WeedyDragon
New member
Hey Everyone,
First a little background on my minimalist tank. I have a 6 month old, 29 gal reef with live rock/sand, CPR BakPak skimmer, LEDs, and two 425 Koralias. For the most part, everything has been going smoothly and stable. I was doing a 15-20% water change every 2 weeks and your typical cleaning which seemed to work great. But for the last month and a half, Ive had a rise in phosphates and trouble getting them down. Its not too bad yet, but I'm starting to see a rise in algae growth.
Ive been testing my water params regularly, and all are in the norm accept for the high phosphates. As of today:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: 8.0
Ca: 400 ppm
Mg: 1320ppm
KH: 8.0dKH
Since the rise in phosphates, I've been doing weekly 20% water changes using saltwater and RO/DI purchased from my local fish store. With each water change, I've been cleaning the sand, live rock, and walls of tank. I've reduced my lighting period and have been taking it easy on the fish food. Nothing is really bringing them down enough.
The employee at the fish store suggested using GFO media in a sock. I do not have a HOB filter, nor the room for one, so this means I would have to fabricate something to stick in my skimmer. Is this the way to go? Using GFO media?
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. :smile (2):
First a little background on my minimalist tank. I have a 6 month old, 29 gal reef with live rock/sand, CPR BakPak skimmer, LEDs, and two 425 Koralias. For the most part, everything has been going smoothly and stable. I was doing a 15-20% water change every 2 weeks and your typical cleaning which seemed to work great. But for the last month and a half, Ive had a rise in phosphates and trouble getting them down. Its not too bad yet, but I'm starting to see a rise in algae growth.
Ive been testing my water params regularly, and all are in the norm accept for the high phosphates. As of today:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: 8.0
Ca: 400 ppm
Mg: 1320ppm
KH: 8.0dKH
Since the rise in phosphates, I've been doing weekly 20% water changes using saltwater and RO/DI purchased from my local fish store. With each water change, I've been cleaning the sand, live rock, and walls of tank. I've reduced my lighting period and have been taking it easy on the fish food. Nothing is really bringing them down enough.
The employee at the fish store suggested using GFO media in a sock. I do not have a HOB filter, nor the room for one, so this means I would have to fabricate something to stick in my skimmer. Is this the way to go? Using GFO media?
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. :smile (2):