New Saltwater Enthusiast... Send Help!

[SugMarie]

Hi! I work at Petco and have just recently been promoted to the Companion Animal Leader, meaning I control and feel with everything animal, including saltwater and freshwater fish. I'm pretty advanced in freshwater and know jack crap about saltwater, but there's no better 2ay to learn than to do. First time posting on here and I have a few questions.
Starting with the most important:
I am battling phosphates and soooooooo much cyanobacteria (red hair algae).
I've done a phosphate sponge which helped some, starting this week I will be bumping water changes up to 3 times a week. I have switched out all of my crushed coral gravel (gradually over the course of a month.) What else can I do? Besides all of this, I want my own saltwater tank in the near future. #HELP

 

[Dempsey941]

The two best ways of lowering your phosphates are GFO and Lanthium Chloride. GranualFericOxide is generally used in a reactor where water is forced through the media and the phosphates are absorbed and removed from the water. Liquid Lanthium Chloride binds the phosphates and they are removed by your skimmer/filtersocks/filterfloss.

Cyanobateria is a common occurrence in newer tanks, usually they disappear on their own however there are options to help remove it from your system. Some people preform a 3 day black out, that means 0 light period it will starve out the cyano and water changes remove any remnants. You can also purchase a product known as chemiclean which has good reviews on cyano removal. Otherwise find a way to reduce your nitrates and phosphates through water changes, limit your feedings, etc.

 

[vetteguy53081]

GFO Can be harsh so be careful how much you use and how you use it. There is RedSea No3Po4 reducer (vodka method), ROWAS you can add to a reactor or sump to break down PO4.
ChemiClean works well but do keep an eye on skimmer as it make a skimmer go nuts !!

 

[SugMarie]

Chemiclean is definitely something I thought of. I've never heard of all of the other stuff, so I'm quite lost

 

[beaslbob]

I just use a refugium with macro algae to balance out and stabilize the system.

 

[krbnsol]

check your water supply ---- Rowas is good, GFO if you have to. There is something thats causing all of this to happen. Start narrowing down where it is coming from while remediating the issue.

 

[Bpb]

Does your store use 0 tds RODI water? If not the tap water could be loaded with phosphate which you’ll just keep adding with every top off and water change

 

[SugMarie]

Does your store use 0 tds RODI water? If not the tap water could be loaded with phosphate which you’ll just keep adding with every top off and water change

Hi! So our store has a tap faucet, as well as a treated faucet which tests at the water levels of a freshwater tank. It is only used when salinity is too high or when I'm doing water changes to even out the amount of marine water I use to keep a good salinity.

 

[SugMarie]

check your water supply ---- Rowas is good, GFO if you have to. There is something thats causing all of this to happen. Start narrowing down where it is coming from while remediating the issue.

Hey there! Not exactly sure the water supply, just know the water is treated. I also know that the tanks have had a phosphate problem before this became my position so I'm just looking for solutions.

 

[SugMarie]

I just use a refugium with macro algae to balance out and stabilize the system.

Can you elaborate on this for me?

 

[SugMarie]

The two best ways of lowering your phosphates are GFO and Lanthium Chloride. GranualFericOxide is generally used in a reactor where water is forced through the media and the phosphates are absorbed and removed from the water. Liquid Lanthium Chloride binds the phosphates and they are removed by your skimmer/filtersocks/filterfloss.

Cyanobateria is a common occurrence in newer tanks, usually they disappear on their own however there are options to help remove it from your system. Some people preform a 3 day black out, that means 0 light period it will starve out the cyano and water changes remove any remnants. You can also purchase a product known as chemiclean which has good reviews on cyano removal. Otherwise find a way to reduce your nitrates and phosphates through water changes, limit your feedings, etc.

In regards to the blackout, being in a store, I'm able to shut the actually sump lights off but will the store lights effect it in a negative way at all? We're *green* so half of our lights cut on and off throughout the day.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hello

#WelcometoR2R

congrats on the promotion

I would think you would be limited on what you can change around on their systems due to corp Policy. a ot of good advice so far. Will be a lot harder depending on what you can do

also how many tanks/gallon and filters are your running. What type of set up. Sorry if I missed it

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Have you read these threads?

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean...

www.reef2reef.com

Cycling an Aquarium

Cycling a new aquarium. One of the earliest topics a new aquarium hobbyist needs to learn is how to properly cycle their aquarium. There is a ton of information on this process and many different methods on how to accomplish it. There are many different chemical and biological cycles our tank...

www.reef2reef.com

Also, I would recommend watching BRStv's 52 weeks of reefing. They will walk you through everything in that series.

I have only seen a few Petco's with an amazing saltwater department. I believe the one manager I knew awhile ago called it a Magnet store or something like that. Arm yourself with knowledge and you will do an outstanding job!!!

 

[Bpb]

Hi! So our store has a tap faucet, as well as a treated faucet which tests at the water levels of a freshwater tank. It is only used when salinity is too high or when I'm doing water changes to even out the amount of marine water I use to keep a good salinity.

No amount of blackouts or phosphate resin will do any good if your tap water has high phosphate levels. The store you work in likely has some pretty specific guidelines on water usage and filtration. Your hands will likely be tied there. I advise if you are intending to venture on your own and build your own marine tank, to strongly consider purchasing a RODI filter prior to even buying the glass box just to ensure you are able to start with a clean blank slate. There are a number of convoluted workarounds if one insists on using tap water, but they will be more elaborate, effort intensive, and likely costly than just buying a filter and having neutral water without the labor

 

[SugMarie]

No amount of blackouts or phosphate resin will do any good if your tap water has high phosphate levels. The store you work in likely has some pretty specific guidelines on water usage and filtration. Your hands will likely be tied there. I advise if you are intending to venture on your own and build your own marine tank, to strongly consider purchasing a RODI filter prior to even buying the glass box just to ensure you are able to start with a clean blank slate. There are a number of convoluted workarounds if one insists on using tap water, but they will be more elaborate, effort intensive, and likely costly than just buying a filter and having neutral water without the labor

Well the actual tap faucet isn't what is used, it's the treated faucet that is. But still?

 

[SugMarie]

Have you read these threads?

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean...

www.reef2reef.com

Cycling an Aquarium

Cycling a new aquarium. One of the earliest topics a new aquarium hobbyist needs to learn is how to properly cycle their aquarium. There is a ton of information on this process and many different methods on how to accomplish it. There are many different chemical and biological cycles our tank...

www.reef2reef.com

Also, I would recommend watching BRStv's 52 weeks of reefing. They will walk you through everything in that series.

I have only seen a few Petco's with an amazing saltwater department. I believe the one manager I knew awhile ago called it a Magnet store or something like that. Arm yourself with knowledge and you will do an outstanding job!!!

I will give those a read. Thank you!!!! Yes, Magnet stores are our top dogs with no room to fail lol

 

[SugMarie]

Hello

#WelcometoR2R

congrats on the promotion

I would think you would be limited on what you can change around on their systems due to corp Policy. a ot of good advice so far. Will be a lot harder depending on what you can do

also how many tanks/gallon and filters are your running. What type of set up. Sorry if I missed it

Each sump I believe is 98 gallons marineland. What do you mean by set up?

 

[SugMarie]

Each sump I believe is 98 gallons marineland. What do you mean by set up?

And thank you for the promotion congrats

 

[RocketEngineer]

Do you mix the water and salt together yourself? If so, test a) the water you use before adding the salt, and b) the new salt water before you add it to the system. Try to isolate the phosphate source is the first step.

 

[Bpb]

Well the actual tap faucet isn't what is used, it's the treated faucet that is. But still?

What form of treatment is being used?