Help: I am going nuts here

[thauro77]

Hello:
My tank is arround 18m old. I am trying to have a nice reef tank. I got the lights, I got the refigium, protein skimmer and sump system. Since I got the lights, arround a month ago, I just can't get rid off the brown algae that grows in the tank. I am trying really hard to have a nice piece of tank but I am about to throw the towell. I don't know how to feed them and the guy at the store just keeps selling me more and more expensive stuff to "keep it nice" however all the microfauna died or at least all the 'pods died since I can't see any on the rocks and my tank was stuffed from bottom to top with them to feed my scooter blenny who also died.
Here are the specs on the lights. Please help me if yo can, f not; thanks anyway for your help and time.
• Light fixture (Approx. 48“x 15“x 3“)
• Support: 2x 250W DE HQI, 4x 65W Compact Fluorescent, 6x Dual
Bluemoon LED
• Non corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
• External HQI Ballast
• Internal Compact Fluorescent Ballast
• Built-in Cooling Fan
• Tempered glass lens and acrylic lens
• Individual power cords and on/off switches
• Made in China

 

[socal57che]

Hello,
Can you post your livestock list and water parameters?
How about equipment list, too. I.E., sump/filter/fuge specs, etc.
And we will have no throwing in of towels, and most of us are already nuts, so don't expect much sympathy in the going nuts department.
We will however do all we can to help you succeed.
I can't really tell from your pics, but I'm betting it's a diatom bloom since it showed up after a light upgrade. Give it time to subside.

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by socal57che
http:///forum/post/2733950
Hello,
Can you post your livestock list and water parameters?
How about equipment list, too. I.E., sump/filter/fuge specs, etc.
And we will have no throwing in of towels, and most of us are already nuts, so don't expect much sympathy in the going nuts department.
We will however do all we can to help you succeed.
I can't really tell from your pics, but I'm betting it's a diatom bloom since it showed up after a light upgrade. Give it time to subside.
Ditto. Also post water temp and fluctuations - willing to be your having temp issues, unless your running a chiller with that strong of a light sitting 4" off the surface.

 

[nordy]

Originally Posted by socal57che
http:///forum/post/2733950
Hello,
And we will have no throwing in of towels, and most of us are already nuts, so don't expect much sympathy in the going nuts department.
We will however do all we can to help you succeed.

+1

A key question-how long are yopu keeping the lights on? From the measurements you gave (48" long) is it a 55gal tank? so it's not like you have "too much" lighting. I have 324W of T-5 on my 55 reef and it works out fine. I had mine on about 16 hours when I first the T-5's-that was way too long of a time. Yeah if it is diatoms, it will subside eventually.
Double+ on posting temps and water parameters!

 

[crypt keeper]

I upgraded my lights same thing happened. Then after about two months it finally leveled off and i just have to use my mag float to clean it off every once in a while. If its just on your tank glass it is an annoyance but using the magfloat helps a ton for me anyway. Its only growing on my glass. i didnt know you could keep it from coming back. My fish and eel are doing great with it.

 

[thauro77]

Well, I have on my livestock:
20-30 hermor crabs
15-20 snails since the hermits are killing my snails
1 Maroon Clown Fish
1 Midas Blenie
1 Color Beauty
1 Sleeper Gobby (recently "she" lost her mate)
1 watchman gobby
2 Crommies
1 Bubble coral, it used to be huge and all blown up and cute, but now is small and not as lively as it used to be.
1 rock with zoo's that are doing fine
1 rock with metalic green star polyps
2 feather dusters (they moved together, they used to be apart and now they are together on the same rock)
Equipment List:
Venturi Protein Skimmer
20gl sump system filter
65gl/hr filter that hungs on the back of the tank. This used to be the filter I used when I first started with a 30gl tank and decided to left it there.
1 small pump in the tank to create waves and motion (I think that was the idea)
25" refigium system. It has lots of plant but all the copepods are gone
I want to get more corals, the amonia and nitrates are low, but I don't know how to measure anything else or how to get the measurements you ask for. Sorry, I live alone and none of my friends have this hobby. And the only place where I can get the supplies and all my food and stuff is like 40 miles from where I live and the guy there is not very helpfull, they keep getting a new guy every month or so, so I can't really ask the person there because the owner is kind of a jerk who actually charges like $15 per 30 minutes of consultation. Please let me know what I can do and thanks a lot for taking interest here, I really appreciate this. Carlos

 

[nordy]

One thing I think you should have is a test kit like the API Master Reef Test Kit which has just about everything you need for complete testing/measuring of your water. Also strongly suggest a refractometer , if you don't have one already. Both can be had fairly cheaply online. It would be a really good investment to get these items before you add any more livestock IMO.

 

[socal57che]

Like Nordy said, pick up a quality test kit. Testing your water is how you "read" your tank. Water parameters can alert you to a death you may not have noticed, or food collecting somewhere and decaying or about a thousand other things. Many corals require pristine water to survive, much less thrive, so you need to know what condition your water is in. It is the number one question you will be asked when posting a question..."What are your water test results?" (parameters)
The sticky threads at the top of the new hobbyist forum have a TON of info every reefer should take in.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/301033/101-tips-to-beginning-and-maintaining-a-saltwater-aquarium
and a list of helpful threads for reference...
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/264597/a-list-of-extremely-helpful-threads-for-all-hobbyists
Be patient and take things slow. Things that happen quickly in a reef are usually bad.
How often are you doing water changes and do you use RO filtered water?

 

[thauro77]

My tank is a 75gl tank. I do water changes one a week. I usually change between 10-15gl each time. Is this ok?

 

[nyyank]

Hi

Ditto to all of the above. You seem to have a lot of light for a 75 gal---how long is your light cycle.
I found in my 90 gal that about 4 hours a day for the MH seems to work well with about 8 for the atinics.
The diatom outbreak WILL go away but it sometimes takes a few weeks.
Good luck

 

[nordy]

Originally Posted by thauro77
http:///forum/post/2735748
My tank is a 75gl tank. I do water changes one a week. I usually change between 10-15gl each time. Is this ok?
10 or 15 gal/week is a good water change schedule IMO. I do 10 gal/week in my 55 and it's doing well. Do you use RO/DI water?

 

[errattiq]

I noticed you said your ammonia and nitrates were "low." Now low nitrates is fine, but you should have ZERO ammonia. Have you added any live rock/sand lately? We need to track down the source of this ammonia first off because its far more pressing than your algae issue. It doesn't sound like your tank is overstocked but you need to give us definitive test results to help you the best we can. The algae sounds to me like cyanobacteria. Now like some others have already asked, do you use RO/DI water for the water changes? If not city/well water is known to contain the phosphates and other nutrients that allows that sort of thing to thrive. If you do use RO water, you need to ensure flow to the affected areas is ample enough. By doing this you can make sure the algae stays suspended in the water column and is never allowed to accumulate on the bottom. Finally is your lighting schedule. 6 hours per day of halide lighting is plenty enough, if not pushing it because it allows for the easier breeding of the bacteria. Let us know how you make out.
-Josh

 

[thauro77]

Sorry for my ignominious ignorance but what is RO/DI??? also, what else do you add to the water other than the salt and the water buffer, I mean what else should I add for food or other elements and what elements do I need to have to add in the tank. I want to try muy best to have a beautifull tank in my bedroom. lol The pictures below is what I want to have or at least try!!!! Thanks

http://z.about.com/d/saltaquarium/1/...ner12reef1.jpg

 

[socal57che]

http://www.home-water-purifiers-and-...sis-filter.php
This explains what RO (reverse osmosis) filtered water is.
and here, too...
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/50...scription.html
Sorry, but to type it all out was just too much effort right now.
Using RO water for top offs and water changes ensures that you are not reintroducing the things you want to remove during a water change. If you start with the purest water possible you will not have to fight so hard to keep your TDS (total dissolved solids) low.
RO water is available at walmart/grocery store or you can purchase a home RO kit for around $200.
This is an easy switch you can make right away that will help your water quality.
First and foremost is a quality test kit so you can give us actual readings on your water parameters.

 

[flsurfer]

its the new light...your system will need time to get use to the new power. you can try turn back the amount of time your light is on. that worked for me, i had the same problem with brown algee

 

[errattiq]

If you didn't know what RO/DI water is, Reverse Osmosis and DeIonized water, you probably aren't using it lol. City/well water is known to have a high level of phosphates which are basically fueling your algae issue. I bet a big problem is that, not soo much the light right now. Try that 1st....

 

[fraggle_a]

Your LFS is a good source of water if you wana keep spending.
I usualy use city tap water that I leave to sit for a few hours. But, my tap water is pretty good, Iv tested it.
Well water... that will probably need some adjusting before its really usable.
I have a 60g with T-5s and its doing really well. The corrals arnt exploding, but growing nicely, I keep the minerals and calcium a little on the low side to give me a little buffer should something unforseen happen.
No Fuge or anything though.
The algee.
Lights can cause issues with it. A light cycle should be close to 9 hours. Your supposed to be copying the natural environment.
I solved it by reducing the light on the tank for a period of time while things "developed" then slowly turning the light back up (timewise) and adding more snails.
Adding stuff to the water?. Supliments?.
Oh yes.
You want to get those rocks nice a purple, feed the corrals the minerals and such they need and supply calcium for the things that need it.
There are Lots of different additives that will do that. It comes down to a personal choice what you use.
I use reef trace, and two others that I cant remeber the name of, one it a Kent marine product though... I know the bottles.. LOL
Ill also use a two part buffer too. But try to calculate the amount of calcium your adding cause that can build up fast and cause isues.
Watch your feeding, too much is not a good thing.
I tend to underfeed the fish.
I have very little food reach the bottom of the tank or the filter. Between the 5 fish, 2 anenomies, 2 hermit, 4 emerald and banded shrimp no food really goes to waist.