everything is brown...

[sam2110]

Hello mate I was just reading through this thread and it seems your having the same issues I am having. As you can see from my photos. I've had none stop diatoms and now cyano but I am getting through it. All I am doing is keeping up with water changes and regular cleaning.

When my nitrates hit 0 the cyano started, I raised the nitrates and carried on water changes. Its a slow process but I think you tank will be in a better position in the long term if you allow it to burn through. The first photo was 4 weeks in and the 2nd photo I literally just took now. The tank is currently looking 100x better than it did 2 weeks ago.

I'm also from the Midlands! So I wish you the best of luck which ever route you choose.

 

[JamieB]

Yes it’s indicated here

it would truly shine up, fast.

youd have light growths to tend to afterwards, say monthly but they’re 1% mass compared to current. It will skip cycle reassemble if you can be so thorough as to rinse all clouding. We would link you here, see last two pages

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

Not only do I love that job, I did it in my vase :) so it’s been modeled already/ done your job is just bigger. I’m going to link a thread where nobody listens regarding aiptasia removal, apply this to your mushroom tank. the sand cleaning is already covered here / ridding newly cleaned rocks...

www.reef2reef.com

a thread of two hundred rip cleans.

as you are rinsing the sand, and feel it’s ready, then rinse twenty more times all in cool tap. That clean, partial rinse is harmful. Over rinse is why we are safe for pages. Final rinse is saltwater or ro, then rinsed sand is ready for put back


use all new water, don’t save any old sand it’s total rinse opposite of what the masses say to do.

take the rocks and spray peroxide across the growths, then use a knife tip to scrape down the algae and dislodge it... brushes aren’t as good, pick free the sprayed algae like a rasping animals beak, the knife tip simulates that. Reefs are adapted to it

twist those rinsed worked rocks in old tank water, get the casting off. Be holding your fish in drawn off tank water no clouding as you work

net them back into new water, matching temp and salinity only is what matters. A completely rip cleaned tank will shine, and skip cycle. Lowering light intensity will help to slow regrowth, but that won’t fix clouding. Rip will fix clouding and de-age the reef.

if you do one and it’s thorough I’ll link your work thread here to #2 in the sand rinse thread. Jon M always gets #1 lol for rip cleaning a 120 gallon system five times over with following microbiological assay, icp chemical assay, and the deepest multi ripping of any reef I’ve seen even in nightmares. we are all #2 and after that job lol

Hi!

Im gearing up to do this ripclean tomorrow.
I've read the threads but just to confirm, Im going to:

1. Remove fish and water
2. remove sand wash 20 times in tap water then saltwater
3. remove mechanical filter sponge, squeeze it out gently in original tank water
4. remove string bag of ceramic filter rings, not clean at all, just rest them in original tank water while tank cleaned
5. remove rock, scrub with a brush, and pick it clean as you advised (rock isnt too bad)
6. use new dishcloth and hose out the tank, make it completely clean
7. put everything back in
8. refil with 100% new saltwater
9. put fish and fire shrimp back in

Im aiming to do this first thing tomorrow morning so if you could reassure me this is the correct process and Im not going to kill my fish
I would hugely appreciate it!

Thanks for your help
Jamie

 

[JamieB]

Hello mate I was just reading through this thread and it seems your having the same issues I am having. As you can see from my photos. I've had none stop diatoms and now cyano but I am getting through it. All I am doing is keeping up with water changes and regular cleaning.

When my nitrates hit 0 the cyano started, I raised the nitrates and carried on water changes. Its a slow process but I think you tank will be in a better position in the long term if you allow it to burn through. The first photo was 4 weeks in and the 2nd photo I literally just took now. The tank is currently looking 100x better than it did 2 weeks ago.

I'm also from the Midlands! So I wish you the best of luck which ever route you choose.

Hi! Thanks for the reassurance, your tank looks good - seems to be going i the right direction.

Can I ask - you said you raised the nitrates? how did you do this? I noticed mine dropped to 0 which i know is too low, but apart from reducing frequency of water changes I dont know how to raise nitrates higher...

Cheers
Jamie

 

[brandon429]

Agreed it is that order. Only the old sand or the rocks set back can re introduce clouding, the new change water cannot. Rinse your filter media clean too, it functions like sand, needs cleaning to keep open pores

If you match temp and salinity of new water to old water, and literally zero clouding, the fish and shrimp will be fine

* you can now clearly see what your reefing environment selects for. It's different than mine, or theirs etc

People get sad a month after ruby shine RIP clean when spots the size of a dime come back, they thought a rip clean unselects the tank for the matched invader but it doesn't. It slows massing and it allows for control over the system until other balances are found. you will have an uninvaded reef when done


The fact you'll need tiny upkeep effort just like a backyard garden requires no apology, having a safe access means is key

It doesn't matter your tank is new

Doesn't matter we don't know the cause, those are preventative mechanisms tbd

you will be able to safely exert total control over your reef. Mine was never invaded again after finding out that option, everyone told me I had to entertain the stuff

 

[brandon429]

also in prep, here are some surprises that happened to prior posters and made challenges, we tried to edit back in 1st post in sand rinse thread the updates / reminders

one rinser didnt have their change water ready/heated even after full draining and discarding of the tank water, lol. we would then remind us to please be heated to 78 degrees, enough gallons for 100% change

quick heating=set blue 5 gallons of reef water in hot bathtub soak, 7 mins brought to temp from any starting point ish

another rinser was concerned about sandbed bac, rinsed only in saltwater which ran out on #1 of 20 rinses, and proceeded to put back a fully clouded reef. I think the general thesis of the thread was missed on that one no reminder edited in , every page mentions cloudless

in 35 pages, someone lost a goby once, it died. whether or not that is attributed to rip cleaning or goby aneurysm tbd/no necropsy = mystery forever

 

[JamieB]

also in prep, here are some surprises that happened to prior posters and made challenges, we tried to edit back in 1st post in sand rinse thread the updates / reminders

one rinser didnt have their change water ready/heated even after full draining and discarding of the tank water, lol. we would then remind us to please be heated to 78 degrees, enough gallons for 100% change

quick heating=set blue 5 gallons of reef water in hot bathtub soak, 7 mins brought to temp from any starting point ish

another rinser was concerned about sandbed bac, rinsed only in saltwater which ran out on #1 of 20 rinses, and proceeded to put back a fully clouded reef. I think the general thesis of the thread was missed on that one no reminder edited in , every page mentions cloudless

in 35 pages, someone lost a goby once, it died. whether or not that is attributed to rip cleaning or goby aneurysm tbd/no necropsy = mystery forever

Awesome, That’s for the advice and Fast response. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Jamie

 

[NewNemo]

I had a similar outbreak in my tank. A few snails and hermits worked for me to keep it under control.

 

[JamieB]

I had a similar outbreak in my tank. A few snails and hermits worked for me to keep it under control.

Cool, yes I think I need a larger clean up crew. Only have 2 snails at the minute...

 

[JamieB]

So 3/4 hours hard work yesterday doing the ripclean and the tank looks incredible today. Photos really dont do it justice.
The question is how has it affected all the bacteria I'd built up through the cylcing period. Looking forward to finding out over the next few weeks...

 

[brandon429]

Immediately linked to the sand rinse thread for doing such a good job


feels weird huh to tap attack the one zone in the tank they said we couldn’t touch


the filter bac actually work better now. Not just a self serving claim...they were previously blanketed in diatoms or dinos, contacting less wastewater. Rinsing removed the invader that was not housed in biofilm insulation; filter bac sure are

 

[brandon429]

I’m going to edit this into page one, new reef tank guiding vs the uglies. As an option

 

[ScubaFish802]

Hey! Welcome to R2R! I agree with Diatoms. If it makes you feel any better I just got past my tanks first huge diatom outbreak. There are still a few kicking around but most have died off.
Let them run their course and they will fix themselves generally a sign your tank is growing up!
If you are importing silicates through water changes or elsewhere though you could keep the problem going by feeding them..
Could also try some Chemipure Elite if there’s silicates from new sand etc..

 

[brandon429]

Now that you took back ground, don’t see it as a one off cure that leaves your reef clean forever. We are shining bright light + nutrients across all white non coralline surfaces

it comes back slowly in most dry starts, but you’ve just seen the best way to manage without getting into depending on retail chems $ to do a job that still leaves waste in your rocks and sand. You caused your after pics by will, and it was free (ish) and took two hours. siphoning our a quarter gallon of water to take some light sandbed growth next month isn’t a fail of rip cleaning, it’s a win for hands on reefing


being invaded is not required, you just showed. This is what to do when you move all that into a bigger tank one day, we deep clean.


or when that reef is eight years old and you want to be certain it gets to ten, rip clean. Removing waste is good not bad

of course a reef might get to ten years old on the old hands off method


might is an unacceptable term to some, though.

 

[Cell]

Two months of headaches cured in 2 hours. Makes the tank enjoyable to work on again which has a definite trickle down effect. Now just keep up with the maintenance and reap the rewards of your reset!

 

[brandon429]

I’m not opposed to using any number of preventative means, anything that lessens the work = ok by me

but we don’t ride noncompliance into the nuisance algae forum in an updated reef society. Just like many reefers likely have backyard gardens not full of weeds and dandelions and briars, elbow grease has merit. I always feel a little more sorry than norm for large tankers under invasion, they -need- a one off item so badly as the physical access is usually too much

and also because I don’t have a better way to help lol

 

[JamieB]

I’m going to edit this into page one, new reef tank guiding vs the uglies. As an option

Really pleased with the result - thanks for all your advice - much appreciated

 

[JamieB]

A bit worried....

for the first time ever, heard loud popping sound from the tank. The larger of my 2 young clowns is almost biting at the surface of the water making a load popping sound every time.

Just done the levels, they are
nitrate 0-5ppm
nitrite 0
ammonia 0.25-0.75ppm
ph 7.8-8.0
phosphate 0.5

ammonia has been 0 for weeks and weeks since end of cycle, now its up again.

Any advice please?
should I order some bottled bacteria?

 

[KrisReef]

A bit worried....

for the first time ever, heard loud popping sound from the tank. The larger of my 2 young clowns is almost biting at the surface of the water making a load popping sound every time.

Just done the levels, they are
nitrate 0-5ppm
nitrite 0
ammonia 0.25-0.75ppm
ph 7.8-8.0
phosphate 0.5

ammonia has been 0 for weeks and weeks since end of cycle, now its up again.

Any advice please?
should I order some bottled bacteria?

Are you using API Test (Notorious kit for measuring ammonia wrong and high.)?
Is the water cloudy at all? Ammonia tends to cause bacteria blooms that cloud water.

Never heard of a clown doing this. If all the fish are at the surface aerate the tank and yes, add bacteria.

@brandon429 may want to check in,

 

[brandon429]

Not concerned as you can see from post patterns hasnt ever happened tied to a cleaning, we move tanks to new homes etc, or downgrade etc

Post a cell phone video/upload to youtube post the link.

an api test kit stating ammonia is no alarm, any working of the tank will trigger that using api. Let’s see if water is clean, post cell video of the tank. In no way do I think bacteria are harmed. Each day the fish live because bacteria are just fine. The live rocks were cleaned in saltwater, harmless.

a cell phone vid showing fish interacting should be a nice detail provider. Let’s see other details not from the test kits

full cloud water and fish on the sides clinging to life = prob

clean water and clowns swimming around, not in distress, not a problem regardless of api read. That is a very low bioload setup the rocks have no trouble carrying the small fish.

look at where the clowns are in the very first pic posted on thread

 

[brandon429]

Your cleaner shrimp is the best free ammonia indicator you could own. It will tolerate absolutely no free ammonia above safe levels. Don’t add bottle bac, they consume and compete for oxygen when elevated in the water column


simply proceed with daily reefing and weekly water changes to anticipate cleaning needs, api does this routinely.

check out this ammonia misread

EMERGENCY - Baby Mandarin has ammonia burn!!!! PLEASE HELP!!

Hi, I woke up and found my baby mandarin had a white patch of skin that looked like an ammonia burn and yes we are having an ammonia problem. It isnt super high but it’s been about 5 days and we are doing a %50 water change right now. She’s still swimming around pecking at her food. But she’s...

www.reef2reef.com

blamed on a fish burn. ammonia was never out of spec