I NEED SOME HELP... I am so annoyed!

sporty99

sporty99

Member
i agree with the overfeeding and under skimming but if you are looking for a critter that eats algae by the buttload it is called a cowrie. it a a big beautiful algae destroying snail. i also have a big bahama star that eats algae like crazy. try those and im sure you wont be dissapointed.
 
porthosandjazz

porthosandjazz

Member
Originally Posted by sporty99
i agree with the overfeeding and under skimming but if you are looking for a critter that eats algae by the buttload it is called a cowrie. it a a big beautiful algae destroying snail. i also have a big bahama star that eats algae like crazy. try those and im sure you wont be dissapointed.
cowrie are not reef safe
 
petjunkie

petjunkie

Active Member
Your nitrates are due to being overstocked, tangs are huge waste producers because they are constant grazers. Take out all your tangs except the hippos because none of the others are suited for a 135, most naso sp. tangs (naso, vlamingi, unicorn) shouldn't really be in home aquariums at all due to their size. Adding another algea eater isn't going to help as none will be able to keep up and they will be adding more waste while eating some. Take out some fish, cut back feeding for a few months and stock with smaller fish. A 135 is good for maybe three small tangs max, I was worried about putting two in a 125 for bioload issues. Also try not feeding the tank at all for a week, your tangs might decide the algea tasted good after all.
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
WOW! I am shocked! I have always thought and been told that you have to feed everyday! Not feeding everyday is going to save me some money!
I never knew.
As for the Tangs thing, they are mostly small. The only big guy is the Naso Unicorn which is 8". Yeah, I agree he could use a few more gallons to swim (no, I am not getting rid of him just yet and don't be askin for him! LOL). The only tangs I could part with would be the Vlamingi and the smaller less attractive looking Blue tang. I know the Vlamingi will have to go soon. It is growing WAY too fast. I got it... in February I think and it was 2 1/2 inches. Now, its 6! I have never seen a fish grow so fast. When it is looking for a new home, I will let ya'll know. What else was said... Oh as for taking out all of my tangs... not going to happen. I will live with the algae before I take all my tangs out! LOL. I am sure it would help with the algae (which looks bad) but would make my tank look like nothing without the tangs (which looks bad).
I am not sure whatelse was said... I will have to look at the posts again and relpy again...
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
Originally Posted by porthosandjazz
"The Naso Tang prefers a tank of at least 150 gallons with plenty of places to hide & swim"
"The Clown Tang prefers a tank of at least 150 gallons with plenty of places to hide & swim. "
"The Vlamingii Tang prefers a tank of at least 150 gallons with plenty of places to hide & swim. "
Plus two more tangs... that's just really a lot. :) Plus, you are feeding them a LOT so they are going to get real big real fast ;)
But I know why you have them. Tangs are just the coolest fish. So active and awesome.
I knew I should have gotten the 150!!!!!!! LOL. But hey, once they outgrow or are close to outgrowing the 135... I can upgrade!
I see that feeding a LOT (what I thought was a little. LOL) can make a fish grow fast! The Vlamingi=3+ inches in 6 1/2 months!
Yeah, they are the coolest fish. I am going to have to part with the Vlamingi soon.
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
My 125 has about the same # of fish as yours, I feed everyother day and sometimes skip for 2 days. Fish are fat & happy
And I've never had any algae problems
 
ninjamini

ninjamini

Active Member
Here is a post i did some time ago. Hope it helps.
If you have a hair algae problem then read my cure all. I just recently took a tank off someone's hands, a very experienced reefer too, who had a hair algae problem that they could not fix. But the fix is so easy when you understand it. This is the instructions for a established tank. If your tank is under 3 months old read below* first.
Hair algae wont grow if you don't feed it.
1. Use Ro/DI water ONLY. If your not doing this then you are making a fatal mistake.
2. Pick off the big clumps of hair. Pull the rocks out you can and pull pull pull. Dip them back in the water to get the algae to hang down. Turn off the flow for the rocks you cant remove while you pick it off. By picking off the big clumps you remove the nitrates and phosphates from the water.
3. Know why it grows. It consumes nitrates, phosphates and light. Export the nitrates and phosphates with water changes and some cheto. Rember if you test says that you have 0 Nitrates and 0 Phosphates that does not mean you don't have them. It just means that they are consumed. If you have algae growing then you have nitrates and phosphates. Yea there in there.
4. Cut back on feeding. Where do you thing those nitrates and phosphates come from. If you have any really piggy fish then you may want to move them to QT.
5. Turn down the photo period by shutting the lights off and only turn them on for 6 hours a day. Most corals can handle this for a month. Just think of it as the rainy season.
6. Get a emerald and some mexican snails. Yea the big ones. They will both eat the short stuff.
7. Time. Give it 3-4 weeks then start to turn the lights to 7, 8...more hours till your back to a normal amount of time.
Done. Now I have my nano cube filled with sand, rocks, zoos and fish because I was able to follow this plan and he was not. Which is weird since he has an awesome sps tank.
*If your tank is new that is less than 3 months old then the question is not how to get rid of them but understanding that this is only part of the natural cycle of a new tank. If this happened just as your ammonia and nitrites test at 0 then its going to grow. Its the same reason because there is alot of nitrate and phosphate in the water. This would be the time to do your first water change and then add your clean up crew. They will take care of the algae along with water changes.
Remember don.t feed your nuisance algae and it wont grow.
Good Luck.
 
ags

ags

Member
You tank may be overstocked, I don't necessarily agree, but doing water changes will remove that waste. You indicated you used to do 10% every week. IMO, that should be enough to compensate for a slightly overstocked tank but I am sure several on here will have a difference of opinion.
You are definitely over feeding. I never feed daily. At most I feed every other day. When I do feed the food is gone in less than 30 seconds. Tangs are grazers as are most other fish. Your LR will provide enough sustenance until your next feeding.
Phytoplankton - I used it religously for 5 years. For the last 2 I haven't. I have your basic reef setup (LS, LR, fish, coral, featherduster, etc) and have not noticed any appreciable difference in the health of my tank. Try curbing the amount you dose or stop altogether to see if that helps.
Lighting. I should have brought this up in my initial post. This can be a problem but since we know your nitrates are high I would rank this at the bottom of possibilities for now and until you rule out other causes.
One of the biggest mistakes hobbiest make is trying to eradicate a problem with chemicals and/or livestock. The less crap you put into your tank the better. Find the CAUSE of the excess nutrients and fix the cause and your problem will be solved.
I didn't see if this was asked, although it was definitely mentioned, are you running a skimmer? Skimming is important as it removes dissovled organics (ie waste) in your water.
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
Originally Posted by Ags
I didn't see if this was asked, although it was definitely mentioned, are you running a skimmer? Skimming is important as it removes dissovled organics (ie waste) in your water.
I am running a SeaClone 100. JUST KIDDING! I am REALLY running a Super Skimmer 220 needle wheel in my sump. The problem I have with it being in the sump is I don't know if it is getting most of the waste. I have two CPR 800 GPH overflows on the back with a Mag Drive 2400 (1900 GPH) return. I have good circulation in the tank but wonder if not all of that waste is getting to the sump since the overflows are at the top of the tank. Let me know what you think about that, all.
Alright, I am cutting down the feeding and doing another water change/tank cleaning. I'll keep you updated. Anymore advice is helpful! Thanks for the advice given already!
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
Alright. All hope isn't lost... yet. My big Unicorn is starting to graze a little. Not on the rocks. On the sand. Is that a bad sign? I am having such a hard time not feeding them! But, I won't. I turned the light schedule down to 8 hours from 12 hours. I have my 32 gallon garbage can fillin up with RO water now and will do the water change tomorrow. Hopefully I will see a change!
 
digitydash

digitydash

Active Member
No my tang always picks at the sand.He may move his way to the rock soon.Just try to keep from feeding as hard it is.I know you feel compelled to feed them when you walk to the tank and they run to the top exspecting something to come in for them
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
Originally Posted by digitydash
No my tang always picks at the sand.He may move his way to the rock soon.Just try to keep from feeding as hard it is.I know you feel compelled to feed them when you walk to the tank and they run to the top exspecting something to come in for them

Hahaha! It makes you feel like they like you when they greet you like a dog would. But, really, they are just hungry pigs! Ah well. I will just keep thinking they like me like a dog likes people! :)
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
Here is a quick update on my problem.
I FINALLY have the nitrates down to less than 30! I have water mixing for one more change on Friday. The algae is starting to die off!
I have the fish on an every other day feeding schedule. Some of the tangs are starting to pick off of the rock.
I had to give my friend the 5 inch Vlamingi. It has a 100 gallon tank all to itself. At least I will be able to visit it. That is about it for now. Everything in the tank seems more alive. The anemones seem very happy. Thanks for all the help, everyone.
You saved my tank!
 
tinmanny

tinmanny

Member
I had a bout with the same hair. the cause was nitrates were high and ph was way off had to use buffer for ph and do many water changes.
the cause bet is the same for you YOU FEED TO MUCH let the tangs get hungry and they will eat it feed only what the fish will eat in 2 two minutes for a while be stingy go 1 minute and stop if you insist then feed les more often but be shure that none hits the bottom for a while the cleanup crew is fat and happy but not doing there job
Good luch
Manny

Remember small water changer often and feed 1/4 of what you feed now
 
ags

ags

Member
feed only what the fish will eat in 2 two minutes
IMO, that is even too long. If you have sufficient flow in your tank and you are adding enough food to last two minutes most of that food is going to be swept into the rocks and fester. Give enough food for 30 seconds to a minute. That is plenty on an every other day basis.
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
Originally Posted by Ags
Give enough food for 30 seconds to a minute. That is plenty on an every other day basis.
This is about what I have been doing. It seems to be paying off. My trates are still down!
 
mikersof

mikersof

Member
This has been an AWESOME thread. Thanks to all who asked & answered questions. I have taken notes and will be cutting down on my feeding. I do have a concern but I'll make it a new thread.
Thanks again all,
james =)
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
I am having problems again... I have hair algae again and this odd looking greenish/orange looking slime. It is not cyano. I tried using Chemi-Clean (which has always worked with slime algae for me) and it had no effect. My nitrates are still low compared to what they were. They are at about 10 now. However, I have another problem. I have high phosphates. They are over 1! I am using RO/DI water and reef crystals salt for my water changes. I am going to start using Algone soon. What do you think about that product? How do I get my phosphates gone? Why do I still have algae?
My lights are turned down, I feed 1 time a day 3 times a week for all they can eat in 2 minutes. I got rid of two tangs. I am extremely fed up and if I can't get it under control, there may be a classified ad coming up.

Thanks for your help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top