Problems with 135 gallon reef tank

[mac1215]

I have so many problems I don't know what to do(135 gallon reef, 250watt 12000k metal halide, protein skimmer,1 white and 1 blue light). First of all, I bought the tank from someone that stop taking care of it. They started putting tap water in it and the live rock has green algea all over them. What should I do? I already added knew RO water and the tank has been cycling right at thirty days. I have 9 mexican snails,6 turbo snails, 2 yellow tangs, 2 blinnies, and 1 Naso. I am getting these white little bubble sacks hanging off of my live rocks. Are these harmful and what should I do to get rid of the problem? What should I add to my tank to clean it up, it looks horrible and I don't have very much in it. I'm tring to clean up all of the algea, the bubble things and all of the waste build up at the buttom. I don't understand why I'm I getting so much waste at the buttom and the tank has only been runing for a month. It looks like little piles have brown stuff around some of the rocks. I'm looking at the diffrent inverts package on the internet what should I buy and how many of each to get rid of problems? My first saltwater tank had a freshwater before. Is the tank to big for a starter?

 

[jakob4001]

if you can aquire a large tank to beging w/ is good thing if you can get it started & keep it maintained...you could cut back on the time you have the lights on...maybe cut it down to 8 hours a day instead of 10-14 hours a day; this will not harm the fish & if you do nto have corals should be OK; a lawnmower blenny will work wonders sometimes as well; snails/crabs will not always do a good enough job on your glass iether; you probably still have to take care of that by hand w/ a magnet scraper of some kind; you can also cut back on your feeding to maybe once every 2 days; less left over food left in the tank, the less resources algae/diatoms will have to use; also check the food you feed on how much phosphates are in it compared to other brands; you can try to have your water tested for phosphates too as this will add to algae bloom

 

[colorado_reef]

It is easier to care for a big tank.
sounds like you have a start to an awesome reef
may take some patience but it will be worth it!!
First off - are you checking your water?
if so what are the test results?
also welcome aboard!!

 

[mlm]

Get about 25 of the trouchus snails from this sight ($3 each but worth every penny) they do not did like regular turbos and the have a serious appitite for all types of algea. Trust me you will not be dissapointed.

 

[mlm]

That should read "die like regular turbo snails" not "did".

 

[cyn]

The white sacs that you mention could be a type of sponge. They resemble little q tips with a tiny fan on the outer end. If this description fits, they will not harm anything.
cyn

 

[predator]

As frusrtaing as it may seem. You will be back on travk in no time with a very nice tank.
I would do bi-weekly, if not weekly water changes.
Cut back on feeding a little bit. Or at the very least vary what you feed. Try and introduce sushinori or even romain lettuce on a clip. Though the nutrional value is not all that good it will at least keep your fish full and not mess with your water near as much.
Watch how long I kept my lights on. You have alot of light and that is a big factor. At least cut back until you have everything back to normal.
Beef up your clean up crew. Snails, hermits, crabs and shrimp. They will help out in more ways than one both right now and in the future.
Then just keep cleaning out all that you do not want in there. Good luck and congrats on the new tank. Get us some pics soon.!!!

 

[mac1215]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will cut the lights back to 8hrs a day and try the other things as suggested. As far as my water goes, I took it to an Aquarium store and they said everything was normal. No Ph or anything. They recommended not doing a water change for an additional 30 days. I took the water sample to them on the 30th day of the cycling period. If I were to buy one of the package deals for invertebrates which one should I get for a tank of this sides(135 gallon reef)? I plan on adding corals later so please don't recommend anything that will eat them. Also how often should I test the tank for different elements and is it best to just buy all of the test kits instead of running back on fourth to the fish store?
Thanks

 

[krusk]

there is some additional info may help you out
10 Gallons water change seen you have 135 G tank
(that number sound different, r u sure it not 125?)
use phostphate sponge from kent to remove drop your phosphate level
hand pick long hair algae
check if your bulbs are old
what kind of skimmer do you have? good skimmer will have to remove nitrate from your system
phosphate, nitrate ... = hair algea's food
no food = hair algea die

 

[tru conch]

i would highly recommend a lawnmower blenny. i had a problem with some hair algea in my 75, now less than a month later he has eaten most of it. also they are reef safe, so you can keep him later on. as far as testing kits go, most people like the salifert (i think thats how its spelled) test kits. i do not have any experience with them, but have heard good things about them.
hth and good luck!

 

[mac1215]

I have a Sealife RIO2100 protein skimmer, is this suffice? Also the tank was a custom built 135 gallon corner tank. Stands about 6' in height, 4' wide and 3' back.

 

[broomer5]

I'll toss in a couple things here too.
Not to repeat - but what has been said is all good.
If you have NO corals - no need to run the 250 MH lights very long each day at all. Since the live rock is covered with alage - then starve the algae of what it needs to reproduce and grow.
Very little light duration.
Phosphate sponge to remove phosphates.
Increase circulation with powerheads expecially in these areas where little piles of detritus are building up. Get that crap up off the bottom in suspension, so filtration can remove it. If you are shy on mechanical filtration, pop on an El Cheapo Eheim Liberty and clean the media of this crud.
Keep topping off with the RO, but test it for NITRATES and PHOSPHATES to be sure.
Test your saltwater for NITRATES and PHOSPHATES.
Limit feeding to GOOD foods every other day - as mentioned - the fish will adjust and be fine.
Starve the algae, but watch for die off - test for AMMONIA/NITRITE during this process.
GET SOME TEST KITS ASAP - only way YOU will ever know for sure what's happening in there.
Give it time - starve the alage - and get additional clean up crew, as mentioned.
Even though it is a previously owned tank - it's sort of new yet - and may be experiencing some of the "traditional" algae phase that we all mostly go through.
You'll get it under control - just be persistant and methodical in your approach.

 

[colorado_reef]

I would take broomers advice on the test kits but I would add a calcium test also.
These test kits let you control your water qaulity not your water qaulity control you!!!!
What I mean is if you test your water regularly you can prevent major problems like algea blooms because you can put a phosphate sponge in when your level just starts going up - not after you have a major bloom!!

 

[mac1215]

Would it be a bad thing if I cut off the metal halide bulb or run it for 4hrs instead of 8hrs a day until problem goes away. Currently the 250w metal halide is running from 10:00am until 8:00pm. The 1 blue and 1 white bulbs are running from 10:00am - 10:00pm.

 

[mac1215]

I also having 1 RIO 1700 powerhead is the plenty?

 

[efrank]

You probably could use a little more circulation to keep everything moving.
To answer your earlier question about Clean up crews, look on this site for a reef package. If you get red legs, blue legs, snails, a few emerald crabs and a Sally crab or two they should really get things looking good after a week or two and they should be fine later when you add Corals.

 

[dwf]

A 20% weekly water change with ro-di water will help fix your problem. If you want the easiest way to maintain proper calcium, trace element and pH/alk levels, use Oceans Blend. Once a day dose takes care of everything. I've been writing the SWF guys to get them to carry it. They haven't answered yet. For some OB successes, go to <a href="http://www.oceansblend.com" target="_blank">www.oceansblend.com</a> and check out the pics. Email me at dwfyock@comcast.net and I'll tell you where to get it.