WTH AM I doing wrong???????????

meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
this is the 225G
I don't get it....I have spent about $1,000 or more in equip and stuff to make things more efficient
I come home, and I have itty bitty specks of cyano....NOT worried cause I remove it and go on....welll.....now I am getting an algae/cyano mix on my sand........it's making the sand clump, kinda like a carpet on top of the regular sand
....so I come home and pick out the clumps of this sand....
My corals are growing like never before....my water parameters are excellent...phosphates still between .1 and .25 with a Salifert test kit
I have a larger trash can so I can do 40G w/c's......just did one Sunday.....
ph 8.4
calcium 460
alk 11.2 dkh or 4 meg
I have cut feeding down by 1/2....except I now add the algae sheets daily. I run GFO in my phosphate reactor 550.....got the new Hurricone protein skimmer
what else am I missing ????
 
scott t

scott t

Active Member
Mewozer, Didnt you Just change your lighting?? I think you said you went from T5's up to MH. Could this bee the problem with the Cyano and the Algae?? I am new so I am just trying to throw things out there for you to consider from reading things else where. I feel bad for you because it seems some times you get over one problem and things are going good then bam you get hit by another.. I hope you get everything worked out I am rooting for you.. :)
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Thanks Scott.....I have had the light fixture now for 2 years...I changed the T5 bulbs out, not the metal halide, and this was the end of June I think.....
:( this is so frustrating...especially cause I don't know where else or what else to look for
 
scott t

scott t

Active Member
I know that is must be because you seem to be doing everything right. I wish I knew how to direct you on what you could do to cure the problem. There is nothing you have or are doing differently than you were before? Anything or anyway you have changed the way you were doing things before. Like: Salt Mix, Foods, Water changes (the way you mix or hold it until the water change) Just trying to Help you brain storm of what might be going on with the tank.....
 
A

abeandlulu

Guest
Dont you run a canister filter on the 225g? When was the last time it got a good cleaning? Just throwing something out there?
What about the power heads sometimes they can get gooped up and not run so well?
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
How old are the filters in your ro/di? Only other thing I can think of is, you said you were having trouble mixing the reef crystals, any problems with storage/mixing container? Does it need to be cleaned?
Other possibility, you have been adding(and losing :( sorry) a lot of livestock in the past few months. Maybe your biological filtration needs a chance to catch up??
Just throwing out ideas off the top of my head. I find lately when I have issues, the problem lies in going back to the basics. Sometimes, you learn so much, you forget the simple little things. Good luck! I hope you find the problem.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by abeandlulu
http:///forum/post/3294567
Dont you run a canister filter on the 225g? When was the last time it got a good cleaning? Just throwing something out there?
What about the power heads sometimes they can get gooped up and not run so well?
I have a sump...and I have 2 canisters for flow purposes mainly....except I have chemipure elite in the casecade, and that was just changed last month....
Power heads are all good....the only things I have changed was I added a phosphate reactor 550 running with gfo....and I bought the Hurricone skimmer
increased w/c's from 25G to 40G's.....cut back on the food....
Shouldn't all that make things better
 
A

abeandlulu

Guest
Is should..... Is the algea just growing on the sand?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains
http:///forum/post/3294568
How old are the filters in your ro/di? Only other thing I can think of is, you said you were having trouble mixing the reef crystals, any problems with storage/mixing container? Does it need to be cleaned?
Other possibility, you have been adding(and losing :( sorry) a lot of livestock in the past few months. Maybe your biological filtration needs a chance to catch up??
Just throwing out ideas off the top of my head. I find lately when I have issues, the problem lies in going back to the basics. Sometimes, you learn so much, you forget the simple little things. Good luck! I hope you find the problem.
Just got new filters and a new membrane last month....cleaned out the w/c bucket after each w/c....the fish I lost were newbies (except the sandsifter)....
That's what's bothering me......It seems like I have everything covered
 
A

abeandlulu

Guest
Have you tried taking a turkey basteer and blowing the rocks off.
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3294569
I have a sump...and I have 2 canisters for flow purposes mainly....except I have chemipure elite in the casecade, and that was just changed last month....
Power heads are all good....the only things I have changed was I added a phosphate reactor 550 running with gfo....and I bought the Hurricone skimmer
increased w/c's from 25G to 40G's.....cut back on the food....
Shouldn't all that make things better

What was the reason for the changes and increased water changes?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by abeandlulu
http:///forum/post/3294576
Have you tried taking a turkey basteer and blowing the rocks off.
YUP
Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains
http:///forum/post/3294577
What was the reason for the changes and increased water changes?

It's a 225G tank...I was changing 22-25G's every other week.....I thought a littler bigger would be better...I now change 40G's ...BUT still every other week. I changed the filters in my ro/di cause the water wasn't coming out but a drip....turns out a gasket was crimped, but changed them all anyway.....got a bigger more efficient skimmer cause the one I had was not working.....got the phosphate reactor cause my phosphates were at 10!!! cut down food cause when I posted what I fed....I was told I WAY OVERFEED, LOL
Originally Posted by 2Quills
http:///forum/post/3294578
What's your light schedule like?
Actinics go on at 7.....metal halides...center on at 1:30...of at 8:30 2 sides on at 2...of at 8....actinics off at 10
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

I noticed that the algae sheets kind of pollute the tank, it isn't eaten right away like the other food and pieces of it break off and float away.
I rely on natural growing algae more than those sheets. I leave the back and sides of my tank alone and let algae grow for the critters to pick at. I use the sheets only if there is not enough algae for them to graze on.
So maybe try and not give a sheet daily.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Sounds a little on the high side for your lighting. 15 hours for your actinics everyday may be a bit much. I'm not an expert but I'm going to through out a suggestion and say try cutting back for a while. Maybe do the halides for 6 hours and actinics for 10. Just a suggestion.
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
You have a 15 hour total daylight cycle? Or did I misunderstand that?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by 2Quills
http:///forum/post/3294591
Sounds a little on the high side for your lighting. 15 hours for your actinics everyday may be a bit much. I'm not an expert but I'm going to through out a suggestion and say try cutting back for a while. Maybe do the halides for 6 hours and actinics for 10. Just a suggestion.
....who knows.....I have ran it this way for 2 years....LOL.....only difference now if the T5's are 4-ati blue plus, 2 uv super blue, and 2 kz fiji purple.......
Could that be it???
FLOWER......I started the algae sheets daily as sugegsted when i was told to cut my food back (remember..lol)...I will take your advice though, and do the algae sheets every other day for now....:)
 
A

abeandlulu

Guest
I agree 15 hours for lights is a little on the high side. I run my halide from 9am-9pm. and moon lights all night. I also agree with cutting back with the algea sheets. mybe every 2 days?
 
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