little help please.....

[ibefishy]

I have been trying to get rid of this brown (algae?) stuff for a long time and havent been able to do so. I do weekly water changes at 10 gallons a week, vacuum the crushed coral (its only about 1" deep at its deepest) everytime I change water. This stuff is growing in one of the areas with the highest water flow in the tank. Its not visible early morning but then it seems to show up later and then in the evening it starts to fade away again. When it is thick you can pick it up in mats but the next day it starts to come back. Sometimes I leave it until it starts forming bubbles then it floats to the surface when it is picked up.

My water parameters are:

55g tank
30g sump
PC lights (bulbs about 1 year old, near time to replace)
Temp..........79.5
Salinity.......32.5 ppt
SG.............1.0245
Nitrate........0 ppm
Nitrite.........0 ppm
Ph..............8.2
Amonia........0 ppm
Phosphate....0 pm
Calcium........460 ppm
Alkalinity......9 dkh

My tank has been up and running for over a year. I have only two fish, a black ocellaris, and a yellow tang. There is no other algae in the tank due to the cheato farm I have in my sump. The cleanup crew is minimal, 4 nassarius snails, 5 hermit crabs, 2 peppermint shrimp, 8 other snails(forget what they are offhand).

I have two canister filters I could use for some carbon if that would help or is there some way that they could be used for something else? I am out of ideas and am looking for some helpful ideas on how to get rid of this stuff. If you could also tell me what it is algae or bacteria or what that would be very helpful.

[Trickster]

sand sifting star, Tiger snail & Lawnmower Blenny & stop overfeeding ;)

[ibefishy]

Overfeeding is not the problem as I only feed once a day and very small amount at that. I do not use flake food, or bought frozen food, i make my own food from shrimp, clam, and fish. I really dont want to add anymore fish, I like having only 2, I would get rid of the tang if my daughter didnt like it so much.

[Trickster]

A buddy of mine had the same prob with his, we siphoned the algae out put a phosphate reactor & skimmer in the sump, a couple creatures to turn the bed & all gone. Been like a year now, he had it getting on the rock to.

[ibefishy]

My skimmer has been running since day one, but is there a way to use a canister filter for a phosphate reacter?

[Doodaa]

My skimmer has been running since day one, but is there a way to use a canister filter for a phosphate reacter?

Yes, you can put GFO in a canister filter. If you only have one filter or only one chamber in that filter, you can mix carbon and GFO together to run them at the same time.

In case you didn't know... GFO is Granulated Ferric Oxide, and is what you should use to remove phosphates. Don't use the kind with aluminium in it.

[Trickster]

You can but why that's a pain in the ass! look at this, worth every penny. ViaAqua Poly-Reactor (Multi-Media Reactor)

One of the cheapest components in my system & complete except the media. IC online for 36 bucks but with shipping lfs prob cheaper in the end, I paid like 42. So unless you can't afford the under 50 addition to the system right now it's kinda a no brainer. You'll use less media & that will pay for it.

you can get a few sandsifters & tiger snail at the same time ;)

I don't recommend the Two Little Fishies Phosban Reactor, they are like 6 bucks less but they should be 20 less.