Help: No idea what I'm doing at this point....

[8pixel]

Not new to the hobby but at this point it would be better if you just considered me a beginner.

Rebooted 20g Waterbox in April (new substrate but tank & rock is 2 yrs old). Coral started fine but over time started to deflate, receed/shrink. Slight bit of diatoms possibly dino on substrate in areas and some rocks. Left for 2 week vacation and came back to heavy dino/diatoms covering substrate and glass BUT corals fluffy and looking great...the tank itself looks horrible though. What's going on and what should I do?

Parameters:
Before vacation: 9 nitrate, .08 phosphate, 8.5 alk, 1125 Mg, 390 ca
After vacation: 11 nitrate, .45 phosphate, 7.8 alk
pH never went below 8 while away but 7.8 low now that I'm back and before I left.

Livestock:
Pair of clownfish
RTBAs
Tube anemone
zoas
Duncan
blasto
acans
CUC

I do not dose anything aside from Microbacter after water changes but considering kalk soon to deal with the lower pH.

Thanks in advance for your time and help!!

 

[DC Reefer]

I would start with a water change and try to vacuum as much of the substrate as you can. With regarding to dosing, I would not dose Kalk for the PH, but would use it to maintain a stable Alkalinity and in the process would help with PH.

 

[8pixel]

I would start with a water change and try to vacuum as much of the substrate as you can. With regarding to dosing, I would not dose Kalk for the PH, but would use it to maintain a stable Alkalinity and in the process would help with PH.

Thank you. I forgot to add that I wasn't sure if I should just let it ride since it was doing better without me messing with it. Was doing weekly water changes when everything looked bad.

 

[Saltyreef]

Thats cyano btw. I dont see any dinos peeking yet.

 

[DC Reefer]

Assuming the test kits are accurate, it looks as if your nutrients spiked a bit while you were on vacation and stopped doing water changes. This suggests to me that your water changes were a significant part of your nutrient export process (assuming nothing else changed and whoever took care of your tank while you were away wasn't feeding heavier than you were).

I run SPS tanks so I keep my nutrients a bit lower than this, but not sure what the desirable range is for a mixed tank. If it were my tank, I would focus on 1 - keeping Alk stable, 2 - keeping my nutrients at a stable level close to the sweet spot for the tank - corals doing well and algae not an issue.

As saltyreef said, I agree it looks like Cyano to me which I would still vacuum off. There are a number of threads going through Cyano control and I have been battling in one of my tanks for a while. I have found that cranking up the flow has worked best for me on the Cyano but can be tricky with sand

 

[Saltyreef]

And +1 on vacuuming substrate and water changes and incorperating kalk for your alk stability.

You should get your alk cal and mag back in range while youre at it.

The coral receeding is likely due to the imbalance of elements and your high nutrients and alk swinging.

 

[ying yang]

Phosphates raised because using an auto doser with dry pellets and you usually feed frozen or live ? Or whoever looking after tank fed more than you do maybe ? And elevated phospates brought on the cyano ? Or just that 2 weeks not doing water changes when you usually do once a week ?

 

[8pixel]

Assuming the test kits are accurate, it looks as if your nutrients spiked a bit while you were on vacation and stopped doing water changes. This suggests to me that your water changes were a significant part of your nutrient export process (assuming nothing else changed and whoever took care of your tank while you were away wasn't feeding heavier than you were).

I run SPS tanks so I keep my nutrients a bit lower than this, but not sure what the desirable range is for a mixed tank. If it were my tank, I would focus on 1 - keeping Alk stable, 2 - keeping my nutrients at a stable level close to the sweet spot for the tank - corals doing well and algae not an issue.

As saltyreef said, I agree it looks like Cyano to me which I would still vacuum off. There are a number of threads going through Cyano control and I have been battling in one of my tanks for a while. I have found that cranking up the flow has worked best for me on the Cyano but can be tricky with sand

Nutrients were actually a bit lower before (1-5 nitrate, 0-0.1 phosphate) but I overfed to raise the nitrates in the weeks before to help battle a bit of the issues I had before. That said, when my nutrients were lower and I did weekly water changes the tank looked cleaner but the corals looked terrible.

 

[8pixel]

Phosphates raised because using an auto doser with dry pellets and you usually feed frozen or live ? Or whoever looking after tank fed more than you do maybe ? And elevated phospates brought on the cyano ? Or just that 2 weeks not doing water changes when you usually do once a week ?

Right, no one touched the tank for 2 weeks. Autofed pellets with an autofeeder but it was not much per day. Nutrients definitely increased but the corals look 100x better now than it did when I was maintaining it.

 

[8pixel]

And +1 on vacuuming substrate and water changes and incorperating kalk for your alk stability.

You should get your alk cal and mag back in range while youre at it.

The coral receeding is likely due to the imbalance of elements and your high nutrients and alk swinging.

Actually, the corals receeding was when i was maintaining the lower nutrients and the corals look way better with the high nutrients when I left it alone for 2 weeks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You have cyano and with elevation in nitrates- confirms this. Cyano blooms typically start when water nutrient concentrations go haywire. Just like when you eat too much sugar and your waistline starts to bloom, the same happens in your tank when concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and other organic compounds are too high.
Some of the most common causes include:
- Protein skimmer which fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate
- Overstocking / overfeeding, your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which acts like a breeding ground for red slime algae
- If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank beautifully clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out the welcome mat for cyano. Tap water is an example
- Inadequate water flow, or movement, is a leading cause of cyano blooms. Slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for pervasive red slime algae development

I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 5-7 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the week, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

 

[Saltyreef]

Actually, the corals receeding was when i was maintaining the lower nutrients and the corals look way better with the high nutrients when I left it alone for 2 weeks.

Well i didnt see your additional post that said the nutes were down to 5 and .1 before.

.1 phosphate isnt quite that low either.
.01 to .02 is more along the lines of low/ultra low.

Ime with higher nutrients, the tank needs higher available levels of the big 3 macro elements and im sure a bunch of various trace elements and the lighting can actually be increased depending on your sweet spot.

Your nutrients are swinging and so is your alk.
The low mag doesnt help either...

 

[Uncle99]

Actually, the corals receeding was when i was maintaining the lower nutrients and the corals look way better with the high nutrients when I left it alone for 2 weeks.

I run higher nutrients and I agree, mine also looked better.
This low nutrient method never worked for me.
They always looked “hungry” (colour fade and Less extension) when nutrients very low.
I now dose phosphate to pin it at .1ppm

 

[Saltyreef]

I run higher nutrients and I agree, mine also looked better.
This low nutrient method never worked for me.
They always looked “hungry” (colour fade and Less extension) when nutrients very low.
I now dose phosphate to pin it at .1ppm

My tank did better with undetectable nitrate and .01 - .02 phosphate. But i dont recommend those levels unless you were inside my mind doing everything exactly the same as me lol.
Too many variables. Every tank and tank keeper are different lol.

 

[mherb24]

Not new to the hobby but at this point it would be better if you just considered me a beginner.

Rebooted 20g Waterbox in April (new substrate but tank & rock is 2 yrs old). Coral started fine but over time started to deflate, receed/shrink. Slight bit of diatoms possibly dino on substrate in areas and some rocks. Left for 2 week vacation and came back to heavy dino/diatoms covering substrate and glass BUT corals fluffy and looking great...the tank itself looks horrible though. What's going on and what should I do?

Parameters:
Before vacation: 9 nitrate, .08 phosphate, 8.5 alk, 1125 Mg, 390 ca
After vacation: 11 nitrate, .45 phosphate, 7.8 alk
pH never went below 8 while away but 7.8 low now that I'm back and before I left.

Livestock:
Pair of clownfish
RTBAs
Tube anemone
zoas
Duncan
blasto
acans
CUC

I do not dose anything aside from Microbacter after water changes but considering kalk soon to deal with the lower pH.

Thanks in advance for your time and help!!

Your tank looks just like mine about 2 weeks ago. I used chemiclean exactly as instructed and all visible cyano was gone.

The next day I started treating Bryopsis.

I think last night I could some cyano on one rock at the top. Blew it off. I may have to treat a second time if it starts to come back. I had a bad coating of it, so 2 treatments is usual.

 

[mherb24]

Not new to the hobby but at this point it would be better if you just considered me a beginner.

Rebooted 20g Waterbox in April (new substrate but tank & rock is 2 yrs old). Coral started fine but over time started to deflate, receed/shrink. Slight bit of diatoms possibly dino on substrate in areas and some rocks. Left for 2 week vacation and came back to heavy dino/diatoms covering substrate and glass BUT corals fluffy and looking great...the tank itself looks horrible though. What's going on and what should I do?

Parameters:
Before vacation: 9 nitrate, .08 phosphate, 8.5 alk, 1125 Mg, 390 ca
After vacation: 11 nitrate, .45 phosphate, 7.8 alk
pH never went below 8 while away but 7.8 low now that I'm back and before I left.

Livestock:
Pair of clownfish
RTBAs
Tube anemone
zoas
Duncan
blasto
acans
CUC

I do not dose anything aside from Microbacter after water changes but considering kalk soon to deal with the lower pH.

Thanks in advance for your time and help!!

I just started using kalk, couldn’t be happier. I check PH at 1pm daily at 8.3 for last week. Everything looks healthy finely.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

it doesnt look bad to me at all, it looks like someone has been on vacation for 2 weeks. It looks mostly on the sand, I say just vacuum the sand (or try to peel it up and off if you can) and do some water changes, I would bet it happened from feeding pellets for 2 weeks, I wouldn't overcomplicate it more than that.