After 20 months, Is my tank crashing??????

bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
I have been gone for almost two weeks on business so my wife has been taking care of my aquarium, feeding only every other days, running lights from 8 am to 10 pm. I have been asking her how everything looks and she said great. I get home last night and I was shocked to see it looks NOTHING like it did when I left. There has been an amazing amount of greenish think algae EVERYWHERE. One blenny has fin rot very bad, three small yellow tail damsles look ok, bi-color blenny is no where to be found and my small kole tank has white spots (not ick) and looks like a slight film on him. Everything else is acting normal, a couple starfish, crabs, hermits, snails etc...
I checked water last night and everythign is perfect. I have a 75 gallon with about 80 lbs of algae covered live rock.
What would be causing the insane amount of the algae bloom???
What can I do to get rid of it....nothing is eating it? Can I wash it off???
I only have one high output strip light, no uv, is that the problem?
What could have caused these white spot, film and fin rot?
I dont know what to do. Ive never been happy with my aqaurium due to these kinds of thigns happening and I think if everything doesnt recover I am selling it ALL! $3000 down the drain!
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
Water is 100% perfect from what my reads say.
I checked ammonia, nitates, nitrates, pH, salinity.
everything is perfect.
 
rusting

rusting

Member
Originally Posted by bluephi115
I have been gone for almost two weeks on business so my wife has been taking care of my aquarium, feeding only every other days, running lights from 8 am to 10 pm. I have been asking her how everything looks and she said great. I get home last night and I was shocked to see it looks NOTHING like it did when I left. There has been an amazing amount of greenish think algae EVERYWHERE. One blenny has fin rot very bad, three small yellow tail damsles look ok, bi-color blenny is no where to be found and my small kole tank has white spots (not ick) and looks like a slight film on him. Everything else is acting normal, a couple starfish, crabs, hermits, snails etc...
I checked water last night and everythign is perfect. I have a 75 gallon with about 80 lbs of algae covered live rock.
What would be causing the insane amount of the algae bloom???
What can I do to get rid of it....nothing is eating it? Can I wash it off???
I only have one high output strip light, no uv, is that the problem?
What could have caused these white spot, film and fin rot?
I dont know what to do. Ive never been happy with my aqaurium due to these kinds of thigns happening and I think if everything doesnt recover I am selling it ALL! $3000 down the drain!
How old arre your bulbs, do you use RO/DI water, how often do you change water, and how much? Algae has to be fed from somewhere. you may only feed once a day, but it may be to much, at one time.
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
i mix the water myself using a mineral and chemical remover mixed in.
I change 10-20% about every 2-3 weeks. been awhile on the bulb i think...6 months probably. I feed EVERY OTHER day.
so...CAN i clean the algae off some of the rocks...if so how?
 
beckzilla

beckzilla

Member
Depending on what kind of lights you are running it might be running too long. Try turning down the time the lights are on.
 
jonnydubs

jonnydubs

Member
Someone showed me how to use a powerhead to clean off algae and debris..just take it and blow off the algae then do a water change and suck out all the nasty stuff. Dont know if thats what you need to do..but the powerhead does a good job of cleaning.
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
Originally Posted by JonnyDubs
Someone showed me how to use a powerhead to clean off algae and debris..just take it and blow off the algae then do a water change and suck out all the nasty stuff. Dont know if thats what you need to do..but the powerhead does a good job of cleaning.
sorry but there is NO possible way in a 75 gal with this much algae you could just blow it off in teh aqaurium and suck it all up.....im sure that may work in a small one with little algae though.
I really wish with all the people that are reading this that someone could please HELP me out.
 
mzangelzs

mzangelzs

Member
I had the same prob. in my 70 when i first started. I took out some of my lv and pulled the algae from it and let it dry out, but before you try that have you checked your phosphates? I know it gets very frustrating and it looks real ugly!!!
Do u have any emerald crabs? Hope this helps a little!! Keep your head up it will work out!!
 
tropills

tropills

Member
Originally Posted by bluephi115
i mix the water myself using a mineral and chemical remover mixed in.
I change 10-20% about every 2-3 weeks. been awhile on the bulb i think...6 months probably. I feed EVERY OTHER day.
so...CAN i clean the algae off some of the rocks...if so how?
Don't trust the chemical water treatments! bite the bullet and USE RODI
water>>> Belive all of us when we say use RO water, been there done that..
you can remove the rocks one at a time and gently scrub them with a tooth brush in some tank water in a bucket.I know you say your water paramitors
are perfect but WHAT ARE THEY, need some accual numbers. ammonia,
nitrite,nitrate,calcium,phosphates,temp,and so on. don't get mad because we can't just wave a magic wonder stick and fix whats going on with your tank
but with a little more information on your part we can all fix whats happening.
I'm not trying to sound mean and seem like i'm yelling because i'm NOT.
just remember that a very little change in water quality can cause drastic
problems.
 
rusting

rusting

Member
Originally Posted by bluephi115
sorry but there is NO possible way in a 75 gal with this much algae you could just blow it off in teh aqaurium and suck it all up.....im sure that may work in a small one with little algae though.
I really wish with all the people that are reading this that someone could please HELP me out.
Do you use RO/DI water? If you are using tap water, this may be your problem. I took out my rocks and scrubbed them in old tank water, with a stiff brush. It sounds to me like it is your water.
weekly water changes of 20% RO/DI will help a lot IMO.
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Did you set aside how much your wife was to feed while you were gone?
Maybe she dumped way more food then the fish could eat and it rotted and the phosphates and nitrates fed an algae bloom.
Tap water will lead to problems 99% of the time; only use RO/DI then there are no worries.
:joy:
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
There is NO store within 100 miles of me that sales saltwater...sorry but it isnt an option...I use instant ocean with chemicals to remove chlorine and stuff.
to the person, TROPILLS, that asked about my parameters....
Nitirites ZERO
Nitrates ZERO
pH 8.2-8.4
Amonia ZERO
Temp was in the green zone dead center...
I didnt get mad and didnt ask you to wave a magic wand...i just asked a few questions that I was looking for an answer too. When I say the levels are good I assume that you would understand that means that ALL the basic levels are good. sorry.
Ive never checked for phosphates and calcium. I was told you only need to check those if you get into corals and such. I only have inverts and a few fish.
Thanks to the two that suggested I take out the rocks and gently scrub them...it looks much better and was a LOT of work.
 
rusting

rusting

Member
Originally Posted by bluephi115
There is NO store within 100 miles of me that sales saltwater...sorry but it isnt an option...I use instant ocean with chemicals to remove chlorine and stuff.
to the person, TROPILLS, that asked about my parameters....
Nitirites ZERO
Nitrates ZERO
pH 8.2-8.4
Amonia ZERO
Temp was in the green zone dead center...
I didnt get mad and didnt ask you to wave a magic wand...i just asked a few questions that I was looking for an answer too. When I say the levels are good I assume that you would understand that means that ALL the basic levels are good. sorry.
Ive never checked for phosphates and calcium. I was told you only need to check those if you get into corals and such. I only have inverts and a few fish.
Thanks to the two that suggested I take out the rocks and gently scrub them...it looks much better and was a LOT of work.
For about $130.you can get a RO/DI on line.
 
travis89

travis89

Active Member
Originally Posted by whitey_028
those lights are on way too long...
yup...I would cut them back to 8-10 hours a day, maybe less until you get through this.
 
tropills

tropills

Member
Originally Posted by bluephi115
There is NO store within 100 miles of me that sales saltwater...sorry but it isnt an option...I use instant ocean with chemicals to remove chlorine and stuff.
to the person, TROPILLS, that asked about my parameters....
Nitirites ZERO
Nitrates ZERO
pH 8.2-8.4
Amonia ZERO
Temp was in the green zone dead center...
I didnt get mad and didnt ask you to wave a magic wand...i just asked a few questions that I was looking for an answer too. When I say the levels are good I assume that you would understand that means that ALL the basic levels are good. sorry.
Ive never checked for phosphates and calcium. I was told you only need to check those if you get into corals and such. I only have inverts and a few fish.
Thanks to the two that suggested I take out the rocks and gently scrub them...it looks much better and was a LOT of work.
sorry to sound like I was comming off to you, I just thought we all needed a little more info on your tank ,Hey we've all been through this and so can you,
phosphates are somthing you don't need, coarls or not, that stuff causes alot of problems, Also snails use calcium to grow their shells, also coralline alage needs it to go.and as from what I read through this entire post know one said anything about using real saltwater?instant ocean ocean is good salt , don't get me wrong, but just adding trace chemicals can't remove all the nasty stuff that's in tap water.thats why rodi is the best water you can use,If you don't have a ro system just get bottled water from walmart or the grocery store.
 
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