, but somehow there was quite a bit of gunk in it and I was stupid and it all got added to my system.
-2x Koralia 1400s might not be enough flow, seems like there is always quite a bit of detritus on the rocks by the end of the week.

So first order of business: should I keep my Tunze skimmer and see if Roger @ Tunze can get it working properly, or should I just scrap it and get a new skimmer?

Thank you for your input!

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‎ Questions - Need some input

Comments

  1. DJ in WV's Avatar
    What do you have for livstock and cuc? What size is the tank? How long do you run your lights per day. 100 ml a week thats like 10 tbs something isnt right with that. Any carbon and mechanical media sock, floss sponges?
  2. kona reefer's Avatar
    2x diamond goby, 1x yellow tang, 3x chromis, 2x clownfish, 5x trochus snails, 5x hermits, 1x peppermint shrimp. 135g net system. actinics on 12 hrs a day, 10k on 10 hrs. I run GFO and GAC in a BRS media reactor, no mechanical media except sponges in media reactor.

    My skimmer came with a damaged venturi, but I glued it back together with epoxy. I wonder if the fitting still isn't working properly, causing the skimmer to function sub-par. However, it is something like $40 to replace the fitting, and even then Roger wasn't sure if I would get much more juice from the skimmer so I have held off on that purchase. To that extent I am now considering getting a differnt skimmer.
  3. melev's Avatar
    A picture of the skimmer, the sump, and the tank setup helps me a lot in assisting you. You didn't mention much in the way of snails. For a 135g I would have about 50-75 Astreas. Ceriths, nassarius, emerald crabs, two tigerrail cucumbers and a fighting conch as well.
  4. baker.shawn's Avatar
    before you go and upgrade your skimmer you may want to try NPX bio beads or a similar product, you can probabuly get away with running them in a cheep phosban reactor. im actually really curious to see how they would help your water quality when combined with an effective clean up crew,

    now that im running NPX I cant even keep a single turbo alive in my 45 because they simply have no algae to eat
  5. kona reefer's Avatar




    Some really old pictures of the sump, but you get the idea. Still look exactly the same, only a bit dirtier and there is a feed pump for a GFO reactor. I will get more pics of the system later.
  6. DJ in WV's Avatar
    did you drill the venture back out after gluing it. It doesnt take much of a obstruction to mess up the air draw
  7. melev's Avatar
    Good question, DJ. Or it could be clogged up with salt creep... I have to clean mine out every two months, even with the monthly hot water suction/rinse method.