[Mirkle]

1) my water is getting a lil cloudy it really started after i started useing Zoe in the fish food, also can Zoe cause algae outbreaks? i can problly clean the glass ever hour, it gets a algae flim on it pretty fast. i have a fuge in my sump with im waiting on my Cheato to arravie wich i read it can cut down on the trates and phosphates in the dt.. hopeing that will help with the algae in dt..

2) i have a HoB skimmer its running pretty good getting good bubbles and a dark colored water in cup.. quistion is, on the pump that sucks the water in i have a attachment 2" long.. not sure really what its called name escapes me right now, but its like a plastic strainer if you guys know what i mean..hehe ... should i keep that on so nothing gets sucked tinto pump or should i have nothing on pump, maybe nothing on would have it work best?

[Taras1]

Welcome to the world of aquarium keeping. A small amount of algae forming a film on your glass is pretty normal. About every day to every other day, glass cleaning is part of your maintanance. The Zoe can add additional nutrients to the water. Just as it dissolves and impregnates the fish food, it will leach out into the aquarium water. I'm not a big fan of the "soaking the food in additives" because they will then leach into the water and create problems. If you use a fairly good fish food and vary the diet, you shouldn't need to use food additives.

What kind of skimmer do you have? It would help answer your question.

[Mirkle]

yeah think im gonna stop soaking the food for a while.. my skimmer is a AquaC Remora and pump i belive is a maxi jet 1200.

[DEWAYNE]

I think taras1 is right, but on the other hand, you need to vary you diet and stop using the additives. the algae, in my opinion is growing a little too fast. I am a firm believer in using charcoal, this will eliminate contaminates, odor, and help clarify you tank.

[Taras1]

Make sure you change the carbon on a frequent basis, if you use it. It can trap detrius and cause some really nasty nitrate problems. Also get a really good grade of carbon; some of the cheaper brands contain phosphates and your back to your old problem.

Carbon has a habit of taking out the good with the bad as well. Watch your water parameters carefully when you introduce it to your system. LOL

[Mirkle]

ive been using the PURA Filtration Pad, i put it in the baffle before my fuge in the sump..
here are my ppms that i just took..

PH - 8.2
ALK - between 1.7 and 2.8
Ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Nitrites - .05
Phos - .25
Cal - 440
Salinty - 1.23
Temp - 77.6

[Taras1]

Mike -- you're getting there. Phosphates are a might be a tad high, though I don't know what kit you're using.

[Mirkle]

yeah the phosphates i really cant get a accurate reading on , the color of the the water in the tube dosent really match to the "T" of any color on the color chart.. its a very light color.. im using the the Aquarium Pharmacruticals for the Phosphates and Cal and using the Red Sea Marine kit for everything else.. i read in the Marine Fish and Reef magazine that theres a place Aquariumwatertesting.com that can test your water for you for exact water ppms, but $40 bucks is crazy lol for that.

[Arnold40]

is salinity a typo at 1.23?

[Mirkle]

Salinity - Specific Gravity.. i just always write Salinity hehe