I also received this PM with suggestions;
hey i have been reading your post on problems with sps.
i notice that you have black sand?
im not really sure on the chemcial composition ...
i would remove it and run a bare bottom or very light layer of calcium based substrate.
the reason i say this is because most black sands are highly composed of silica... silica is a major component in micoalga and other microorganisms biological makeup.
- I actually run a bare bottom system. The black sand I think you are referring to was from my old tank which I tore down in November.
the water changes also... i wouldnt change that much every week.... i rarely change the water at all in my tank.... maybe a few gallons a month.. adding new salt can change the conditions in the water rapidly
even if there only small amounts.
- I've always had better success with SPS growth and keeping GHA in check. However, I will see what happens if I go say every two weeks between a 7g water change.
testing for chemicals such as nitrates and phosphates can be useless... chemical reagents go bad so quick that they dont give accurate readings...as well the hair alga is sucking up so fast you cant specify where it is comming from. make sure they are new tests .. and that always airtight..
- There is no more GHA, just a few pieces, so I think I have beat it.
its always fun to go high tech with calcium reactors and phosphoban and kalk mixers....
try removing them.... and go tot he very basic.. carbon ... and just plain additives (bottle liquid).
- I can certainly take them offline and see what happens. Can you explain why a liquid additive would be a better choice?
from there you can start to determin what is wrong.
maybe even use a different salt. its easier to find something wrong when you have a minimal set up... compaired to and elaborate one.
then you can always add them slowly.
just
my thoughts ...
hope everything gets better
dave
- Thank you for your suggestions, it is quite a bit to think about.
On another note I forgot to provide the original links to the tank journals;
Current tank; 28g Long
Previous Tank; 24g cube