Seeking Advice: Battling Persistent Phosphate and Algae Issues in a Red Sea 425

[bobnicaragua]

after introducing ich i kind of like to do it untill i set up a few QT tanks since i just want the fish to remain healthy and well fed, and i've got a porcupine pufferfish that i look to keep well fed since it makes it pretty chill , i might just get the snails and urchins as there is enough algae for hundereds of cuc, what snails have u got and recommend? i've got a thin layer of algae but it keeps regrowing.

Trochus, astraea, turbos, mix them up. Trochus can reproduce and right themselves if they get flipped in sand. They tend to be most people’s favorite.

If you currently have urchins and 5 snails, adding more cleanup crew shouldn’t be too much of a risk.

Here are some trochus snails mowing down the algae in the back of my tank. You can see the paths they clear in the algae.

 

[jda]

Some snails cannot tolerate higher temperatures and can die - trochus are among these. I would not let your tank get over a real 78 degrees. Margaritas are others. A variety of snails can be great. I usually have 200 in my main tank - it takes a lot if you want them to get away from the film and eat some hairy types.

 

[bezj]

Hi. Personally I always struggled with GFO. I know it was mentioned earlier but tropic Marin Elimi Phos Rapid works great to bring the phosphate level down (don’t do it too fast) to a better range. When I’v used it, I dose it into the Red Sea filter roller section.

This helped get levels in the 0.1 range and then changing between dry and frozen food allows me to maintain nitrate/phosphate levels. Heavy feeder with a lot of fish.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hi. Personally I always struggled with GFO. I know it was mentioned earlier but tropic Marin Elimi Phos Rapid works great to bring the phosphate level down (don’t do it too fast) to a better range. When I’v used it, I dose it into the Red Sea filter roller section.

This helped get levels in the 0.1 range and then changing between dry and frozen food allows me to maintain nitrate/phosphate levels. Heavy feeder with a lot of fish.

Just realize that this product is lanthanum, and a few folks have had issues with lanthanum and fish for reasons that are not apparent.

 

[reefo420]

Some snails cannot tolerate higher temperatures and can die - trochus are among these. I would not let your tank get over a real 78 degrees. Margaritas are others. A variety of snails can be great. I usually have 200 in my main tank - it takes a lot if you want them to get away from the film and eat some hairy types.

i'm gonna start with 20-30, i bough trochus, 1 died and 1 hid for about 3-4 months and just surfaced back a few weeks ago, so they're living fine, not sure why that 1 died, temp did get to 79, was thinking of a sea hare but my foxface would bully him to death, my pufferfish is still small so not sure if he'd try, and hawkfish would give it a go, i have a cleaner shrimp not sure why they don't go for him, but i'd like some different variety of snails that will do well, also, what's the best thing to clean the sandbed? since i only do it once every few months the phos/nitrate levels go really really high so i'd like a fish to do it slowly, i have 2 wrasses but they only sleep in one area and leave the rest of the sandbed dirty

 

[drblank1]

I'm in need of some expert advice for my 110 gallon reef tank, nearly 1.5 year old but It was wiped 7-8 months ago with 2ppm of copper to save the fish (not sure if it kills all the bacteria) . Despite a comprehensive filtration and feeding regimen, I'm grappling with two persistent issues: high phosphate levels and a significant algae problem.

Here's an overview of my setup and maintenance routine:

• Water Parameters: Nitrates at 27 ppm, Phosphates at 0.6.
• Filtration System: Includes a Red Sea Skimmer 600, a large amount of chaeto with a 35W light, and a reef mat 500.
• Feeding Schedule: Daily feeding of one frozen cube (consumed in under 2 minutes) and a 4x4 inch sheet of nori twice a week. My pufferfish is fed 4-5 krill superba pieces daily and sometimes half a jumbo shrimp.
• Maintenance Practices: I conduct 30% water changes monthly. I've upgraded from filter socks to a reef matt, which has significantly improved waste collection. I'm also dosing 14ml/day of Reef Zlements Z-Carbo Plus.

Despite these measures, my phosphate levels remain stubbornly above 0.2. I've been using GFO in the reef mat's basket, but it hasn't effectively lowered the phosphate levels. On a positive note, my nitrates have decreased from a high of 80-85 ppm to a more manageable 25-30 ppm over the last three months.

Additionally, I'm battling a large amount of green hair algae and brownish growths in the sand, which I suspect might be diatoms or dinoflagellates.

The corals are open and show good coloration, but their growth seems stunted, likely due to the high phosphate levels.

I'm considering whether implementing a GFO reactor would be more effective than my current method. Has anyone had experience with this approach in similar situations? Could this be the solution to lowering my phosphate levels and addressing the algae issues? last picture ( the full tank pic) is when my phos was at 0.8 and tank was at 80-85 nitrate

I'm open to any suggestions or recommendations from the community. Your insights and experiences would be invaluable in helping me improve the health and balance of my reef tank.

Thank you in advance for your guidance and support!

Best regards,

I had the same issue but not as pronounced. Phosphates around .09 and algae flourished in my tank. I started carbon dosing. Phosphates and nitrates bottomed out because didn't test for a few weeks. Now, I overfeed to maintain some phosphates in my tank. Too boot, my coral growth over the last 2 years has been painfully slow. In the last 2 months, my SPS have exploded in growth.

 

[reefo420]

I had the same issue but not as pronounced. Phosphates around .09 and algae flourished in my tank. I started carbon dosing. Phosphates and nitrates bottomed out because didn't test for a few weeks. Now, I overfeed to maintain some phosphates in my tank. Too boot, my coral growth over the last 2 years has been painfully slow. In the last 2 months, my SPS have exploded in growth.

I've been carbon dosing since day 1, now at around 15ml/day never stopped so not sure if it helps or not but nutrients are still quite elevated, i might need to up my dose, maybe i don't have the right bacteria