Seems like a catch 22 here, you have to feed hippos all the time yet in doing so you create alot of phosphates which affects corals etc, for my current system which is only a 60 gal with 10 gal sump I'm pretty much maxed out on everything I can do export wise,
Yes the tank is too small but I'm already in the market for a new one and my tang is still pretty small but I like keeping him well fed.
Here is how my maintenance goes down, I have my sump sponge free except for 1 air bubble/white sponge that sits on both sides of the skimmer inlet so while there is a sponge there the skimmer inlet is obstruction free from anything that would
trap detritus, I have to use this to control air bubbles because my sump is too small so even bubble diffusers doesn't work. The other catch is that since the tank is only 12 inches thick the stand is also small so only a small sump will fit so im kinda stuck with it like it is.
this sponge I replace weekly,
I change 10 gall of water weekly
I vacuum the detritus off the sand when I do the water changes and also blow off the rocks with a turkey baster
I syphon detritus out of the sump monthly
and last but not least there is always a small amount of hair algae that I scrub off also and this is the part I want to fix and where feeding the tang comes in
I need to keep my tang fat and happy but feeding daily or multiple times daily I'm positive is the cause of my phosphate issue,
I try to feed all the fish every other day and in between i feed the Tang veggies which is usually veggie pellets.
I am also trying to mix that in with Nori but the tang will only eat Nori so far if I cut it up into fine peices kinda like flake food and give it to him 1 at a time lol but at least I am working on it.
My questions are
Anything else I can do to cut down on the phosphate?
what is your guys feeding schedule like for your hippos?
Do any of you go every other day for a hippo and is it still healthy?
I'm going out now to buy some rowaphos and am already looking for a bigger tank but even after I buy it its gonna take some time to get it setup right which probably when all is said and done is a couple more months.
Don't get me wrong its not alot of hair algae everybody else thinks I'm nuts around my house because you have to look so close to see it but because I know its there I also know its not right and my corals and everything else can suffer because of it,
I also tested my phosphates and they are undetectable but I know this is misleading because of the hair algae,,
Anyways in short I am working on getting a bigger tank right now but in the meantime any ideas on what else I can do to control the hair algae would be nice.
