Reefer Guru's I need some help!

[Clam Man]

what kind of skimmer and is it working ok.If you dont know how old the bulbs are change them.do you have a pressure guage on your ro unit if not they are worth the small amount of money so you know you are running at 60pounds no less and you can tell if a filters are getting dirty the pressure will drop.buy some turbo snails there big but they do a good job

 

[LauraD]

[QUOTE=jimmyj7090

Jimmy wrote:
"I'm wondering exactly what kind of algae were talking about? That quote sounds to me like diatoms? Most other micro algae won't go away when the lights are off and won't come back so quickly. Is it green green or is it brownish? when you clean the glass is it almost powdery as it wipes away (sort of dust like blowing away as you scrape)? "
It is green and yes it is almost powdery as it wipes away.

How fresh is the RO unit?
I've been thinking it is time to change my filter. It is about 10 mos or so old.
However, I also have a 92 corner and I am not getting this algae so wouldnt that tell me the cartridge isnt the only culprit.
.

 

[LauraD]

Thanks Daire. I hate these test kits....everything is so wishywashy and they arent consistant in terms! I have 3 alk kits and none of them are the same measurement!
I have tulips whenever you'd like some.

ClamMan: sorry I dont know the kind of skimmer it is.. I will have to check with Jason but it is filling with green gunk and bubbles. Is that a sure sign it is working well enough? My skimmer pump is a Maxi 1200. Should I increase that?

 

[LauraD]

Forgot to mention: I shut the lights off at 5pm today after spending the day cleaning, and watching it come back. I just turned the lights on at 11pm, 6hrs later to look at the glass and no green algae. Not sure if this is relavanet or not but it is safe to say I only have this problem when lights are on. hmmmm....

 

[Richard]

Hi Laura

I may have a little bit of time this weekend. If you like I can swing by with some test kits and give you my two cents worth.

 

[NateHanson]

A TDS meter is certainly worth having so you can eliminate the possiblity that your RODI water is partly to blame. The pen type meters are only about $25.

 

[LauraD]

Thanks Richard, I will let you know. Jason will be around this weekend and he can help me out. He is away all week so I dont have him to lean on.
Nate: I have a TDS meter and it reads 19ppm.....usually it is under 10.
Is that bad?

FYI: lights on for 2 hrs,,,,,slight green film on glass already

 

[Richard]

Laura

Do you have a DI cartrage after the RO. If you do you need to re[lace you DI. Do you know what your TDS is before the it goes into your filter?

 

[LauraD]

I dont know the answer to your first question but Jason has recently said we need to think about changing our cartridge soon because he has had it since the summer.
My TDS reading on my Tap water (fresh outta the faucet) is 100ppm

PS; this is a pain in the a&#, but I am getting on hell of an education! Keep talking guys!

 

[NateHanson]

Sounds like you need to do some maintenance on your RO. Like Richard says, I'd check your tap TDS, RO TDS and your RODI TDS (if you have DI). The RO should be single or low double digits, about 20 fold lower than your tap, and the RODI should be less than 5, IMO. Ideally zero. A TDS of 20 could be contributing to your bloom.

 

[LauraD]

Nate: Correction! Jason just called me and walked me through testing my RO. He had me use a new paper cup (i was using 5 gal buckets, prob unclean) My reading was a 1. Hooray! I do have DI as well. That read 1 using a clean cup.

So it is safe to say it is not my RO water.
Can my bulb do this? I dont know how old it is. Do I have overkill for a softie tank.
Thanks for your help. I am learning so much for this forum.

 

[NateHanson]

RO sounds good (although if you're getting 1 from the RO and 1 from the RODI, it might be time to change your RODI - certainly not a big deal though).

I'd probably guess that it's just new-tank-syndrome, and let it be for a couple weeks, with reduced photoperiod. You could change the bulb though if you suspect it's over a year old.

 

[DEIGNAN14]

Thanks for all your help everyone. In the end the addition of a micron filter sock and a good scrapping seems to have done the trick!