Help Please

[d233]

As for the test kit's I run right now they are Aquarium pharmaceuticals and SeaTest from Aquarium Systems.
As for the snail test when I place the four new one in there they eat very little of it and then move away very quikly.

 

[krux]

i put your photo and pasted your writeup on 5 other boards, hopefully some info will be coming in shortly. i will keep ya updated.

 

[lizardworks]

I'm going to have to troll the opinions of some others here....Justin?....Krux?...others? Isn't 2 watts/gallon a little on the low side? I saw in the first post that he has 110 PC and 40w Actinic. Isn't this a little low for that large of a tank? And couldn't that be contributing to the problem?

 

[krux]

yeah it seems a bit low, but with the exception of his anemone he has some pretty low light stuff, especially the bubble coral. that brings up a good question... do you feed the heck out of your anemone? it looks nice and happy, but from my personal experience with them, they tend to like significantly more light.
if anything though, that little light over that big a tank should actually be keeping more algae from growing.
hmm, your tank isnt right next to a window is it?

 

[d233]

Kurk
The tank is not in direcet sunlight. It is by a window but the shades are always down. As for the anemone I feed him once a week formula 1 same for the Bubble coral .

 

[krux]

several replies coming in are all saying the same thing, your nitrate production is most likely much higher than 20, it is the hair algae feeding off of it that is keeping it at that level.
as for what is producing all the trates, that is another story, but from other boards at least, the consensus so far is that if you drop your trates, the algae should start to go away. if you can not find an immediate source of the trates, then definately a nitrate sponge could be in order. also, do you have a good population of macro algae in your refugium? if not, adding some more will help naturally absorb some of the extra trates.
another reoccuring thought is that you might want to cut back your feeding to every other day for a week and see if that helps anything at all. your fish shouldnt need to eat constantly unless you have anthias or something, and skipping every other day will help lower the waste and thus nitrate introduction significantly.

 

[d233]

I will cut back on feeding. I also found a new home for my Naso tang. I am going to try and cut down the dio load until the alga problem is resloved thanks for your help ever one. Kurk thanks for help I will also cut back on the lightting my be start around 6 and see how everthing acts. I real don't like to mess with the light to much I was saving up to buy a canpoy and a upgrade the lighting to a 440wat PC set up but than this happened. Thanks to everyone who posted and if anyone has anyother suggestion please reply.
P.S Kurk can you suggest a good spong.

 

[krux]

well i love kent products, and while i have never had to run any sponges, i hear good things about theirs. it is designed to work in an 800 micron filter sock if i remember correctly. you just put some of the sponge (actually granules similar to carbon, but not black) into the filter sock and place it in an area of high water flow, like in your sump for example.
good luck!

 

[justinx]

Actually, cutting your lights back should not have a significant adverse effect on your corals if they are healthy. Think of it this way . . . . . imagine a storm cloud or hurricane covering a reef. If the corals can survive that, which can last weeks, than I am sure a couple days will not hurt. I left my lights off for a week once while I was waiting for new bulbs to come in and the only effect was a decrease in the amount of algae. Also, if you consult many people here on this board I think that you will find that most people dont leave their lights on for more than 8 hours a day. Some even 6. Personally, i found that 7 works best for coral growth and algae inhibition.
As for the other question about only 2 watts per gallon (as little as I like this "guide") having that little light, as previously mentioned would onlly inhibit algae growth, not promote it.
I also second the notion that you tests are more than likely inaccurate. The algae growth is probably consuming the nitrates before they are detected at high levels. and the fact that there are still readings of 20ppm is somewhat cause for concern (duh . . right?) Try the sponge as mentioned, but still try to find the source as the sponge is merely a bandaid approach.

 

[krux]

yup

 

[lurch694u]

When i put my yellow tang in my tank the green hair algae disapeared in a few weeks. Just a thought...

 

[carter]

ok first be sure you are not using any tap water!!!! you need to use only RO (reverse osmosis) water. you are getting Phosphate from the tap water and possibly from your salt. use tropic marin salt only. Dont even use tap water for top off. use ro fresh or drinking water....NOT DISTILLED water. dont give up. Doing water changes with that isn't going to work miracles overnight. only run your light for 9-10 hours a day. email me if you have any questions. ive been doing this for about 15 years now.
carter

 

[lizardworks]

Carter-
I think that emailing has been disabled here. If you want him to email you, you will have to post your address in the thread. You can email me at lizardworks@mchsi.com I'd like to ask you a few questions myself, if you don't mind.

 

[richierich2000]

ok I had the same thing. I did everthing and nothing helped. nothing would even eat it. I did water changes and more and more that helped alittle but not much. I I tried a fuge and nothing I was using a small light over it. so I then bought a 55 watt pc light (24/7)and I use a 29 gallon tank and started to use kalkwasser and tested the kh and calcium they were low so I add turbo calcium and buffer to get it to go up and cleaned my skimmer like every 3 days I have and orp tester and it was low like 90 now after doing all that it is back up too 300 and all is well I did get 2 Tuxedo Urchins and they did eat some of it. good luck and don't give up

 

[richierich2000]

before

 

[richierich2000]

after

 

[d233]

Carter
I only use RO water I have done that from the getgo.
Update for you all I reduced my lightting down to 6 hours I know I said 4 but I thought I would start slowly.
JustinX
I am seeking The experience of others my patient and ability shouldn’t come into question. The only reasons I question your advice is that I don’t want to have to replace my live stock I wish that I was one of the luck few that money is no object but I am not. As am sure most on this board are not.
I gather ever-ones option and experience and than do what I fell is best based on what I have read. Don’t get me wrong on this I value your post I believe your approach will work for me. But please don’t question my patient am fairly new to the hobby 8 months and had became discourage.
As for the test kits that is why I have two types of kits. Both this kits seem to read the same on nitrates. I agree with you that they are being consumed before they can be detected.
krux
I have place a spong in the sump

 

[octffish]

carter is right. you are getting phosphate from something check the levels in your water. watch how much u feed.salt makes all the diff also.try making a batch of ro water test it first and it shouldnt have any. then mix a salt like coralife and u will see it jump up to 10 may 15pmm. using ro isnt gonna fix it over night. this bad of a prob is gonna take alot of changes.try a fifty percent dont touch anything just do a water change. then in a week do another. then after 20% once a week till its gone. nitrate is also a factor if you are over feeding. i would like to know what u are adding to the tank if possable. i may not know everthing but i can help u fix this for sure. i have fixed alot of them. my exper is 15 years in the aquarium indust and i also manage a store in southern cal. for the full 15. these are some good steps to take to get started PLEASE try them dont quit because everyone has a major prob at some point it just happens lol god knows ive crashed a few back in the day.