I have a 54 gallon corner bow and it runs great for about 3-4 months no problems everything looks great things grow then boom. I get this green/brown algae that covers everything!!! I have to scrape the front and sides of the tank and it comes off in sheets as well as take the rock out and scrub it. I have about 80lbs of rock in there thats about 5 years old and 12kmh/pc setup and change the bulbs every 6 months. Also I use r/o water and change those filters as needed. Will a refugium starve the algae? Another ? does rock go bad??
-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
will a refugium help?
- Thread starter MU8ST7ANG
- Start date
i have the same tank, and yes it will. i have a fuge and when i didnt prune it for a while i got a cyano outbreak (sounds like what you got). i was like NOOO! not cyano! then i remember that i hadnt pruned my cheato in a while. i pruned it that day and within 2 days all the cyano was gone. 
If you have a refugium with macroalgae such as cheato, you have the potential for the macro to remove some of the nutrients that green/brown algae rely on. By growing/harvesting the cheato, its another form of nutrient export. Its also a place that is "ok" for "some" nuisance algae(green/brown/hair) to grow.MU8ST7ANG said:
For me, I have chaeto and also throw my unwanted Kenya trees (which also thrive in dirty water). They both help in filtration and since my wife hates kenya trees in the tank, its a good comprimise.
If you tank is still young, you can expect to go through an "algae" cycle. Green->brown->hair->cyano->coraline. Its just like the nitrogen cycle. It takes time to got through, but it will pass. As your system matures, nutrient parameters will fluctuate, benefitting one organism over the other. Populations will equalize eventially.
The tips you read on any forum help minimise the impact of nusiance blooms on the system, and the length of time for each stage. As your tank matures, it will reach that equilibrium. Then if you have a bloom of something, its makes it easier to narrow down the cause of bloom (Excess feeding, worn out lighting, etc...)
MU8ST7ANG said:
I think you are thinking that since the rock is 5 years old (probably from another tank) that its gone bad. I've never hear of this. But, by moving the rock from one system to another, you will get some loss of organisms. For example, Anerobic bacteria that lived under the rocks while in the first tank are now exposed to air in the move and have some die-off.
Think about the other things that are "new" in your system. For example new sand. It takes time for the bacteria, algae, bug populations to grow enough to use up the nutrients that are causing your blooms. The water, and any surface area (walls, filters, etc...) will harbor organisms.
I am a firm believer in refugiums. The benefits are export of nutrients, place for pods and other critters to grow and stock your DT, more water volume, and you can throw those annoying hitchhiker crabs in there too .
Never heard of rock going bad, if you were not always diligent in using RO water then you can have a bit of buildup of phosphates, silicates, etc.
.Never heard of rock going bad, if you were not always diligent in using RO water then you can have a bit of buildup of phosphates, silicates, etc.
can you email me the pics dorichard@ur.com
Edwardw771
NJRC Member
Nothing is a must. I never had a fug on my 90.
Ha thats funny thought i was the only one that goes to pet store for something small and end up with a bill over 200. Which brings me to this i have a megaflow sump which really has no more room to place anything in it. Are the hang on refugium any good does anybody use these i really dont have room to place one next to my dt.MU8ST7ANG said: