This is odd...

[OCDP]

I ran out of salt a while back, I didn't do a water change for .. ohhhh, let's say 3 months (tsk tsk I know) . I finally got some salt about a month ago, and have been doing 2.5 - 5g water changes on Sunday's. When I first got my salt, you may remember I did a BIG tank cleaning.. tank looked great.. still does, for the most part.

What I am noticing now though, after the frequent water changes is....

I have a potentially bad cyano outbreak on the back tank wall and in the back of the tank on the sand and I am getting diatoms on the sandbed frequently , which is quite the eye sore.

Any ideas as to why I'd be getting MORE algae instead of LESS ? Seems when I wasn't doing water changes, I wasn't going through any of this

Just to note.. I have since added to my clean-up crew... so hopefully when that order arrives I'll notice them make somewhat of a dent. I hope.......

[TheReefGeek]

What water are you using for your water changes? Tap water or RODI?

[OCDP]

Haha, I won't lie.. I do use conditioned tap water. But, I know of lots of Calgary reefers who use conditioned tap water as well, with no problems... not to say that's not where my problem is coming from, though.

I use PRIME to condition my tap water. I also use a little more than suggested just so I feel that all the nasties are being removed.

[TheReefGeek]

On your next batch of water change water, use your prime, then let it sit overnight with a powerhead and heater. Then run tests on it, PH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate and post your results.

[Beverly]

Oops, I forgot to mention phosphate in the tapwater which is linked to cyano growth. Prime will do nothing to neutralize phosphate.

Do you have any macroalgae in the tank to utilize nutrients?

Could also be that you've had phosphate in your tank for awhile and is just now showing up as a bunch of cyano, especially in low flow areas.

[mr_alberta]

If you want to take out phosphate, you can use Rowaphos or Phosban. Just be careful how you use them as a sudden drop in Phosphate levels is really hard on SPS.

[OCDP]

Yeah, Bev.. I know PRIME doesn't remove phosphates.

And I definitely wouldn't be too surprised to find some phosphates in my water.. I mean, 20g , 4 fish...the feedings, etc... it's inevatible IMO.

I just don't know how much phosphates are in my water hehe... let's say it can't be TOO bad considering my SPS are thriving and growing well in these conditions.

Here's a question... can I simply stick macro's into my tank and hide them away in a corner or something and just let them grow? What kind of macro's would be best? If so, I will definitely do this so it sucks some nutrients up... why haven't I thought/tried this before?! eesh.

[Beverly]

Scott,

Check the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels in the water. At certain times of the year these nasties can be present big time in tapwater.

[OCDP]

Hmm, it's not an RO seeing as I don't use an RO/DI unit

Maybe , depending on what the tax refund looks like, I could invest in one of those Aquasafe units... I plan to keep my reef for a while to come... and want long-term success, especially with SPS. So perhaps that's something to look into. I'll post a thread about them though, as I have questions about the unit itself.

Otherwise, is there something I can use (chemically) that will help rid of this algae outbreak? I would manually do it, but it's all too hard to reach (cyano in particular) .. I just need something to clean the tank up a bit.

Thanks,

[OCDP]

Thanks guys, good idea.. I will test the water , tomorrow morning. I'll try leaving a bucket sit over night with the PRIME in it.