njparton
Fishaholic
Over the past few weeks I've been having an increasing problem with black hair algae. I invested in 2 SAE's and 4 ottos (and have lost one of each 
), but they don't seem to be making much of an impact...
Nitrate levels in my tank never go above 50 mg/l (25% water change time) and I cannot detect any in my tapwater with a test kit. Tank pH is around 6-6.5 and is at 26C.
Yesterday I decided to buy a phosphate (PO4) test kit. I was under the impression that the tap water here in the North West UK was amonst the best in the country, but I was astonished to find quite high levels of phosphate: 2.5-5 mg/l. The leaflet that comes with the kit states that <1 mg/l is required to avoid excessive algae growth, which is obviously going to be difficult with my tapwater. When I measured the PO4 level in my tank it was way above 5mg/l. The same leaflet suggested that this would be due to the levels of PO4 in fish food.
I always have Green-X in one of my external filters which is supposed to reduce phosphate and nitrate, but yeasterday I decided it was time to invest in an RO unit. I managed to pick a new 3 stage unit up off eBay for £50.
Does anybody else have problems with high PO4 levels and unsightly algae growth?
I'm going to try and change 25% of the water in the tank every 2-3 days over the coming week with buffered RO water to see if there's any improvement.
Is there any type of (dry) fish food that contains suitably low levels of PO4?
I intend to buffer the RO water with Kent R/O or something similar - I've been doing my research.
), but they don't seem to be making much of an impact...Nitrate levels in my tank never go above 50 mg/l (25% water change time) and I cannot detect any in my tapwater with a test kit. Tank pH is around 6-6.5 and is at 26C.
Yesterday I decided to buy a phosphate (PO4) test kit. I was under the impression that the tap water here in the North West UK was amonst the best in the country, but I was astonished to find quite high levels of phosphate: 2.5-5 mg/l. The leaflet that comes with the kit states that <1 mg/l is required to avoid excessive algae growth, which is obviously going to be difficult with my tapwater. When I measured the PO4 level in my tank it was way above 5mg/l. The same leaflet suggested that this would be due to the levels of PO4 in fish food.
I always have Green-X in one of my external filters which is supposed to reduce phosphate and nitrate, but yeasterday I decided it was time to invest in an RO unit. I managed to pick a new 3 stage unit up off eBay for £50.
Does anybody else have problems with high PO4 levels and unsightly algae growth?
I'm going to try and change 25% of the water in the tank every 2-3 days over the coming week with buffered RO water to see if there's any improvement.
Is there any type of (dry) fish food that contains suitably low levels of PO4?
I intend to buffer the RO water with Kent R/O or something similar - I've been doing my research.
