Help Fix My Ugly Tank

[kategreatwhite]

I have a two year old 40 gallon Nuvo fish tank. It is overrun with algae. It has hairy green algae as well as red slime/cyanobacteria. I have tried everything to get rid of it. It has two tri filters, two pumps and a protein skimmer. I have gotten turbo snails to eat the algae on several different occasions but they all have died. There is only one fish and one shrimp. I only feed them three times a week. I have used chemiclean and algae fix and have done numerous water changes. I also recently replaced the sand. I used distilled water only. The room is very dark and the fish tank light is only on for 6-8 hours. All my levels seem normal (ph-8.0, ammonia-0.1, nitrite-0, nitrate-0, phosphate-0.25). The phosphate is a high but there is phosphate remover in my filters. I am lost on what to do. I feel like I am doing everything that has been suggested to me in the past. I have attached pictures. If you have any advice on what to do, it is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help.

 

[dochow]

I would look at the water you are using. If you don't already have one, I would invest in an RO/DI unit for all future water changes. $199 will usually get you a good unit. I use a Spectrapure which is a tried and true brand name. Silicates in the water can cause these algae issues.

Next, start on the rock. Pull a heavily algae laden piece out and manually remove as much as possible. If there is residual algae, put the rock in a hydrogen peroxide bath (can dilute). That will kill the rest of the algae on the rock.

It will also kill a lot of the bacteria on the rock so you don't want to do this to all your rocks at once since you will ruin your bacterial filter.

Work slowly and have patience, it will take a while to reverse the algae issue.

This method has worked for me, but I'm sure there are much better informed people out there than myself!

What light are you using? Could be a spectrum issue as well.

 

[kategreatwhite]

The light is a Kessil A350w Tuna Blue.

 

[kddunlap21]

i would also dial back the amount of hours and intensity the light is on, gsp is hardy and doesn't need to much light, also do 4-5 water changes a week until problem is gone. this is in addition to pulling rock out and scraping clear algae.

 

[Untamedrose]

I'm sorry :lol:...But flinched like it was a horror movie just splattered blood everwhere... Ok chems look ok.... scroll down OMG!

Where are you getting your distilled water??

I'd order some astrea snails...yup they are doomed little guys but they do the job. Sea hair might not hurt ..
I'd also attack it with a toothbrush. Lot of that you could get out manually.

BUT
Stick a couple poly-filters in you filters you got a problem your not testing for....this Might help if its a metal issue. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...20ksIBE4Te1RaHdkiqrTyCQOzSQeg-9cKkxoCMCHw_wcB

 

[kategreatwhite]

Its shop rite distilled water. Also people have told me taking the rocks out of tank will mess up the ecosystem of the tank. Is it still worth it?

 

[Ebone]

use RODI all day everyday... anything but will make your tank look like .... see above.... I wouldn't trust anything but.... except in an absolute emergency.

 

[Untamedrose]

there is taking the rocks out and drying them out (cause ya Killing your live rock will mess stuff up) and taking the rocks out to clean them

Do a water change... leave a some toss water in a bucket. Grab a soft tooth brush, grab a rock scrub and dunk repeat dont scrub the corals. Put it back when you got the worst of it off. Can be done IN the tank to...but at this point need to get it Out out not off the rock.
This will leave Most of it out of you tank.

This alone isnt going to fix it.. just a control method need to figure out whats wrong still And get a proactive eater to stay alive.

 

[AlexG]

Its shop rite distilled water. Also people have told me taking the rocks out of tank will mess up the ecosystem of the tank. Is it still worth it?

Distilled water is not the same as RO/DI water. Distilled water can contain minerals and metals that are toxic to marine animals or it can cause algae blooms. Switch over to RO/DI water. Removing some of the rocks for cleaning should not be an issue as long as some of them are left behind. Something is feeding the algae once it is removed it will resolve the issue.

 

[melypr1985]

You could try dosing peroxide @twilliard can give you more details involving that.

 

[Bdog4u2]

Id shake the rocks after scrubbing in the water you removed during a change a ton of detritus can build up inside the rock. You have such a light bio load i wouldnt worry about removing rock as long as you keep it wet with tank water while scrubbing.
Bacteria is tough its built to survive

 

[twilliard]

Start with the algae issue.
Take a rock out one at a time and manually remove the algae.
Apply 3% peroxide to the remaining spots of algae. Let the peroxide sit for 5 minutes while keeping the areas wet with peroxide. Do this with each rock.
The algae will be dead within 72 hours. Keep changing water to pull the nutrients as the algae dies.
When you have this algae under control, which you will then visit my peroxide thread for the cyanobacteria.
Always here to answer questions!

 

[Catchemall]

Algae turf scrubber

 

[Hobe Sound Frags]

I'd do everything everyone here has suggested. Get as much out manually. I'd remove the rocks, scrub them, rinse in saltwater, shake vigorously in saltwater to remove any detritus, then return them to the tank. Do all the rocks. Your bio load will be fine. Then gravel vac your sand and do a water change. No more than 30-40 percent of the water. Then add a new clean up crew, astrea snails, blue legs, emerald crabs. Not too many emeralds. Then do a black out on the tank. Turn the lights off for 5 days. Wrap the tank in something to block all the light. The corals may pale a bit but they will be fine. Feed the fish before the black out and once during and then after. Once algae takes hold, like you have, you need to take away one of its main food sources, light. While the light is out the phosphate removers and poly pads should remove any bad stuff in the water. Also you can use distilled just pick a better brand. As with most things the more it costs the better it's made. Pick a better brand. If you want to go r/o have a look at aqua fx. I just bought a 200 gpd for my service business and it works great. The price was great too. They have a website to choose from or their customer service people were super helpful to help me build exactly what I needed. Custom r/o at cheaper than regular prices. Once your black out period is done, remove the cover and do another water change pulling any algae that's left off the rocks as you go. Make it a small change maybe 5-10 percent. You should see that the algae that's left is dead or dying off. Hopefully at that point the clean up crew can take care of the rest. It will take time and you can repeat the whole thing again if you need to. If the corals look pale then give them a day or so with the regular lighting before you start again. Also if you have access to a par meter you might want to make sure you don't have too much light intensity going into the tank. We do this method anytime we take on a new client that's got your problem. It always works. It's going to take time to get your tank back but in this hobby patience is key. If you have any questions, feel free to write here or pm me, we're always happy to help. Good luck.

 

[Aznxgqboyx]

With a tank that small imo i would throw everything away and start fresh. No headaches no doing this and that just clean out the tank and start over. It will be cycle way before you get rid of allthat algae

 

[morpheas]

I wouldn't throw everything away per se but I would go for a tear down, i.e. bring all the rocks out and nuke them and clean empty the tank. Then after that is done, put everything back in and start fresh and with RODI. I think the hustle you will go through trying to save it is going to be much more than starting it over. You already have the equipment (except for the RODI unit) so it shouldn't be that hard or prohibitive and should be a more direct solution. Of course, that's what I would do in your shoes, doesn't mean it's the perfect solution :)

 

[Aznxgqboyx]

I wouldn't throw everything away per se but I would go for a tear down, i.e. bring all the rocks out and nuke them and clean empty the tank. Then after that is done, put everything back in and start fresh and with RODI. I think the hustle you will go through trying to save it is going to be much more than starting it over. You already have the equipment (except for the RODI unit) so it shouldn't be that hard or prohibitive and should be a more direct solution. Of course, that's what I would do in your shoes, doesn't mean it's the perfect solution :)

I meant just throw the rock and sand away and start over with new sand and rocks. Less headaches

 

[Hobe Sound Frags]

I think you need to consider your budget and time. Starting over with all new is a great idea if you have the money. Full break down and reset with your existing stuff is much better and cost effective but what do you do with your livestock? As small as it is its still something to consider. If you can find homes for them then do the full reset. But if none of that works then spend the time and make it great again. But whatever you choose to do don't forget the sump. Nasty algae can also hide out in the sump so clean that up too.

 

[Saltine]

For RODI unit, look up RO Buddy, $50 and does the job...

 

[NeptuneGarden]

When it gets that bad, I tear it down and start over. Algae that bad screams at me that your rock is probably super saturated with nutrients and is leaching, most likely phosphates, back into the water. Your water testing should read low, you have a 40 gallon algae scrubber running.....

Once that happens, you really need to pull the rock and give it the full acid bath and curing process to start fresh.
This comes from not being obsessive enough on your water changes. Like others said, get the R/O unit to make it easier.
Small tanks are tough. It's just too easy for nutrients to build up unless you are O.C.D. with tank maintenance.