My reef tank is boinked

[alpha]

Well out of the blue this morning, i get up out of bed walk into my living room where my tank is and its cloudy as heck. The water is not clear. theres green algae EVERYWHERE!!!. This is a reef tank that I've had operating for 5 years!!!. So i wipe the glass with the magnetic algae remover, and notice that there is green algae all on the sand bed.
It seems that i am going threw an algae boom, My lighting is 2 power compacts, 2 Metal Halides ( 250w). and 3 LED moon lights.
suspended from the ceiling. Tank size is 125gal.

This picture was taking a few days ago before the algae hit hard. However the water is NOT super clear!!.
also. I moved my power heads into the corners of the tank and turned them on, and all the corals sucked up. So i turned them off and they have came back out. The only pump i have running is the return pump from the 55 gal tank underneath.
I was reading a thread that you should have 15x the amount of flow on top of the return pump. However my corals just seem not to light that much flow.
so my luck continues to get worse... I decided at 4pm I'm going to go to the lfs to get some premix'd saltwater since i used the rest i had on my other tank. so i get 30 gals pumped into a trash can, and put the trash can in the back of my brand new chevy avalanche truck that does not have the separator from bed to cab.. I turn the corner coming off of the highway and the 30 gallons of water rushes threw the cab of the truck and is at my feet... So water change did not happen. Now that I'm aggravated i hooked up my RO unit and pumping 30 gallons into a trash can so i can mix salt and do my own, ... This has been one heck of a day and yet i still have no answer to why the algae boom in the tank or why the water isn't clear.
Hopefully someone can help. ( oh btw, i moved the yellow leather coral into more light and flow and it has come back out, thanks to snake... ).

 

[alpha]

I'm sure someone is going to ask what filtration that I'm using,
Im using Bio Balls, 2 sacks of Carbon just replaced now 5 days ago, a UV sterilizer, and protein skimmer.

 

[alpha]

Maybe one of you moderators can move this thread to reef tanks.. didn't notice i could post elsewhere. ( Thanks)

 

[gemmy]

I have some questions:
[list type=decimal]
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What are the water parameters?
[*]
When were your bulbs changed last?
Tank inhabitants?
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[alpha]

I just relized that protein skimmer has stopped pumping. My nitrates and nitrites are at 0. Will be doing a big water change tomorrow.

 

[alpha]

Tank inhabitants as in fish
1 Foxface Rabbit Fish
2 Percula Clown fish.
1 Maroon Clown Fish
1 lawnmower blenny
2 Copper Banded Shrimp.
1 Firefish.
a bunch of snails and hermit crabs.

 

[michaeltx]

How old are your tests and what brand also do you have a phosphate test kit.
kind strange that it happened over night though.
a few more questions.
How old are the lights and have you changed nay of your routine lately?
Just grasping at straws on it to see where it takes us and maybe a possible answer.
Mike
BTW I will get this moved over for ya

 

[alpha]

I do not have a phosphate kit, and the lfs was out of them.
The lights were changed out 2 months ago.
I did however last week loose power for a few hours... but that is a regular on this power grid.
I also noticed that my lights are staying on for more then 8 hours.. This must have happened with the power trip. ( i use a digital timer).
They came on at 7am this morning and didn't turn off till 9:58pm. ( think i need to adjust that... ).

 

[michaeltx]

thats alittle long on the lights and will increase the algae bloom but there has got to be a reason for it to show up in the first place.
umm has your sand bed been disturbed in the lower layers lately?
I still think its going to be something in the phosphates but most tanks always read some sort of nitrate we strive for 0 but in reality that is usually not the case. what brand tests are they and how old?
Mike

 

[alpha]

The test kit that i purchased is a API ( Aquarium Pharmaceuticals) Saltwater Master Test It ( Marine).
It has High Range PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate
if u want a pic of the label i can provide it.
this was just purchased a week ago.

 

[michaeltx]

nah just trying to narrow things so that maybe someone else can jump in read up and have a light come on and say AHHHH here its is kinda thing.
I am at ta lose on it really.
usually algae blooms can be traced back to bulb spectrum changes, phosphates, something added to the tank recently things like that.
one thought do you feed frozen foods and or recently changed you food types?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yeah, I would say that you need to adjust your photo period back down to 8 hours a day. Also, you definitely do need to add your powerheads back to the tank. This will help your tank be more clear. Your corals may not like it for a few days, but they will get used to it in a couple of days. Before you do a water change, take a turkey baster and blast off a portion of your rocks. You'll see detritus go everywhere. Then do the water change.
What test kits are you using, and when do they expire?

 

[alpha]

i did recently change foods, I went from Marine Cruizine ( frozen ) to this other stuff that i lost the label for...
however, my fat clown fish eats it all.

 

[snakeblitz33]

If that food has a lot of gel filler, then that can cause some small problems. I don't think though that it is the main cause of your problems. Too long of a photoperiod, not letting your skimmer run, (not using an algae scrubber! lol) and the lack of flow in the display tank are all factors which may be contributing to the problem.

 

[alpha]

Powerheads are fired back up. I replaced the pump on the skimmer, had one from a spare skimmer, and ill adjust lights tomorrow when i can crawl up under the tank to get to the timer.
so everyone can laugh...... this sump is probably the weirdest thing u will ever see, attached is pictures of lighting and sump.

 

[alpha]

Btw, I googled the algae scrubber... have not been able to find a good enough instruction on making one.. maybe you can point me in a good direction of a step by step.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by alpha http:///t/388812/my-reef-tank-is-boinked#post_3431465
Btw, I googled the algae scrubber... have not been able to find a good enough instruction on making one.. maybe you can point me in a good direction of a step by step.
Glad you asked about that. I don't think this forum has a step by step, besides SantaMonicas thread.
In the next few days, I am actually going to do a "Snake's Methods" thread for DIYing your own algae scrubber. Keep on the lookout, and once it's up, I'll post the link in this thread. How bout that?

 

[gemmy]

Another thing to consider is to add a couple of cups of live sand from another tank to add more diversity.

 

[alpha]

Gemmy, ..... People around here don't share.. . cup of sand cost 30 bucks.
- alpha

 

[gemmy]

Could get 10 lbs from SWF for 50....It will help add diversity to the sand bed and help to avoid old tank syndrome. I'm kicking an idea around.