Algae concerns

[jramy123]

So i posted as i got my tank up and running and its been about 3 months now. I have a sand sifting goby and fox face lo along with 8 turbos and 10 hermits. Ive noticed a huge algae spike and my water is testing all green across the boards. i cant imagine the bio load being too much. I have turned down my leds from 80-90% to a mere 15% and they are only on for 6-7 hrs a day(blues on all day, could this be it?) but i got some green hair growing as well as red slime. there is something that also is orange fluorescent at night but looks red most of the day. my skimmer is overkill for this take(100g model on 60g) any ideas? the algae got so bad that my green star polyp colony hasnt opened in days, took it out when i noticed it was "melting" or turning to white goo. will try to post photos after work.

PH: 8.4
ammonia:0
nitrite:0
nitrate:10-20ppm
sal: 1.025

 

[brett_schn]

What was the photo period for when u have the lights on 90% and what lights

 

[BlueCursor]

What are your phosphates at? You nitrates are very high, so I suspect phosphates are very high too. Look into carbon dosing so that killer skimmer has bacteria to skim out. This will lower your nitrates and also phosphates to a lesser degree. Start slow with carbon dosing and work up. You don't want a huge bacteria bloom.

 

[jramy123]

What are your phosphates at? You nitrates are very high, so I suspect phosphates are very high too. Look into carbon dosing so that killer skimmer has bacteria to skim out. This will lower your nitrates and also phosphates to a lesser degree. Start slow with carbon dosing and work up. You don't want a huge bacteria bloom.

So u mean like add carbon in a media sock to the skimmer?

 

[somebloke]

So u mean like add carbon in a media sock to the skimmer?

I'm new and watching/learning, but I think he's talking about carbon dosing on the sense of vodka, vinegar, etc.

Side point: I personally don't understand why vodka and not 190-proof Everclear, since the carbon is in the ethanol, but whatever...

 

[BlueCursor]

What I really mean is test your phosphates to see where they are.

When I said carbon, I was talking about carbon dosing. This is adding a carbon based product -- not granular activated carbon -- like alcohol or vinegar to the aquarium. Google "reef tank carbon dosing" to learn about this. There are commercially made products like NoPox that are for this. Do your homework first, though.

 

[aquariumspecialtyDane]

Yea NoPox is a great product but your tank if fairly new. Levels are still going to be fluctuating a lot. Try and keep your Nitrates and Phosphates a little lower. A nitrate reactor like a Biotek pellet driver would do the tank wonders. You can add a product called all in one biopellets that remove nitrates and phosphates. Its amazing! Check it out. Ill post some links. I would try and keep the lights around 20 to 30% while the tank is new and corals and fish are going to be acclimating.

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/shop-by-brand/red-sea/red-sea-no3-po4-x-nitrate-phosphate-reducer
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/biotek-marine-tek-series-pellet-driver-reactors
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/reef-interests-all-in-one-biopellets

Dane Odom

 

[aquariumspecialtyDane]

If you have any questions feel free to call our store and I can help you out. If you can post some pics of your DT and sump that would help a lot. Also if you are not running a skimmer do not use NoPox. Bad things!!!

 

[cjd]

Tank being 3 months old you are just starting the ugly phase . How long it lasts depends on the tank . I would do a large water change and then continue with the weekly water changes and making sure skimmers are working properly , change those filter socks every 3 to 4 days if possible. Watch how much you feed , manual removal with a tooth brush during water changes and making sure that clean up crew didn't get lazy waiting for the tank to be fed and not bother with doing what they are intended to do. ( it happens) New snails tend to do a better job at cleaning than established ones ( maybe they are more hungry ??) Proper husbandry will get things back to normal and keep them in check. Time and patience ...your tank is just a baby!
Green stars do not like algae ... don't be afraid to blast them with a turkey baster , they will be upset at first but will poke back out when they feel safe .

 

[Wiz]

Agree with most that was said. Your tank is still very new. It takes a long time for the bacteria to establish and to be able to handle the levels of nutrients in your system. Especially when nutrient levels are still fluctuating. Messing with your lights and other things will only worsen the problem. The key to most things in reefing is stability. I don't believe where your light setting is will make too big of a difference. You are going to have to level everything out no matter what setting they are on. If you get it used to having a low light schedule and then start ramping you will have fluctuations again. I would definitely use a very low feeding schedule. Put your lights and flow and everything where you would like them to be so that your tank is used to what you want. And just work through the problems slowly one by one. Carbon dosing is definitely effective but will need to be done extremely slow. Especially with a fluctuating system.

 

[Wiz]

Also not sure if this slime is being caused by excessive nutrients. But in my experience most times red slime is caused or atleast exacerbated by lack of flow in a given area. Just something to look at

 

[jramy123]

ah well there is the rub i suppose. due to my tank not having a stand that has any room for sump i dont have space to run socks, can phosphate reactors be HOB of main tank? im really starting to think iam going to need to buy a stand and overflow box to make a sump, but sadly spending the cash to start this little project has left me strapped as is so not sure when i can afford to upgrade lol. ill do some reading on all the advice here and try to figuere out what to do. i was doing 10g water changed every week on the a 60g, is that too little too much?

 

[jramy123]

Also not sure if this slime is being caused by excessive nutrients. But in my experience most times red slime is caused or atleast exacerbated by lack of flow in a given area. Just something to look at

running two gyre 130s at 100% flow on gyre mode lol, tons of flow. i actually turned it up when i saw red slime. i remember a bit from years ago when i tried a salt tank lol

 

[Wiz]

Then nutrients it is.

 

[Wiz]

10 gallons on a 60 is plenty in my opinion. Almost 20%. Which is fine. What type of filter do you use if you are not running a sump?

 

[jramy123]

10 gallons on a 60 is plenty in my opinion. Almost 20%. Which is fine. What type of filter do you use if you are not running a sump?

bak pak dual skimmer with bio bale media

 

[cjd]

I wouldn't be too concerned , its going to happen no mater what , its part of a new tank no matter what filtration you run. This is where a lot of people bail out. All they think is they can grow algae. Let your tank be a tank. keep up with the water changes , watch feeding , proper cleaning of the filters and time ! Get in there and scrub the rocks the best you can with a tooth brush , remove the floating debris with a net , let the filter do the rest , change the filter material after rock scrubbing to get that nasty out of there.
My new 75 gallon is just coming around , started in January or so. Had all the normal issues of a new tank . Hair algae like no tomorrow with nitrates reading zero on a red sea test kit . It happens ..new tank . I got a new hungry clean up crew , manually scrub the rock , net as much of the big stuff as I can , turn up flow to hurricane mode , stir up all the junk , net some more , turn flow down and let the filter sock catch the rest . change filter sock when main display clears up , do a water change , repeat weekly. I was to a point I was scrubbing and turkey bastering ( I don't think that's a word ...sorry I make up my own words) the rock about every three days , netting debris and changing filter socks . I think the word should be turkey basting ...but that sounds to gentle ... you have to turkey baster those rocks!!!!

 

[Wiz]

Ive never been a fan of bak paks. But i suppose you have no choice. I know i stinks but eventually you are going to want other medias or macros. I would work toward a sump. Personally. I run nothing but a fuge and skimmer. But use the bubble catch in the sump as a makeshift spot for emergency media. A net bag with carbon, or phos media. But only if absolutly necessary. A bak pak allows no flexibility.

 

[jramy123]

yeah petco has a stand for 100 bucks i might pick up. i have a 10g i can use for sump and the pumps and hoses from old tank but that was drilled and this is not. that coupled with taking all the water out, rocks, sand and fish is daunting task. maybe in few week when my job goes to summer break ill tackle this project. how important are baffles and such for the sump? i remember have cheap acrylics ones that didnt do much but that was a homemade sump lol

 

[Wiz]

I only use the baffles for a bubble catch. Which doubles as a media spot. Cheap plexi glass and silicone. Easy enough. If you are planning on a fuge/sump you might need another baffle. I have a seperate fuge.