Bad algee problem in my aggressive tank

nickz24ninja

nickz24ninja

Member
I have a really bad algee problem in my 55 gallon aggressive tank.
In the tank i have....
110lbs of live rock
80lbs of live sand
3"yellow tang
3" porcupine puffer
5+" spotted grouper
3" clarki clown
10" snowflake eel
a few crabs and snails
12" serpent star fish
two 350(est) gph hang on filters
150 watt heater
bak-pak cpr2+ protein skimmer
420+10k lighting 120 watt i think
the tank was running good then within a week bamm. Please help????? Any ideas
one picture is before the algee the other is a few days ago.

 
cal559

cal559

Member
A 55 gallon should have about 1100 gph of flow...but i don't think thats the problem maybe you could add more CUC but i don't know how your puffer would act to those? Try pulling some of the algae out by hand if its long enough...
Maybe keep your lights off a lil more?
What's your water perimeters?
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
yep, we definitely need your water parameters.
What kind of water do you use?
Do you have any powerheads or is that all you have for flow?
 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
Even in the before picture you had alot of algae on that one piece of branching near the top of the tank. List your water parameters.... I am assuming you dont have a sump for the fact of you have hang on filters? you really need a way to export IF you are able to i would do a sump/refugium, this adds water volume and you could run your equipment underneath your tank. The biggest thing finding out if you have to much phos, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia? I run a phos ban reactor because of my bioload, that could help, if that is your problem.
 
nickz24ninja

nickz24ninja

Member
I am fairly new at salt water keeping i do not know what cuc is....

I used tap water, i fill up a five gallon bucket put a power head in it and add tap water conditioner let it sit for two days then add salt let it sit for a day test it and add it at night.
water parimiters are as followed
gravity 1.026
kh- 100
no2- 0.0
no3- 40
ph- 7.7
I need to get a full test kit all i have are API 5in1 test strips.
I have turned my lights off for the past two days and i only turn them on for 10 minutes a day when i feed them.
I have to do another water change tonight and pull more algge out by hand. I am also going to take 3-4 of my top pieces of live rock out tonight and scrub them and rinse them with the water that I take out from the water change.
All of my live stock looks well except my puffer has been hiding more lately and my blue devil damsel died at the start of this algee bloom, is that related?
My stand is only 10 1/2" wide inside for a sump. Could I use a 29 gallon tank next to it for a sump? I also have a 9 watt uv steralizer should i set that up and use it?
I only have about 600+gph water flow should i get two 350 gph power heads?
 
tdog7879

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by nickz24ninja
http:///forum/post/2857278
I am fairly new at salt water keeping i do not know what cuc is....

I used tap water, i fill up a five gallon bucket put a power head in it and add tap water conditioner let it sit for two days then add salt let it sit for a day test it and add it at night.
water parimiters are as followed
gravity 1.026
kh- 100
no2- 0.0
no3- 40
ph- 7.7
I need to get a full test kit all i have are API 5in1 test strips.
I have turned my lights off for the past two days and i only turn them on for 10 minutes a day when i feed them.
I have to do another water change tonight and pull more algge out by hand. I am also going to take 3-4 of my top pieces of live rock out tonight and scrub them and rinse them with the water that I take out from the water change.
All of my live stock looks well except my puffer has been hiding more lately and my blue devil damsel died at the start of this algee bloom, is that related?
My stand is only 10 1/2" wide inside for a sump. Could I use a 29 gallon tank next to it for a sump? I also have a 9 watt uv steralizer should i set that up and use it?
I only have about 600+gph water flow should i get two 350 gph power heads?
i think the tap water is you main problem. are your bulbs old? do you have a skimmer? A sump/fuge well help and a CUC means clean up crew ...snails crabs etc.
 
cal559

cal559

Member
cal559

cal559

Member
I use Salifert test kits don't use the strip test because they are not that accurate. You have to buy them singly though but they are accurate.
I think a sump would be a good investment for better filtration to keep your NO3 down.
Once you get the NO3 down around 20 get some cerith, astrea and turbo snails and see how they do with the algae I know green emerald crabs like hair algae but your tankmates will probably eat them.
You may have too many messing eating fish like puffers, snow flake eels and groupers for a 55 gallon but i will let someone else with more knowledge fill that in for you...
And remember patience is key this will all pass you by.
 
kq25

kq25

Member
Dude your salt is little high for a fish only.You can drop that if you do not have any coral.And you ph is a little low.Try and get that up to about 8.1 or about 8.3 After that you will be good to go.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
Just FYI a 55 Gallon is way too small to house a Porc Puffer or Grouper long term(not to mention the good chance that the grouper will eat your clown). These fish get very large. I'm no Tang expert, but I think the YT will have issues as well.
Do you have a refugium? Algae is caused by excessive amounts of Nitrates and/or Phosphates. You need some method of exporting these from the tank to reduce algae growth. In my tank I personally have around 30 Nitrates normally, but I also have a foxface and flame angel that take care of any algae that might appear. I haven't seen any algae in my tank for a long time and a lot of that is due to my refugium.
 
cal559

cal559

Member
Originally Posted by KQ25
http:///forum/post/2857420
Dude your salt is little high for a fish only.You can drop that if you do not have any coral.And you ph is a little low.Try and get that up to about 8.1 or about 8.3 After that you will be good to go.
I think his salt is fine at 1.026?
 
V

vinnyraptor

Guest
you have bigger problems than algae, your WAY overstocked. your algae came from using tap water plain and simple. you can try a phosphate remover that and alot of out of tank scrubbing should do the trick. but you should seriously rethink your stock list. a 55 should never house large groupers, tangs, or puffers let alone one of each.
 
kq25

kq25

Member
I was just saying,because for a fish only it could be a little lower like 1.021 or 1.022.
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
that grouper should be big enough to eat your clown, and possibly your puffer, in a few months, and if he tries the puffer, your gonna be down 2 fish
The Spotted Grouper, also known as the Whitespotted Grouper, Summan Grouper, or Speckled Fin Grouper, has a dark brown to black body marked by white polka-dots.
A 70 gallon or larger aquarium is required due to its size and feeding habits. It is an extremely aggressive fish and may eat tank mates as well as crustaceans.
The Spotted Grouper prefers a diet of meaty foods such as krill, shrimp, and other small fish.
Spotted Grouper
(Epinephelus summana)
QUICK STATS
Minimum Tank Size: 70 gallons
Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Aggressive
Reef Compatible: With Caution
Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, sg 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4
Max. Size: 1'
Color Form: Blue
Diet: Carnivore
Origin: Indo-Pacific
Family: Serranidae
 
nickz24ninja

nickz24ninja

Member
Too many fish? Realy ? I was going to buy a lion fish and another tang next month... I quess not. I am going to get ride of the grouper I was told he will only get to be 6" and he has been realy mean lately he troed to eat my eel and a leg of my star fish
Yes I have a skimmer it is a bak pak good skimmer
I used tap water in my 4 other saltwater tanks and my 3 freshwater tanks and it is never had a problem
I washed some of the rocks, picked algee,changed filters, changed water, skimmer, cleaned glass, sand, moved some rock. Looks much better
What would be an ideal stocking list? I thought aggressive would be good but what is too much? This is my first "aggressive tank"
 
kq25

kq25

Member
If you are looking to have an aggressive tank,I would count that yellow tang out.I have a yellow tang,and they are pretty docile.And instead of a clarki clownfish I would do a maroon clown.They can be pretty agressive,especially the females.
 
cal559

cal559

Member
A zebra and a fuzzy dwarf lion with one other fish would be nice too have...I wonder if you could have a fuzzy and zebra dwarf lionfish and a golden moray eel that would be sweet in a 55 gallon but don't know if it's big enough?
Search this forum for keywords of the different fish you want to add and find and see what other peoples 50-60 gallons look like...
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
The problem is most aggressive fish are larger and not suitable for a 55 gallon.. Furthermore they require more room due to natural territorial behavior found in such fish. This really restricts your options for a predator type tank. You can immediately forget these popular fish: Non-Toby Puffers, Non-Dwarf Angels, Groupers, Triggers, Tangs, and larger Wrasse. Additionally many popular smaller fish are too peaceful or small for this kind of tank: small Clowns, Hawkfish, Chromis, Cardinals, small Wrasse. In a 55 gallon you could do:
Snowflake Eel
Toby Puffer
Dwarf Angel
Large Clown(Maroon/Tomato)
Maybe Dwarf Lion(would need to be monitored with the Puffer and Angel as these fish very well may nip at a Lions fins)
 
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