Skimmer vs. Fuge

[jsr]

Hello everyone. I have been fighting algae from day one. I thought I did everything right. I use ONLY RO/DI and used it from the start, run a PhosBan reactor, even used some drops help with the phosphate with no success. All it did was turn the algae from green to brown. I assume this killed it somehow. However, no matter what I do I cannot get the hair algae to stop growing on the rocks. So here is my problem. I have a 29G aquarium setup as a sump. Due to the size of my skimmer (Octopus NW200) I don't have room for a fuge. My options are to get a bigger sump, which I am working on trying to get, or pull the skimmer out and use the sump as a fuge. If you were in this situation, what would you do? Is it better to have a skimmer or a fuge? I have no corals, only three small fish. I am also thinking about moving the fish to a small Bio-Cube 14 and draining the big tank to do some work on it. I fear that I may shock the fish by moving them from a 135G tank into a 14G tank. The fish are a 4" watchman goby, 2" lawnmower blenny, and a 1" pseudochromis. Please give me some information before I just sell the fish and retire the tank!!

Thanks,

James

[tony45power]

i have a refugium and have no algea at all in my tank since i built it. just recently i hooked uo my skimmer in my refgium now. i built the refugium and put my skimmer on pvc stand.

[mg426]

A refugium is a welcome addition to any system. It will help consume excess nutrients that are most likely causing the algae out break. Some of the antibiotic (Drops, chemi clean) treatments canl damage your biological filtration process. A skimmer does not remove Nitrates/Phosphates it removes organic compounds that decay into them. A load of snails will be helpfull also.

[Acillaton]

I used to have a problem with phosphate too. I did run a phos. reactor to solve this problem. It did help a bit but did not remove phos. completly. Then I set up refugium with cheeto, after about 2weeks phosphate was reading 0. So refugium with macroalgae is a good to have to control phosphate. On the other hand I would not give up skimmer for any other filtering device. Looks like you have to take big decision. I would try to work somehow to keep both of them. Refugium does not to have to be huge. Good luck.

[jsr]

Well, I guess the skimmer goes till I get the algae under control. Thanks for the replys.

[AlexB650]

James,

How often do you feed, how much and what do you feed?
Do you blow your rocks off before doing a water change?
Nitrate reading?
How old are your bubls?
Does the tank get sunlight on it at any point in the day (indirect as well)?

And, you probably could use more flow. I'd point two small powerheads behind your rocks. Well, it all depends on how your layout is.

[bmrescort]

If you get rid of the skimmer your nitrates will most likely start rising. I say add an extra powerhead or 2 and keep the skimmer running and see what happens.

[m1enbo1]

what you can do is simply throw some chaeto in your display. somewhere hidden behind the rocks or cornered somewhere. i did that with my aquapod and nitrates were gone within a matter of weeks. just keep it pruned so it wont be a huge clump.

[steven_dean17]

What kind of stand do you have that you dont have room for a fuge and sump? I'm confused a little. You would only need 2-3 extra ft. for the fuge.

[mg426]

I like the chaeto in the tank Idea, lets you keep the skimmer and run some macros.

[AlexB650]

Originally posted by mg426
I like the chaeto in the tank Idea, lets you keep the skimmer and run some macros.

No offense, but that's really ghetto

[kzickovich]

Ive seen on other threads that you could build a fuge out of almost anything like a rubbermaid container slap a pump in it and a light on it there you go. if that dosn't work get a hang on skimmer or fuge

[Sk8r]

set the skimmer up on eggcrate above the sump and let it drip in, if it overflows. THat way you get both.

[akaatomic]

It sounds like you went from green algae to diatoms to either green hair or cyano. What color is your hair algae? This is a normal cycle. Some tanks take three months to get through it. Some tanks take a year to do it. My tank took a year and a half. When you have a large water volume like that, things tend to happen slower because most people tend not to overstock large tanks in the beginning. Phosban did a good job controlling cyano for me, but it wasn't the cure. Algae usually grows, dies and breaks down to feed more algae. Your skimmer is the key to getting the dead organics out before they can break down. Macro algae is great to have in your sump and you don't need to have a "fuge" for it to be effective. Just stuff some chaeto in by your skimmer and throw a cheap flourecent light on it. Chaeto will take time to show benefit, but once it's established it will help to keep your numbers in check. There are various opinions on this, but I found the "no lights for three days" technique to be quite effective. Keep your skimmer running and do some manual cleaning/water changing right after. Also, what do you have in the way of algae eating inverts? Mexican turbo snails rock. Your tank will reach a balance. You just happen to be one of the lucky ones that takes a long time to do it.