3rd Month Into It

[LowKey]

I'd like to start off by saying thanks to all who assisted in getting my 90 plus sump (120 AquaC skimmer) project up and running.

Status:
No soft coral fatalities
anemone is looking good
my two older clowns bit the dust :bawling:
my Tomato Clown and Firehawk are going strong :)
Coralline is establishing nicely

Balance:
RO/DI is heaven sent!
But the water the system produces is rather acidic (6.8ph)
Overall, the balance is relatively consistent.
Except for Alk and Cal.
I find myself continuously fighting to bring the Alk and Cal parameters up to par. Im currently using the Kent Part A and B

Algae:
Im getting a constant maroon (silt like) algae growth forming in the sand.

And of course, some green (hair) algea forming here and there. Nothing out of control.


Reef Crew:
At the moment, my reef crew lack’s infantry. About 12 turbos and 10 hermits, and countless tiny starsfish and snails.

My next reef crew acquisitions:
More snails
reef friendly sand sifting star or Pistol shrimp and goby
Lawnmower Blemy

But I would like to see the tank settle before adding anything else.

Ideally, id like to be algae free (wouldn’t everyone?):D . But Id like to go about solving my minor problems the right way.

Are my current algae issues caused by the young age of the system, water balance, or lack of reef crew?

When should I consider safely building up the reef crew?

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks again

[alten78]

one suggestion imho is ditch the sandsifting star, the critters in the sand are a great part of the cleanup crew, don't want any star sifting through it eating them all up.

Only thing I would say about a larger cleaning crew is a more diversified group of snails, mix in same nassarius, astrea, etc. you can add them as soon as you want (preferably sooner than later.)

As for the algae, just keep up the water changes with your ro/di, maximize your export of phos. and minimize the intake, if that cyano is in the sump/fuge you don't have to siphon out all of it as it acts like a sponge for phos. Lawnmower blenny would be a nice addition, fun to watch and will eat the hair.

Good Luck

[dugg]

If you will grow some macro algae in the sump, under 24/7 lighting, all of the algae in the display will go away forever. Macro in the sump makes reefing fun again instead of a chore.

[LowKey]

Originally posted by dugg
If you will grow some macro algae in the sump, under 24/7 lighting, all of the algae in the display will go away forever. Macro in the sump makes reefing fun again instead of a chore.

I have some Chaeto in the fuge growing somewhat under 24hr lighting. I have to turn off the light for a few days to get rid of the micro algae buildup in the fuge.

I can see the cyano algae starting to die off in some section of the substraight. A good sign I guess. But it's simply not being eliminated completely.

Can algae thrive because of low alk?

I change 15% of the water monthly. Im still not fully understanding how to solve the problem