No3 and Po4 control method? Most economical+effective?

[MAG]

Bio sphere/any similiar product VS chaetos/algae scrubber.

Wonder between the two mentioned above , which one is consider most economical($$$) + effective + easiest to maintain?

I'm not considering chemical product bcos find it expensive and not very practical especially for ppl with busy schedule.

My tank info:

-6 x 2 x 2.5 with sump 4 x 2 x 2

-deltec 702 skimmer

-T5 lights(6tubes-80watts/tube) and will chg to zetlight in near future

-Lps and soft corals and live rocks with bare bottom

-Artica chiller

-01 purple tang + 02 wrasse + 02 damsels

-using nsw for water changing

Thanks for advise.

[MAG]

Forgot to mention that i always have red slime algae(on rocks) + green algae(on glass tank) issue despite min fishes and bare bottom.

When that happens does that mean my no3 and po4 are high?Have not done water testing for awhile though. Sometimes i can see bubbles floating out from rocks.

[epicfish]

Is yours located near a window?, I have red slime coming out every few weeks on the sands where the sun is most strongest in the morning. I'm thinking of getting a sea cucumber to sift my sands every now and then. My rocks are still leeching nitrates after weeks of combating it.

[MAG]

Yes the algae usually grow on the side that faces window but not actually direct sun. What do you mean about rocks leeching no3 and how to tackle the issue?my rocks already with me for 7years.

I used to have sea urchin and it was very effective in cleaning the algae but suddenly all the spikes drop off and became bald.

[MAG]

When i first started 7 years ago i had puka shell as my sand bed and before i removed them its was like no3 factory. So muddy and dirty. So i thought after removing the sandbed and went bare bottom my no3 or po4 issue will be gone or at least no more red slime algae.

[epicfish]

After close to 3 months, I have yet to notice a reduction in nitrates. Sure enough I am lowering it with chemicals and additives but it seems to have reached a 'saturation point'. I am running biopellets and so far, the nitrates are still considered high. My tank has been fishless for more than a month since.

[kraken]

chaeto and ATS would be the best.

[37Alpha]

What's ats?

[pinglow]

[Clement_jr]

Perform more than 70% wc. This is what I did

[MAG]

Chaeto require extra lights=$$$=heat at sump area. How about bio sphere or bio pellets? Any user compare to refugium type.

[MAG]

Bro do u always chg up to 70% of water? Ur using nsw or salt mix?

[MAG]

Also want to CHK with fellow reefer izit ok to chg 50% water and top up with 25% nsw and 25% salt mix?makes any diff in this method?

[Clement_jr]

I change 70% two different times when po4 n no3 are seriously bad with self mix and few bags from lfs because drum not big enough. Now I change 50% biweekly with self mix.

[kraken]

not advisable to mix NSW and salt mixed, very tough to get the parameters right, same reason why one would never mix different brands of salt mix together

[black tank]

If u having high PO4 & NO3, u probably having high nutrient water. PO4 could be leeching out from your rocks. Your NO3 could b coming from your sump such as bioball/substrate. To effectively reduce, try 50-70% of water change and repeat after one week if necessary after water test. To use NSW or saltmix depend on the whether the reading of PO4 & NO3 are high. If very high choose a cheaper method and follow by the saltmix with DI water a week later.