My water is GREEN HELP.

I dont want to tell you yes get one, b/c they run about$100. and up, but it worked for me when I had the same problem yrs ago. Your LFS might be able to rent you one, that way you dont have to buy one and watch it sit there collecting dust. Luna

 

uv filters or kill all bact or so ive heard and most bact is good for our reefs i dont know why people whould want to kill them better find another way to help what ive learned is that uv filters are great for fish only tanks but use them with catuion on your reef

 

if you use a UV filter just dont get one made for a pond you really dont need a big one just enough for the water your running I had one before I started running ozone and it was more of a pain then it was worth. I would get a better skimmer before I bought a uv filter bulbs for them are expensive also.

 

your bio load is to much for your filtration system. the bio wheels cant keep up and harbor elements you dont want. the lights are helping the excess bio load and the elements in your bio wheel fuel the algae, hence the reason for the lfs telling you about uv. uv is a quick fix and kills all good and bad bacteria, but your still gonna have the problem in the future after its off. a skimmer, refugium, sump and media would make a drastic difference on the quality of water in the system along with an ro/di system. glasscages. com is worth checking out for a better set up.

 

Actually, if you take your filter pads out once a week and rinse the excess crud off of them, this will help control the nitrates and amonia levels. It takes about 3 weeks for a bio-wheel to saturate and start being a helpful tool in the filtration.
Do you have an UG filter tray or is your tank straight substarte? I would reccommend also using an external canister filter to sweep the substrate on a weekly bassis as well. It will greatly help control the build up of debris from feeding.
This is the best way to combat to blooms and elevated toxin levels in any tank. I for one have always used UG filters and reverse flow with power heads and a canister HOT unit.
It helps keep pockets of toxins out of the tank and it does stay real balanced on longer periods of time.
But a good rinse on the filter pads is a must on a weekly basis.
Good luck,

Maximo

 

I would toss some carbon into your filtration to see if that helps at all. I'm not sure it will help all that much but it is inexpensive and wont hurt your system.