Need Urgent Advice and/or Help As Soon As Possible!!!

[1Meshy2]

13 hours ago, Ladytank said:

Have you been running the same lights for 2yrs? I also have a bio cube 29. I change my lights every yr. 

Actually no. I got the LEDs around May of this year. Am I supposed to change LEDs every few years?

[1Meshy2]

11 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Good point. If it's the older version bulb replacement would be necessary at least every year.

Older version? Are you talking about the old oceanic biocube stock lights?

[1Meshy2]

On 10/8/2018 at 10:32 PM, Clown79 said:

I didn't find any benefit to using it for the cost.

 

I prefer bagging my own media, using less and changing it more often.

I buy the media in the larger containers.

 

I use purigen, kent carbon, and floss.

 

If needed phosguard but in very small quantities.

Ah, I see. The only reason I started to use chemipure though was because when I mentioned to my LFS that I had been using phosguard, he told me to get GFO instead because phosguard has to be changed very often because it can release the phosphate back into the water as soon as it's exhausted (which is apparently fairly quickly). 

[1Meshy2]

On 10/7/2018 at 8:09 PM, Clown79 said:

I would test the water from the aquarium store. 

 

Not all stores actually sell rodi and some stores don't change the filters on the system enough. A lot of ppl find that their problem is due to the quality of water.

 

Phosguard needs testing while being used(every 4 days) and changing once phos levels rise so in order for it to work properly, it needs to be replaced as soon as tests show levels rising.

 

 

Vacuuming sand with every water change is very important and prevents a lot of issues including phos.

 

Siphoning the back chambers every other week also helps as a lot of detritus builds in them.

 

What other media are you using and how frequently is it changed?

 

Some things that will help you with the phos.

 

 is find out if the quality of the water you are buying is actually good. It needs to be tested. If it's not pure, I would change to distilled water which is pure.

 

Use salifert for nitrates and phos. These are more accurate and lower range kits.

Api phos is fine for fw but not low enough for sw and the nitrate test seems to always read 0 even when other kits don't.

 

Start cleaning your sand bed regularly and add the chamber cleaning more often.

 

Feed corals 1 time a week. They still need nutrients.

I hadn't realized that you said to still feed the corals at least once a week. Is the microvert thing okay to feed, or should I get a higher quality food? As for the test results always showing that I have .25ppm (EVEN if I'm using phosguard or chemipure), maybe it's the test kit itself showing me bad numbers, when in reality my water is fine, and I'm just adding too many extra things into the tank to make it "cleaner". If by any chance that's the case, what test kit is better for phosphate? Hanna or salifert? 

[banasophia]

6 minutes ago, 1Meshy2 said:

I hadn't realized that you said to still feed the corals at least once a week. Is the microvert thing okay to feed, or should I get a higher quality food? As for the test results always showing that I have .25ppm (EVEN if I'm using phosguard or chemipure), maybe it's the test kit itself showing me bad numbers, when in reality my water is fine, and I'm just adding too many extra things into the tank to make it "cleaner". If by any chance that's the case, what test kit is better for phosphate? Hanna or salifert? 

I like the Red Sea phosphate and nitrate “algae control pro” tests personally. I didn’t care for the Hanna checkers though many people love them. 

[1Meshy2]

I just wanted to say a million thanks to everyone who has been answering my questions on my thread so far (yes, I know I ask a lot of questions. I just love the knowledge you guys give me lol). I'm still pretty much a rookie to reefing, and I just admire how gorgeous everyone's tanks look like on this site, and I hope to one day be just like you guys! :} 

[banasophia]

I think usually people use Purigen with Chemipure Elite, rather than Phosguard. You only leave the Phosguard in 4 days, Purigen is left in longer term. 

[1Meshy2]

1 minute ago, banasophia said:

I like the Red Sea phosphate and nitrate “algae control pro” tests personally. I didn’t care for the Hanna checkers though many people love them. 

Alright, I'll keep those kits in mind when I go and buy the newer test kits. I'm not sure if you read it or not, but I was curious to know if the microvert I was feeding was good enough for the corals, or if some other kind of food (reef roids, coral frenzy, etc) was a better option? Thanks in advance man. 

[1Meshy2]

5 minutes ago, banasophia said:

I think usually people use Purigen with Chemipure Elite, rather than Phosguard. You only leave the Phosguard in 4 days, Purigen is left in longer term. 

Yeah that's what I was thinking as well, which is why I'm kind of on the fence about using phosguard again. I could, however, try it again (as these nice people have suggested me to do) and see how it goes.  

[LogicalReefs]

10 minutes ago, 1Meshy2 said:

Alright, I'll keep those kits in mind when I go and buy the newer test kits. I'm not sure if you read it or not, but I was curious to know if the microvert I was feeding was good enough for the corals, or if some other kind of food (reef roids, coral frenzy, etc) was a better option? Thanks in advance man. 

Coral frenzy is great. I use both reef roids and coral frenzy.

 

Again you want to get your tank back to how it should be and adding more unnecessary nutrients to the water while doing so is not advised. Your corals will do fine without reef roids, coral frenzy and microvert.

[1Meshy2]

Kind of a random question, but do any of you guys know what brand of test kits is the best for Nitrate, pH, Phosphate, Calcium and Alkalinity? Salifert, Red Sea, Hanna, or some other brand? As mentioned before, I will be getting better test kit in the future, but I just want to make sure that whatever it is I buy is the best option. :] 

[specore]

On 10/7/2018 at 11:38 PM, 1Meshy2 said:

I did ask the store owner once though if their water is RODI, and he had said that it was, but I guess it would be worth to ask for the water to be tested prior to me actually buying it, or I could just test it myself. With my phosguard, no matter how long it was in there, I never got the levels to get any lower. They didn't rise, nor did they lower. I don't use other media other the chaeto, purigen and chemi pure. I do, however, use different types of filter pads. One pad is fused with carbon (black colored) and the other is used to lower phosphates (green colored). I have been thinking that maybe these two pads could be contributing to the problem though, so I've thought about just buying regular filter floss instead. 

I tested the RO water from one of my local stores once and it had higher TDS than my tap water.  $15 for a handheld TDS meter is a worthwhile investment for checking your source water .

 

[Clown79]

On 10/11/2018 at 1:56 PM, 1Meshy2 said:

Ah, I see. The only reason I started to use chemipure though was because when I mentioned to my LFS that I had been using phosguard, he told me to get GFO instead because phosguard has to be changed very often because it can release the phosphate back into the water as soon as it's exhausted (which is apparently fairly quickly). 

You can't believe everything the lfs tells you.

If it was the case of the product releasing phos back into the tank, no one would use it.

 

Good sales tactic imo. One needs to be purchased every month opposed to a container every year.

 

It does have to be changed more often, depends on phos levels but the instructions do state frequent testing is required so you don't change it unnecessarily.

[Clown79]

On 10/11/2018 at 3:25 PM, 1Meshy2 said:

Kind of a random question, but do any of you guys know what brand of test kits is the best for Nitrate, pH, Phosphate, Calcium and Alkalinity? Salifert, Red Sea, Hanna, or some other brand? As mentioned before, I will be getting better test kit in the future, but I just want to make sure that whatever it is I buy is the best option. :] 

If you are using Api for phos, it's not low range, it's not suitable for reefs.

 

Everyone has their favourite kits.

 

I don't test ph so can't comment on best kit.

It's a parameter that fluctuates all day.

 

Alk- hanna checker or salifert

Ca- salifert or red sea

Nitrate- salifert or I use Api

Magnesium- salifert or red sea

 

Phos - hanna checker is considered most accurate.

 

 

[banasophia]

34 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

You can't believe everything the lfs tells you.

If it was the case of the product releasing phos back into the tank, no one would use it.

 

Good sales tactic imo. One needs to be purchased every month opposed to a container every year.

 

It does have to be changed more often, depends on phos levels but the instructions do state frequent testing is required so you don't change it unnecessarily.

Interesting, I wonder if the person at the LFS was thinking about the concern that it could release aluminum... looks like this was a concern at some point in the past and Seachem did studies to rule it out. Also, the instructions on PhosGuard seem kind of confusing, so I can see how they might lead you to believe that once it reaches its capacity it starts to release the phosphates back into the system. I’m liking Phosphate RX for phosphate control so far myself. 

 

 

 

[Tamberav]

I never had problems with phosguard... Never had problems with gfo (used reactor)....my fav has been bright well po4 xport... Bought a bag a few years ago and maybe only halfway through... A cube or two seems to last me a month to several months depending how crazy I get with the reef roids. I only use it based on my hanna po4 low range checker. Using too much of any po4 remover can definitely harm corals.