NOOB HELP 30g nitrate ammonia algae problems

[omgmaserati]

So I have a 30g reef tank with 3 ocellaris clowns a blue damsel, 1 male spotted mandarin goby and 2 toadstool leathers. It has 15-20 lbs of live rock that may not be live anymore (I had to sundry all of it for two days to cure a brittle star infestation). Anyway I am 20 and this is my first fishtank. It was an impulse buy about two years ago and until now I have been extremely lucky in maintaining this tank. I originally used purified tap water and everything was going well. My nitrates had always been higher than 0 but never alarming.

Now my nitrates are 50 ppm, my total ammonia .5 ppm and my ph is higher than 8.8. Algea has begun to overtake my tank. I have a carbon filter of course and a remora c high output protein skimmer. For 2 years everything has been fine, but when things started going south I switched from tap to RO water. Since introducing the RO water during water changes my toadstool leather has begun to wilt and looks almost dead. I have been adding AZ NO3 for the last two weeks to try and get rid of the nitrates but it hasn't worked and I think its responsible for the increased ammonia levels. If anyone can help I would be eternally grateful. My spotted mandarin goby was the first fish I ever bought and has been in my tank even before it was done cycling. It even survived at the very begining when I had 0 copapods. I can give any other information that's relevant. Just help me save my goby!

 

[omgmaserati]

I also have a 6 bulb t5 fixture (4 actinic 1 purple and 1 10K). I know its probably responsible for the algae but I don't want to turn it off because my leather isn't doing too well as it is. I can't keep any snails alive because my nitrates are too high so the algae keeps getting worse.

 

[eric b 125]

What do you have as far as power heads go? Also, have you tested the water that comes from your RO unit? How often do you do water changes?

 

[flower]

Hi friend....wow what a mess, I feel your pain.
Is there anything in that tank besides the cyano?
What you are looking at is red cyano bacteria, not algae. Getting rid of your brittle stars was mistake, they feed on nutrients and wasted food (I bet a pretty penny you were overfeeding)...Those nutrients the brittles feed on is the the same thing the cyano likes to feed on. When you removed your rock, you removed the good bacteria colonies from the tank, that's why you have ammonia readings.
What to do now...???
I would put my fish into tubs with the live rock and airlines, to keep them alive. Then redo the entire tank and clean it up. I would maybe put the sand in a tub or leave it in the tank, with red slime remover to get it cleaned up, and then in that same tub/tank do water changes until it's crystal clear. Clean it up before putting it back into/or as the display, then re-set that up. Keep EVERYTHING in saltwater.
You won't have to cycle the new set tank, the sand and live rock are enough to keep everything going as long as you keep it in saltwater. I would use three buckets for the rock (use FISH ONLY buckets) first bucket scrub, second bucket rinse, last bucket rinse some more. Do it in shifts, first bucket dump after you scrub the rock, and use the rinse from the second bucket to scrub the next bunch of rock, using new saltwater in the third bucket for the final rinse.
Do the rock scrub/rinse first, then put them into the large tub so the fish can live while you re-set the tank....or give them to a friend, or pet shop until you are ready for them again. If you use the tank for red slime remover, don't put you rock in it until the tank is totally clean.
I don't know about the mandarin, they need copepods to live, and the coral is another problem, they need light, and cyano will just suffocate it. Maybe rehome everything for now.

 

[eric b 125]

I was assuming that the rock would have to cycle again since it was sun dried for two days.
How is everything holding up?

 

[omgmaserati]

Thank you both for the replies. Eric I have 1 maxi jet 1200 powerhead, the water I get is from a commercial RO dispenser and I don't really know what to test, and I have been changing out 5 gallons every week. The live rock was sundried about 6 months ago so I'm not sure if it needs to cycle again, but the reason I set out on brittle star genocide was because I had a clam and a white bubble coral that they invaded and killed. When I tried to feed either they would steal the shrimp.
Flower the copapods are my main concern. Now that I have finally gotten a colony my mandarin is super fat after being near death for a year. I think there is also green and brown algae mixed in with the red cyano. If it is at all possible to fix my tank without taking it apart it would be better. I live in a smaller town and don't know anyone with a saltwater tank and my only lfs won't keep other peoples fish. If taking it apart is the only way where can I get "fish only" buckets. Thank you both again for your replys!

 

[omgmaserati]

Oh and flower what did you mean about the red cyano suffocating the coral? The actual water is clear and my lighting unit is way more than what that particular coral needs. Is it the nutrients that the cyano is stealing suffocating the coral?

 

[omgmaserati]

Bump

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by omgmaserati http:///t/395856/noob-help-30g-nitrate-ammonia-algae-problems#post_3525469
Oh and flower what did you mean about the red cyano suffocating the coral? The actual water is clear and my lighting unit is way more than what that particular coral needs. Is it the nutrients that the cyano is stealing suffocating the coral?
Hi,
Sorry I missed your question until now. Glad you bumped it up.....Cyano will eventually cover everything, and thus the corals will not be able to open to feed, and so they die. I called it 'suffocate:" because cyano is like a blanket that covers over everything.
The little stars only fed on the dead and dying flesh of your clam and white bubble coral...they don't kill corals or inverts. They had to be dying anyway, you just didn't realize it. Having enough PO4 and NO3 in your tank water for the cyano and algae to take off like it did, is most likely the cause of their demise. You had to of been doing something wrong such as way over feeding, or the RO water was loaded with PO4, and it needed the filters changed. The sheer number of little stars is testimony of how much extra nutrient was in the tank before the bad happened. Little mini stars, and the bristle worm populations is directly related to how much extra food they had to feed on.
A "fish only" bucket is a brand new bucket, or tub that has never been used for anything else at all. Mark it with a magic marker "FISH ONLY", and dedicate the bucket to use only for your fish tank. So don't let your spouse or children use it to hold the mop water or soap to wash the car.
I think you have super high phosphates, but it won't do you any good to test for it, because you will get a false negative reading...the cyano and algae feed on it. The good news is that it cleans the PO4 (phosphates), NO3 (nitrates), ammonia and nitrates out of the water, making it pristine, it may look nasty, but the fish are happy. so if you don't want to move your fish, you don't have to...but the corals are in trouble.
Do a daily water change of about 5g, not once a week, The constant water changes should clean it up. Remove what you can by hand... use a turkey baster (mark it FISH ONLY) don't use the one to baste the Thanksgiving turkey, get a new one just for the fish tank..
Red slime remover will help, but it also sucks the oxygen out of the tank, and with the amount of cyano you have, I would be afraid to use it with your live critters in the tank.