Few Questions....Not sure if serious

[fantom555]

Ok guys so I have had my 24 DX nano up and running for a while and everything looks real healthy and colorful, but I am having an algae problem. Usually notice it in the morning, looks like strings of brown/red algae..almost like fish poop I brush it off and it goes into the floss, it has been about a week and hasn't gotten any better or worse. I am thinking about doing a 50% change with RO water from the local store. What exactly does the RO water do different since salt adds all the minerals etc back into the water or am I getting it wrong?

Also I am getting some chaeto today, Can i just hold it down under a rock in the corner? Will it take over my tank if I do so?

I just added a carbon bag to my tank today...completely forgot it wasn't in there, think that will help the algae problem?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dave]

RO water is beneficial for what it doesn't have, and not what it does have. e.g. phosphates (feeding your algae problem), nitrates, other impurities.

 

[boontonbob]

I know many of the moderators are super tied up with MACNA prep, so I will start...

It could be diatoms but they usually start out blanketing the bottom or rock before getting bubbly from within and stringy. I would start a nutrient reduction plan and consider a phosban reactor. Perhaps some other reefers who have experienced this specific algae can assist.

About public water, there are likely frequent variations in the minute levels of nutrients and contaminants for corals and fish, especially those that are not rated as hardy. What kind of livestock are you keeping? Ocean water is amazing stable versus tap water and most reefs need a stable environment unless you are keeping very hardy coral like softies, shrooms and the like.

Then again, I've heard a select few experienced reefers say that they have had consistent success with town water, but then the element of variation of many elements acceptable for the particular town policy for drinking water and not good for the long term health of reefs is a concern. When you get into systems that have a large investment in calcifying coral and sensitive fish like tangs, that is when ro/di would be most essential. (or when you get chronic nuisance algae issues!)

One common threat in this hobby is that system often crash with a large percentage of coral and fish dying without the keeper ever figuring out what went wrong. Ro/Di water would reduce that likelihood.

On chaeto, I haven't heard of too many people keeping in the display as it get's unsightly in a short period of time. It would get intertwined with rock which would be a pain. I have kept some in separate tank (refuge) which helped reduce phosphates nicely over the long haul. A phosban reactor would a quicker resolution if can hang or run one from a sump.
HTH

 

[fantom555]

Public water has always been find for me with SW tank, this is my first reef tank....it did start out on the sand bed too. All corals are softies. I have a perc clown, 6 line wrasse, bicolor blenny, fire shrimp, pepermint shrimp and lotta softies. I might have to look into putting it into the back with a light, as of now it is in a soap dish suctioned to the back. I think in the next few I days I am going to a 50% water change with RO water from the LFS.

 

[jtnova13]

also, depending on where you live (i live in philly). Alot of our pipes are copper which then gets in the water. Copper is deadly to inverts, so your shrimp could die from tap water.

 

[fantom555]

I live in moorestown nj, only 15 mins from philly....i have 2 shrimp and have had them live long lives before...thye just molt right when I introduce them to a new tank and are fine afterward.

 

[jtnova13]

ah, ok. Since you haven't had a problem yet, i'd say you have non-copper pipes, or they're not old and rusty like mine

 

[redfishbluefish]

also, depending on where you live (i live in philly). Alot of our pipes are copper which then gets in the water. Copper is deadly to inverts, so your shrimp could die from tap water.

Water running through the few feet of copper in your house is not going to dump that much copper ions into your water. The water should be pretty much neutral pH and the flow too great. If you went on vacation for a year or two, I'd be a little concerned about the first few gallons out of the tap...not so much for the copper, but the lead that comes from the older copper pipes that were "sweated" with lead base solder.

 

[Mbodell]

Moorestown's water (with 30 psi water pressure) was aweful when I lived there. There is a lot of minerals and such in the water there. My TDS when I lived there were around 120 after going through a high flow carbon filter. It is now around 60 in stratford. You definitely need ro/di water or it won't go away. I cycled my tank with the moorestown tap water and it gave me the worst algae bloom you could imagine.

 

[fantom555]

I did a 50% change with RO DI and it went away, but that was the first time I ever had a problem. Shrimp has always been fine.