Help me fix my hot mess of a reef

ihavecrabs

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Best advice I can give is don't add any media or additive that you are not testing for! I'd pull the chemipure and any carbon you are running (If any) until you get your nitrates and phosphates detectable.

As far as the algae and cyano, manual removal of both and give it time. Your system will stabilize and all will be good!
 
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Joshua2598

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Best advice I can give is don't add any media or additive that you are not testing for! I'd pull the chemipure and any carbon you are running (If any) until you get your nitrates and phosphates detectable.

As far as the algae and cyano, manual removal of both and give it time. Your system will stabilize and all will be good!
Gotcha.
 

saltyfilmfolks

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Best advice I can give is don't add any media or additive that you are not testing for! I'd pull the chemipure and any carbon you are running (If any) until you get your nitrates and phosphates detectable.

As far as the algae and cyano, manual removal of both and give it time. Your system will stabilize and all will be good!

Chemipure and carbon donor effect nutrients. They bind certain organics.
 

Rscott

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im curious, why are some people recommending to let it do its thing for 30 days?
Im learning myself and curious as to why this is a good idea.

The thought of more flow came to my mind
Also, what light do you have?

What is the schedule of the light?

Is to much light feeding the algae?

What skimmer are you running?

Im asking for my own education im not experienced enough to be offering advice. Is this why people dont typically like smaller tank sizes?

Good luck to the OP
 
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Joshua2598

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im curious, why are some people recommending to let it do its thing for 30 days?
Im learning myself and curious as to why this is a good idea.

The thought of more flow came to my mind
Also, what light do you have?

What is the schedule of the light?

Is to much light feeding the algae?

What skimmer are you running?

Im asking for my own education im not experienced enough to be offering advice. Is this why people dont typically like smaller tank sizes?

Good luck to the OP
I'm using the stock light that came with the fluval xxii, it's on from 11 am to 8 PM, I think the main reason for the algae (one dominant type for the most part) is because of how new my tank is. I dont run a skimmer on my tank, mostly because I dont think they're 100% necessary.
 

saltyfilmfolks

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I'm using the stock light that came with the fluval xxii, it's on from 11 am to 8 PM, I think the main reason for the algae (one dominant type for the most part) is because of how new my tank is. I dont run a skimmer on my tank, mostly because I dont think they're 100% necessary.
One thing to consider when doing skimmer less is mechanical filtration. If you have a HOB or floss set up in a standard tank or aio , food and funk can build up. That can create a lot of Ammonia and no3 as it rots. He best sucess I’ve had doing that is to make sure those stay clean. If it’s a HOB like annaquacler , you want to make sure the floss n sponge are funky and catching the funk so you can get it out.

You can go hands off , as the bio filter may well catch up to levels you have now , or be slightly more agressive with a Toothbrush and WC.

There is some concern on bottoming out nutrients yes, that can cause problems.
BUT, myself I’ve had luck with med scrubbing and med water changes. Like once a month stuff , and really only intervene if it makes me nuts to look at it. Lol.

I would clean the corals gently though.
 
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Joshua2598

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One thing to consider when doing skimmer less is mechanical filtration. If you have a HOB or floss set up in a standard tank or aio , food and funk can build up. That can create a lot of Ammonia and no3 as it rots. He best sucess I’ve had doing that is to make sure those stay clean. If it’s a HOB like annaquacler , you want to make sure the floss n sponge are funky and catching the funk so you can get it out.

You can go hands off , as the bio filter may well catch up to levels you have now , or be slightly more agressive with a Toothbrush and WC.

There is some concern on bottoming out nutrients yes, that can cause problems.
BUT, myself I’ve had luck with med scrubbing and med water changes. Like once a month stuff , and really only intervene if it makes me nuts to look at it. Lol.

I would clean the corals gently though.
I put them in front of direct flow for just a few seconds and that got some stuff off both frags. I put them higher up in the tank in some slightly higher flow place
 

Salps

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My corals look a lot like yours. I ran my nitates & phosphates to 0 by carbon dosing. I also had some algae with the 0 readings. Then the pink cyano began. After a couple months of keeping my numbers detectable the pink cayno is turning to green cyano. In somesplaces the cyano is gone completly. I believe I am seeing the tank conditions now favoring the different bacteria. I hope to see that trend keep going until a bacteria that is not ugly cyano is the one that is predominant. I've shifted my thought process from just keeping my critters alive to one that thinks in the concept of creating favorable conditions (light, water chemistry & water flow) for the life forms (bateria, coral, fish & algae) I want so they can out compete the ones that I do not.

Sorry I don't have great advice for your specific situation but, I hope this might give you a little idea on how long it will that to get balance back to the tank.
 

Perkins

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Still am worried about the zoas [emoji55]
I had a bad case of the red slime algae for a while and it would get on the few Zoas that I have every couple days I would use a turkey Baster and gently blow it off the rocks and around the zoas idk if this was the correct thing to do or not but it worked for me. I still have a little that is showing up but nothing like the Matt that it had been. I also understand that as ugly as it is it does help get rid of some of the diatoms by covering it up atleast it did in my tank.
 
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Joshua2598

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Thank you all for all the help and input, now I'm back with another query. I caught my frogspawn expelling cloudy looking wisps from its mouth, the biggest head of the coral to be specific. I highly doubt it cod be spawning like my anemone once did and it may actually be expelling zooxanthele. Anyone have any input?
 
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Joshua2598

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saltyfilmfolks

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It’s probably throwing up.

Look to see if it bleaches. That would be zooox , so I’d doubt it’s that.
 
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