Refugium light cause algae in main tank?

Correct it is a Tunze 9002. It seems to bubble fine I just don't know how to adjust it correctly for it to work okay. It seems like I adjust it too high and it fills with water in one day or too low and no bubbles are going through the top and catching. It does have a "water line" but I couldn't get it to work until I moved it above that line and now it's half full in 2 days. It does look yellow but it really doesn't look super dirty like previous ones I owned after seeing them in a week.

I understand the tank isn't bullet proof but I'd like to do anything with reason to make it best as possible....and within my budget obviously! I felt personally if the tank is 60 gallons and has apprx 70pds of live rock and 60 pds of reef flakes then it probably only holds 50 gallons max. So I felt a small octopus would be suffiecient, the next size up would be a 10 gallon fuge underneath but again I feel that takes up too much space when I've read the top fuges work well on smaller tanks. I have filled it with 1" of that mudd and would add some live rock if you suggest. Also from the research I've read (on other forums) the best thing to place in those fuges are miracle mudd, micro algae and possibly live rock. I know the chaeto does well but doesnt that grow out of the tank alot and can't it be pretty potent to the tank as well if it dies or something?

I have loaded pictures finally on my profile page. I've also listed the parameters I've taken last night, keep in mind this has been up for 3 days BUT has several weeks old water, live rock and live sand. Tell me what you think, I haven't gotten a PH test kit YET, I thought the test strips were accurate until I was told otherwise so I bought this small setup to test everything but didnt come with PH READER!! GRRR!
KH-143.2 or 8
Calcium-520 (isn't this HIGH?)
Phosphate-.25 or .50 (hard to tell)
Nitrate-0ppm
Salinity-1.023
Water Temp- 79-80.7 degrees (isn't this okay to stay a little warm as long as it doesnt hit above 82?)

I do appreciate all your help. I'm never to marine and want to do everything I can to keep my stuff alive and healthy. I love my fishies so any advice is much appreciated! Thanks again!
 
chaeto sometimes grows fast but not really out of control, some calupera will get out of control. I do mostly chaeto and a couple mangroves in my fuge, then grow some display friendly macro's in the main tank.


calcium is ok most reef salts will put it at 475-575.
 
TL1000RSquid said:
chaeto sometimes grows fast but not really out of control, some calupera will get out of control. I do mostly chaeto and a couple mangroves in my fuge, then grow some display friendly macro's in the main tank.

calcium is ok most reef salts will put it at 475-575.
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Do you use miracle mud, live rock or anything else in the fuge? What's the difference between putting macro in fuge compared to leaving it in the display tank
 
haven't used Miracle Mud before, just have a deep sand bed and rock in my 55 fuge, rock rubble in HOB fuges. Display vs Fuge macro's, most people don't want a bunch of plants in the display tank, just a few small things or colorful ones, stuff like chaeto is kind of unsightly you don't really want to see a ball of it blowing around in the current in your DT, other stuff is edible to fish so you don't want them to eat it all, finally if you run your fuge lights 24 hours it keeps calupra from going sexual.
 
TL1000RSquid said:
haven't used Miracle Mud before, just have a deep sand bed and rock in my 55 fuge, rock rubble in HOB fuges. Display vs Fuge macro's, most people don't want a bunch of plants in the display tank, just a few small things or colorful ones, stuff like chaeto is kind of unsightly you don't really want to see a ball of it blowing around in the current in your DT, other stuff is edible to fish so you don't want them to eat it all, finally if you run your fuge lights 24 hours it keeps calupra from going sexual.
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I prefer not to leave my lights on 24 hours because then its hard to sleep with so much light. Is it not possible to grow it will limited lighting? I'm considering in wrapping te tank with a black background to help but the five sits on the top of the tank so the light shines in the front room at night. Any suggestions?
 
Tank is 79.2 degrees with MH off for 15 hours and it's not getting cooler? House is kept at 73 degrees and only thing I have inside tank in tunze skimmer and fuge hanging on back. Could it be the fuge pump that's raising the temps? It doesn't go above 81
 
The fast growth rate of chaeto is what you want. All you do is pull out the ball and clip it down and let it regrow. I'm no macro expert but chaeto is the way to go if you want one of the best for nutrient uptake. I think you are thinking of Caulerpa and Halimeda which can go sexual and potential harm your tank. Chaeto should not harm your tank if it dies. I've never seen a fuge purposely setup to grow micro algae (most use algae turf scrubbers for that). I would read this... http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-01/sl/index.php

Yes, the 9002's seem to work best when the water level is kept just above the water line mark. If you can't keep it there on a fairly consistent basis, you're not going to get its best performance. Sounds like it may need to break in a little as well. I would run it so the water level in the skimmer is fairly low and the air valve is wide open for a couple of days and then slowly raise the level (leave the air at max).
 
Just checked the pics. Good looking tank! You need to get that phosphate to zero. The chaeto will help. If it were me, I would run some GFO and see if you can pull those out sooner. If you decide to run some GFO, do not overdo it and follow the instructions. Also, you may want to consider raising your SG to 1.025 (slowly) and doing your best to keep your temp at or below 80.

Have you tested for Mg? Your Ca is a little high and your alk is a little low but nothing to get worked up about. As long as they are stable at those numbers, you should be ok. What salt mix are you using and are you dosing anything?

Are you gonna relocate the hippo tang?
 
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