Need Advice

B

Bryan

Sorry this is so long , but Im trying to cover all of the questions that my arise.


My tank had been Taken over with algae. It appears to mostly be GHA, but Im not 100% certain that there isn't other types along with it. My problems started about the same time that I switched to Red Sea salt from Reef Crystals. At first I didnt believe that a salt could be the cause of my issues, I felt that it had to be coming from overfeeding or poor water movement. (something that I was/wasnt doing) I repositioned my powerheads, scrubbed and manually removed as much of the algae as I culd find. Followed this up with multiple large water changes to try and dilute the nutrients, followed by full range of tests. All test results looked great (API test kit) so I thought all was well.I also followed this by adding GFO, and Bio-pellets to aid in reducing the nutrient level. One week later , Algae was back in full force (it would be SO bad that my kroalias would have trouble moving water du to 100% coverage with algae.) Bulbs are about 4 months old at this point, and I do keep up with at least yearly bulb changes. I also reduced my feedings to twice per week, tank consists of 1 x-mas wrasse, 1 pajama cardinal, 1 yellow watchman. Every CUC I buy dies off very quickly (usually within a few weeks) I have lost a tailspot blenny, salfin tang, yellow tang, med. hippo tang, tomato clown, yellow coris wrasse all within the last year. My acans are receding, my aussie golden torch is almost gone, rics have closed up, and my zoas are almost all gone. candy cane, frogspawn, gsp, assorted palys are all ok, tube nem still alive but not showing itself as often as it has in the past.

I was about ready to throw in the towel for good and I read a few threads about some people having issues with the red sea salt, so I decided to run a test.

New sw mix with ro/di and red sea coral pro with hanna checker = 1.2

new sw mix with ro/di and reef crystals with hanna checker = 0.03

new sw mix with ro/di and aquavitro salinity with hanna checker = 0.03

So I have decided to switch my salts and went with the aquavitro. I again will be doing a full range of algae removal for about the 50th time is the last 6 months, I want to order a CUC but I am worried that they will all die off like the last 3 have. I am placing an order for a new batch of GFO, and new DI resin for the ro unit, I know Im gonna need it. I am also looking into changing over to LED lighting (AI SOL) probably.

Tank params as of 11 am today 11/9/11

nitrate = undetectable (API KIT)
Ammonia = undetectable (API KIT)
Nitrite = undetectable (API KIT)
PO4 = 0.94 (hanna checker)
pH = 8.1
cal = 380
dkh = 8

question : what should I do about my CUC issue ? What could they be dying from ?

question : Other manual removal / large WC, is there anything else I should do to attempt to win the algae battle ?

question : Is anyone else dealing with this and what has worked for you ?

Tank specs :
48x20x21 - 87g display
40 breeder sump/ fuge
quiet one 3000 return
reef octo NWB 110 skimmer
BRS GFO reactor
TLF 550 reactor / bio pellets
4 koralia evo 1050's
1x250w MH 20k
2x54w T5HO actinic

Lighting period 11:30am - 6pm daily
Fuge light on opposite schedule

Again , sorry this is so dang long but I wanted to provide as much info as I could.

Thanks for any help/advice you may be able to offer. I really hope to have my tank back by Next Wave so I can do some coral shopping.
 
I had an issue with green algae and was told to cut back on my lights by half for a week and see if that made a difference I did and It kept it from getting worse. I then bought this stuff called TLC Marine SAT put the amount instructed and cut my lights and skimmer and it was all gone in 3 days. Just thought I'd share what helped me.
 
yeah I have done the lights out thing and everything was still waiting on me a week later. LOL

I will do some research on the Marine SAT, thanks. (I would like to avoid the chemical route, but may not have a choice)
 
Get a Scopas Tang. My tank was completely taken over by GHA, bought a Scopas and it was gone when I woke up the next morning.
 
It sounds like you have taken many of the right steps to get this worked out. Recommending a fish to cure this issue is wrong in my opinion, as there is definitely an underlying problem that you need to solve before you think about adding any more livestock. To add to it, you have had bad luck with fish over the past year, so adding another fish and expecting a different outcome is setting yourself up for failure and possible further contamination of your water (if the fish dies and you can't get it out). I didn't see it listed, but did you test your water before you mixed it with salt? What were your TDS readings? Could your storage containers be leaching anything? Any phosphates in your RODI water that is sitting in your storage container?

I went through this problem earlier this year, but probably not to the extent you have. I had a lot of algae build up and hair algae became prevalent. I did water changes, added GFO, manually picked it, added more CUC, checked my water, etc. Nothing really worked. Whether or not this was the final blow is up for the jury, but I ended up buying BRS's high capacity GFO, as it advertised to be much more potent than the regular stuff (at a hefty price of course). If that is true, I'm not sure, but I was willing to take the chance. After about a month or so, I began seeing a real progression and the hair algae wasn't growing back any more. My back wall was covered with hair algae, but it finally started receding and is nearly gone now. I have a little algae left, but for the most part, it is gone and has not been building up any more. I will probably continue to run the GFO for a while, just in case though.
 
I was not meaning to give wrong advice and I do not know the history of his particular tank. I was simply stating that I had the same problem and the Scopas Tang was my solution.
 
I know, I wasn't directing that at you in a negative way. Just saying that isn't always the best option, although it probably is the easiest. No worries. Hope he figures this out...
 
@ctaylor81 : I did test my water prior to adding salt. the TDS kept bouncing between 2-4 that is why I ordered more DI resin . As far as the PO4 in my ro/di water nothing is showing up on the API kit as well as my friends elos kit. The one thing that is confusing to me is that my nitrates have always shown up low on tests (I understand that the algae may be consuming it) and my CUC's never last long enough to get to work. I cant figure out what is killing them.
 
Test for copper. Idk if your tank was bought new or used, but if you bought it used, someone may have used copper in it.
 
@idreefer - tank was bought NEW and I make every effort to avoid copper . Been down that road when I first got into reefing... learned the hard way.


@MBSL55 - salinity runs ~1.024-26 , Mg hasnt been tested in a while - will do that and get back to you. I am currently in the process of a major cleaning and WC so I will test it this weekend when everything settles.
 
OF COURSE

I got all of the rock scrubbed down, siphoned out all of the debris and algae , did huge water change and I am about 5 gallons short from being able to fill back up. [smilie=swear.gif]


glad I started to fill my reserve before I started. Now to let the salt stir for a bit. [smilie=whew.gif]
 
FINALLY got my own Hanna checker (no more borrowing) and after my massive tank cleaning and large number of water changes with the new salt my PO4 readings are down to 0.00 on the meter. At first I thought it I screwed up the test so I did it again , second test = 0.00.


WOO HOO !!!


Just got a new batch of GFO also, so these levels should be pretty easy to maintain from now on. I'm stoked !! [smilie=clapping.gif]
 
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