I have a bad phosphate problem "the red slim and green hair algae are out of control even after cutting down on food light etc" so I am going to use a fluidized bed filter with phosphate remover in it just wondering the best way to set it up.I was thinking of running it from the return side of the sump with it's own pump.The sump is feed from the tank by a bulk head fitting or should I hang it of the back of the tank and put a pump with filter sponge on it sucking from the bottom of the tank.
flulidized bed filter set up
- Thread starter TEL
- Start date
Keep it in the sump. you could even T from the return and route water flow to the FBF, since you'll only need ~80-100 gph.
Just put it in the sump like I do so you don't have to see it. I actually put mine in the water so I don't ever have to worry if it leaks, but that shouldn't really be a problem anyway.
The tank is 4'x18"x20"h with 2 800g/ph power heads and a bulk head fitting to the sump, hopping this will circulate enough to the sump to fix the phosphate problem.I hooked it up in a smiler way to Amphiprion suggestion by feeding it from the chiller return which is feed from a T-piece and flow control tap on the sump return hope this works. Thank you.
That red slime is pretty easy to get rid of. Just go to the LFS and purchase some red slime remover, mix some of it with your water, dump it in the tank and it'll do it's job rather quickly.
Hair algae is a different story and you'll need to starve it out by getting rid of the excess nutrients. Of course, it never hurts to have some tangs, lawnmower blennies, urchins, and hermit crabs.
Also, throw a bunch of macro algae like Chaeto in your sump and put a light over it...or better yet, build out a refugium. The chaeto grows quickly and will help to naturally use up the excess nutrients in the tank.
Lastly, make sure you always use RO water (reverse osmosis) water to make up your saltwater. Tap water has too many phosphates and dissolved solids.
Hair algae is a different story and you'll need to starve it out by getting rid of the excess nutrients. Of course, it never hurts to have some tangs, lawnmower blennies, urchins, and hermit crabs.
Also, throw a bunch of macro algae like Chaeto in your sump and put a light over it...or better yet, build out a refugium. The chaeto grows quickly and will help to naturally use up the excess nutrients in the tank.
Lastly, make sure you always use RO water (reverse osmosis) water to make up your saltwater. Tap water has too many phosphates and dissolved solids.
I had a lawnmower blennie once and it did a very good job of the green hair algae but during the process of pulling the tank apart to catch a domino who was attacking everyone it got under a rock and died I also had a smaller domino who at the time was ok but now it is just as bad as the other one so as soon as I get rid of it I will get another lawnmower blennie and as for the water changes I use an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Deionized tap water filter it was cheaper than an RO setup and easier to use because I live a rental unit and nowhere to mount the RO unit and the Deionized tap water filter gives you 100% of the water back. My LFS suggested I use KENT Poly.OX which is supposed to get rid of excess organics in the tank but will take a little while.
Last edited:
That Aquarium Pharmaceuticals DI water purifier should be fine but it won't filter out organics or suspended solids. Never used it so I can't say much about it other than that mixed bed resin is not cheap to replace. But in theory, that should help you out a ton. Just make sure you get a TDS meter to make sure it's working efficiently. Good luck