FatChevy Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Can anyone suggest a good kit to test for both? I have the cheap all in one kits and I'm having a green hair algae outbreak. I've tested everything and the cheapo kit says i'm all good. doesnt seem right to me. I'm planning on starting to do the vodka method because no matter what I do the stuff refuses to go away. (20 gallon tall) also my main display tank (76 half circle) gets this brown flaky buildup on the powerheads and glass. i'm constantly cleaning the glass. so I'm hoping the vodka dosing with help with everything but without a good test kit i'm at a loss.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 You are going to need a different test kit for both. I have never heard of a decent one that will test Nitrate and Phosphate together. Elos or Salifert are the ones that I use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 You are going to need a different test kit for both. I have never heard of a decent one that will test Nitrate and Phosphate together. Elos or Salifert are the ones that I use. no not a together lol. just a test kit for each... Anyone use hanna phosphate tester? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I would use the Hanna po4 checker and the salifert for nitrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast5oranger Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 +1 on the hanna, just make sure you get the ultra low range one if you're trying to get your levels close to zero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev311 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 + 1 on the hanna you can't beat the ease of use along with accuracy that you'll obtain Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Thanks everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 It is possible that your test kits are right and they are zero. Your algea may be using it as fast as your tank makes it DOH! Best to track down the sorce. I have not tried the vodka doseing but have heard it can go either way. I just use regular old GFO to combat PO4 and water changes for NO3, which I'm behind on (nono) been a rough couple weeks. Algea scrbbers are also very interesting, I do plan on building one eventualy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 It is possible that your test kits are right and they are zero. Your algea may be using it as fast as your tank makes it DOH! Best to track down the sorce. I have not tried the vodka doseing but have heard it can go either way. I just use regular old GFO to combat PO4 and water changes for NO3, which I'm behind on (nono) been a rough couple weeks. Algea scrbbers are also very interesting, I do plan on building one eventualy +1 on all counts. the growth of algae does not mean your kits are wrong. I'd focus on getting some chaeto growing, it can starve the GHA because you light the sump with a bulb with better spectrum for photosynthesis (reef lights are pretty bad for growth cause they're so blue). put a couple CFL bulbs at 5600-8000K in the sump and drop a baseball's worth (or more) of chaeto in there to let it grow. if no sump (only a 20T), try some other macro in the tank (like ulva or prolifera) to outcompete the GHA. Finally, get yourself some critters that eat the GHA, they'll poop out waste that you can get out easy with skimming/water changes. dwarf blue crabs, trocus, astrea and turbo snails and my favorite: sea hare are typically good at the stuff. of the snails, trochus and astrea are my favs cause they do less bulldozing than the turbos and the trochus are particularly good at getting right side up with they fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 I have chaeto in both tanks. theres a aquaclear modified to house chaeto. I have an abundance of cleaners (snails, crabs, etc). I have a 5600 cfl bulb on the sump and one on the 20g (to cheap to put AI's on the 20) there are no dead fish. I do water changes with ro/di water every 2 weeks or so. I've limited the light to just 8 hours a day (and thats with 2 AI Sols)...I'm pulling my hair out here and not the green kind! I also used chemiclean a few months ago. that only helped for a few weeks. I'm constantly cleaning the glass on both tanks also! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 hmmmm... what levels are you testing at currently? what do you mean the 'test good', is that showing as zero, near zero? a number would help. I hate to be the guy that asks, but are you overfeeding? And the 5600K bulb on the 20g is probably contributing, that's at least as good a spectrum for GHA as for corals...try finding a higher-K bulb like 8 or 10K, they're hard to find, but if you dig around on 'the internets' long enough, it'll probably pop up. or go for a PC or tube fluor fixture, they run pretty cheap. you should be able to get a proper light for a 20g for 50-75 bucks if you're savvy about it. I'd bet an acan frag that the 5600K bulb is a major contributor to the GHA in your 20g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 hmmmm... what levels are you testing at currently? what do you mean the 'test good', is that showing as zero, near zero? a number would help. I hate to be the guy that asks, but are you overfeeding? And the 5600K bulb on the 20g is probably contributing, that's at least as good a spectrum for GHA as for corals...try finding a higher-K bulb like 8 or 10K, they're hard to find, but if you dig around on 'the internets' long enough, it'll probably pop up. or go for a PC or tube fluor fixture, they run pretty cheap. you should be able to get a proper light for a 20g for 50-75 bucks if you're savvy about it. I'd bet an acan frag that the 5600K bulb is a major contributor to the GHA in your 20g my po4 and po3 are at 0. thats why im confused. I didnt know lighting had a contribution to green hair! I have a bad of gfo and the chaeto in the aquaclear and i feel like im getting no where. if the lightings the case then im going to have to upgrade or shut the 20 down. with the sump and main display. what would cause me to have to clean my glass every day? I'm running tlf reactor and have gfo in it. also I have a small case of red algae in the sump. I've turned out the sump light yesterday but I want to eliminate it. not put a bandage on it. is the light causing the red algae too? my cheato seems to be growing fine and the light was reccomended by someone on this forum just cant remember who. I wish I lived in portland. I might just make the move so I have some experienced people surrounding me! Of btw I only feed every other day and I'm using an assortment of frozen food that is rinsed thoroughly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 my po4 and po3 are at 0. thats why im confused. I didnt know lighting had a contribution to green hair! I have a bad of gfo and the chaeto in the aquaclear and i feel like im getting no where. if the lightings the case then im going to have to upgrade or shut the 20 down. with the sump and main display. what would cause me to have to clean my glass every day? I'm running tlf reactor and have gfo in it. also I have a small case of red algae in the sump. I've turned out the sump light yesterday but I want to eliminate it. not put a bandage on it. is the light causing the red algae too? my cheato seems to be growing fine and the light was reccomended by someone on this forum just cant remember who. I wish I lived in portland. I might just make the move so I have some experienced people surrounding me! Of btw I only feed every other day and I'm using an assortment of frozen food that is rinsed thoroughly spectrum definitely affects the algae. realistically, just about everything photosynthetic (and that includes corals) grow best at 6500K (sunlight), but corals look a lot better at higher colors, so we don't use the 6500K on them (usually). so the chaeto will grow best in the 6500K (or 5600K is fine) light, just like the GHA. so in a fuge, I'd say to go with the daylight type bulb, but in the display, push it to 10K or higher, should limit the GHA growth. And the chaeto-friendly spectrum in the fuge will limit the nutrients available to the GHA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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