alge is getting worse

hi again all
my alge problem is gettin worse!
i have now placed 4 bags of fluval phosphat removal stuff in my filters.
but still my phosphates are off the scale.
i was wondering, if i was to place all my fish into my hospital tank,
would it work to expose the entire tank to uv rays?
i thought this because the alge does not get into the uv filter.
would anyone say this would be a bad thing?

i am gettin desprate now because i cant get rid of it all.
thanks guys

 

How long have you been using the fluval phosphate removal in your filters? It doesn't happen over night.

Anyway, we need this info:

Please fill out as much of the following info that you can. Not only will it help us help you, it's good stuff to know about your tank. And will aid in the future health of your tank and its inhabitants.....
COPY/PASTE and fill in the blanks..... Just do your best:guitarist

Brief description of the problem.
A picture(s) will also help.
PARAMETERS (important)
Temperature:
PH:
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
Salinity:
dKH/KH/Alkalinity:
Magnesium:
Calcium:
Phosphate:

Tank size?
Estimated total system?

Reef, fish only or, freshwater?

Current inhabitants? What and how many?
Clean up crew?

How long has your tank been set-up?

Substrate.
Type?
Depth?

Live rock?
How much?
Did you recently add some?

Filtration.
Type?
Protein skimmer?
Do you wet or dry skim?
Maintenance schedule for filtration?
Drilled tank/hang on back overflow?
Sump/refugium. What's in it and how much?
Macro? What kind?

Lighting.
Lighting type?
Age of bulbs?

Feeding
What?
How much?
How often?

Water change schedule.
How much?
How often?
What salt brand?
Water source?

Additives/supplements used?

Do you have a ground probe?
What kind of flow does your tank have?

Any additional info you would like to share.... Including anything different that you have done/not done.

Let's get to the bottom of this. Any of the above info that is questionable to you is pertinent to keeping a happy/healthy tank/wallet.

 

Temperature: 76 f
PH: 8.32
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
Salinity: 1.020
dKH/KH/Alkalinity: 440
Magnesium: no test kit
Calcium: no test kit
Phosphate: off the scale over 5.2

Tank size? 50 gal
Estimated total system? 52 gal

Reef, fish only or, freshwater? reef (only a few inverts at the moment)

Current inhabitants? What and how many? 2 tangs 3 clowns 1 fire fish
Clean up crew? 1 hermit crab

How long has your tank been set-up? 6 months

Substrate.
Type? coral sand
Depth? 1 inch

Live rock?
How much? about 8kg
Did you recently add some? no last was about 3 months ago

Filtration.
Type? 2 canister filters
Protein skimmer? red sea's skimmer
Do you wet or dry skim? bit in between
Maintenance schedule for filtration? every 2 weeks with water change
Drilled tank/hang on back overflow? no
Sump/refugium. What's in it and how much? n/a
Macro? What kind?

Lighting.
Lighting type?150watt 10,000k MH
Age of bulbs? 3 months used tube lights at first

Feeding
What? king british flake
How much? enough to be eaten in 2-3 minuets
How often? once a day

Water change schedule.
How much? 20-30%
How often? every 2 weeks
What salt brand? tropic marine
Water source? ro/di

Additives/supplements used? n/a

Do you have a ground probe? not sure what that is
What kind of flow does your tank have? 2 maxi jet 1200 power heads operating alternatly switching every 30 seconds

Any additional info you would like to share.... Including anything different that you have done/not done.

images can be found on my last post titled please help

 

forgot to say the phosphate remover has been in for nearly a week now

 

two tangs produce a lot of waste for that size tank. Also, you salinity is a little low.
To your problem, try feeding once every other day. Something is wrong if you have that much phosphate remover and that high of a reading. What type of algae is it? How long do you keep your lights on for? Is this a recent problem or have you been battling it for a while? A picture could help too.
Also, you don't have much live rock either.

 

When you do your filter maintenance, are you cleaning the detritis from the bioballs and all?? I would also cut feeding to every other day. Getting rid of the algae is only going to be a temporary solution with your phosphates that high. ie it would come right back. Are the tangs touching the algae? 2 tangs for a 50 gal?? That seems like a little much. you should have at least 75 gallons before you have 1 tang. they like to swim and they poop alot.

 

oh and red sea skimmers arent that great, especially when you have 2 tangs in a small tank that poop alot.

 

Thanks for filling in the info. I agree your SG looks a bit low.

I would definitely cut back on the feedings. Cut down to once every two or three days (the fish will be fine) and just use enough to be eaten in 1 or 2 minutes instead of 2-3. Food is a big source of phosphates.


I would also increase flow, personally.


Also, as noted, those are some waste producing fish (tangs). I would definitely add to the CuC to better handle the fish poop.

Try those things and give it a week or two and see if your phosphates start dropping. (If it's off the scale, it may take longer before you'll see the drop).

I have never used UV - I am not ignoring that question, I just don't know the answer.

 

How about increasing your clean up crew? Check out the 3reef sponsers for clean up crews.

 

Another thing I forgot before is that if your nitrates are reading 10ppm and you have a lot of macro algae, then your actual level is probably much higher because the algae consumes nitrates as well. I would work on cleaning your filters and as the others said, get a better CUC.