Cyano, GH, Phosphates...

Hi everyone,

You've all seen me on here numerous times with the same problems and I am back again for an update. If you haven't followed along in my saga, here's some info to catch you up.

I've been battling .025 phosphates forever, i have a horrible outbreak of cyano, red slime and GH algae all over sand and rocks. My tank is 8 months old. I have tried almost everything you can possibly think of. Here's what I've tried followed by my current suspicions. See what you think.

I've tried:
Getting new lightbulbs
Reducing the lighting hours
I have a phoso reactor with ferric acid
Removing GH by hand and stirring the sand bed
Adding turbo snails and emerald crabs
Feeding smaller amounts of frozen food every other day
10% water changed for 8 days straight with the brand new RO unit water (see below for more info on this)
An algae scrubber (not successful for me bc of maintence and design)
I was using bought RO water from walmart but I tested that and found out it had .025 phosphates already, so I bought an RO system from Lowes and installed. However, i tested that water too and it says it still has .025 phosphates, which i thought RO water should have 0.

My suspicions:
The only thing i did not do when installing my RO unit is run bleach through it and through away all water for 24 hours. I didn't do this per the installation booklet b/c i thought that was only if humans were going to drink the water.
It has been suggested that my phosphate test kit might be inaccurate, but if it is, then is my phosphate problem actually worse than .025?
When i tore down my 90 gallon, i let all the LR dry out, and I rinsed it many times in scalding hot water. When i set up my 30 gal i used the dryed out rock and added a few new LR's to reseed the tank. It has been suggested that possibly the die off of creatures in the pores of the rock might be leaching phosphates into the water...so, do i need to discard all my rocks?

Seriously people, i am so frustrated this has been going on for months and is nothing but an ugly pain. I feel like I have done everything, what am I missing? This ugly problem has now killed 1 gorgonian coral, 1 turbo snail and 1 skunk cleaner shrimp.

See signature for more specs and please ask questions if I have forgot anything. Suggestions please.

You aren't going to like my answer, but I think the RO system that you bought from Lowes is probably designed for drinking water but not going to be adequate for aquarium water. Is there any chance you can return it to Lowes and get one designed for aquariums instead (say a BRS model)? I'm guessing what you paid for one from Lowes is probably similar to what you would have paid for one from BRS but I could be wrong.

The other thought I have is that since you only recently switched to RO water, I've heard it can take a good 6 months or so to really get over the algae battle after you switch from tap water to RO water. The nasty stuff from the tap water soaks into the rocks and takes months to work itself out of your set-up.

Dude, I don't know what's going on. You seem to be doing everything right. I would bet that you paid a lot more for that RODI unit from Lowe's than if you had bought it online though, the ones for human consumption are expensive! How many stages does it have? And it does have a DI component, right?

I am suspicious that your water is always showing phosphates when you test.

Now before you get so discouraged that you decide to throw a hair dryer into your tank, check out this thread:

https://www.livingreefs.com/tank-fails-t31743.html

That was my old 55 gallon tank. Or, it was supposed to be a tank. There was so much algae in it that I'm not too sure there was even any water in it anymore; it was more like a jungle than an aquatic habitat. Algae happens to all of us! Try this stuff:

Marine SAT - Hair Algae Remover for Reef & Saltwater Aquariums 1 Gallon

That's the link to the 1-gallon container. You can buy it in smaller containers depending on how much you need for your tank size. Give that a shot. I swear, it worked wonders on my algae jungle when I was this close to giving up and had tried everything else.

Hi guys,

Well, i seriously can't wrap my head around the fact that RO units are any different for humans rather than fish. The one at lowes was only a little more expensive than the fish store's selections i go to. I chose the one at lowes b/c it's close and easy to get filters from, and I had a coupon so I only paid $128 for it. I didn't think that was a bad deal. It has 3 stages, i dunno about the DI...what's that stand for?

Yea i'm just going to wait it out i guess b/c theres nothing else i can do. I am planning to build a house in a year and im going to reset up my 90 gallon in the wall in our dining room, so im hoping that by then these problems go away.

I'll look into the link. Thank you!

If it was bought for human consumption also, DONT drink RO/DI water!!! RO is ok but RO/DI is VERY harmful to your body.
How long has the cyano been present? There is definately nutrients present to feed it. Can you point some more flow down at it? If you have a spare piece of airline tubing, siphon out as much as possible before a water change. As much as it sucks...it can take quite some time to win the battle. I've heard of people beating it in a week and others that took months. Myself, it took me 2 months to get it out of my nano. I wouldnt stir the sand much either. Thats just going to kick up more nasties to help feed the cyano. Disturbing it to much will just disrupt the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria that are there to help with the nitrification process.

Um, Sarah,

That additive is expensive!! Are you 100% sure it works!!

I think it's just an RO system, it's called the Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System, and it says nothing about DI in the manuel.

Here's the link to my RO system if you want to see the specs. Shop Whirlpool Reverse Osmosis Under Sink Water Filtration System at Lowes.com=

What kind of flow do you have going with your powerheads? Getting some more flow in there might help. I think you should try to take back that RO unit if you can and get an RO/DI unit. I love the five-stage one from Bulk Reef Supply. It has a built in TDS so I can see there is 0 ppm coming out of it. Sounds like you also might invest in another brand of phosphate test to check against the one you have. It's weird that the phosphates never fluctuated up nor down the whole time you've been testing. Good luck with your algae battle!

mmfrock said:

Um, Sarah,

That additive is expensive!! Are you 100% sure it works!!

Click to expand...

Nope, can't guarantee anything! I know it worked for me, but I can't say for sure that it will work for you. It's expensive, but you probably don't need to buy a whole gallon of it.

mmfrock said:

I think it's just an RO system, it's called the Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System, and it says nothing about DI in the manuel.

Click to expand...

The units for human consumption usually have fewer stages and do not contain a DI stage, because as someone else said, drinking DI water can be harmful. You said you have a 3 stage unit -- most aquarium ones are 5 units or more, and contain a DI stage (or even two). You can get a 4 or 5 stage from Bulk Reef Supply for $125, and it has both RO and DI.

Do you have a water softner? Does your RO unit run on the same line as the water softner? If you do. Water Softner Pellets have hexachloride phospate in them. I battled the same thing for a year. Ran my skimmer 24/7, have a mechanical filter, refuge, ect ect. Then one day when i was filling my water softner I read what was in the pellets and about had a heart attack.:frustrat: Now I figured since I live in Florida near the coast. I have no run off from farm animals, they don't spray for bugs and I have well water that I would be ok. I also have a RO system for drinking water. I was wrong.

What I did was a 50% water change and used water from the machine at Walgreens, bought 1 can of Chemi-pure Elite, Instant Ocean reef salt (it has the least amount of phosphate in it) and then did 10% water changes every 3 days for 2 months. Now I just have 1 small spot in my sand bed that wants to grow HR and I pick that out.

Good luck on your quest :Cheers:

Thank you all. I'll see what I can do about the RO system, dont know if its too late to take it back. No, my unit does not have a water softner on it.

You should try and get unit with the DI part, that is where most of the bad stuff get removed from the water.

Of course. Darn, when am i ever going to stop wasting money in this hobby?! I really hope i can get something right this time. So, thanks for pointing me in the direction of the bulk reef supply website. However, I do not see one on there for $125...if anyone sees it, let me know. The cheapest i see is a 4 stage unit for 159.

4-stage RODI unit for $130
75 GPD RO/DI 4 Stage Economy System - English

Try this website too:

5-stage RODI for $135
RO/DI Systems

THanks I am liking the look of the $130 one. The five stage one, it looks like you have to buy an add on di and thats an extra 64$ so it kindof adds up. THank you so much for your links and help. It might take me til the summer to get one of these but we'll see what happens.

I think you are looking at the wrong one. This one is $130 and comes with the DI stage already. The one that needs the $64 DI add on is the $124 one.


$135.00 - OCEAN WAVE FIVE STAGE 75 GPD RO/DI

All systems are made to order with clear 10" canister housings
Stage One NSF rated 5 micron poly sediment filter
Stage Two 5 Micron Matrikx NSF rated CTO carbon block filter
Stage Three 0.6 Micron Matrikx NSF rated +1Chlorine Guzzler carbon block
RO membrane 75 GPD Dow FilmTec
Stage Five in-line color-changing DI cartridge
Quick connect fittings
Self Piercing Saddle Valve Water Supply Connection
Drain Connection
Filter wrench to make cartridge replacement easy

ADD ONS:
PRESSURE GAUGE KIT - $14
MEMBRANE FLUSH VALVE - $10
RO BYPASS VALVE - $12
DUAL TDS METER - $35
DUAL DI SYSTEM - E-MAIL FOR PRICING
AUTO SHUT-OFF - $8
100 GPD FILMTEC MEMBRANE OPTIONAL - $5

So will this one do what I need it to? It says its 4 stage, with 1 di stage, however the picture only shows 3 stages so i have no idea if i am getting the right thing?
75 GPD RO/DI 4 Stage Economy System - English

It has three RO stages and one DI stage - four stages total. That will be perfectly fine to get.