I need help

[Ro Bow]

I have been inactive here for a few months. A few months ago I was constantly asking for help getting rid of algae.

I've returned because I dont know what to do. I need help getting rid of the algae in my tank.

I've asked this a million times here. Others have too. I've done my research. I've read through other threads. But I need your help one last time.

Due to personal matters, my tank was on the bottom of the chore list for a while. I neglected it. Only topping off water and feeding the fish since November. I recently tested the water and the water condition is fine. No fish losses ever. I disabled the white lights and use only the blue for less algae growth. The algae isnt going away.

Its overgrown and killed all the corals I had in my tank. We were quite attached to them.
All my fish and arthropods are fine. The snails of course keep falling when they graze rocks from an angle, and there were one or two deaths when they fell in the back of the tank.

Its gotten to the point that my parents are threatening to sell the tank by summer if it doesn't look like the tanks in the local saltwater aquarium store, with picturesque corals and aquascapes. I don't blame them. I just want to keep the fish ive grown so attached to. But no matter what I try I cant get rid of the algae. I need my tank to be beautiful by June in order to keep my tank. Ive had it for 2 years now. Theres been algae for a year now - but it hasnt been this bad yet

Recently ive been plucking the algae off the rocks and did a few water changes and sand clean-up but nothing helps.
The algae is slimy - at first it was mostly gha that was taking over the tank but its "evolved" - first, there was a bit of red cyano bacteria showing up on the rocks - and now, (and it has been like this for 2 months) it is mixed in with the GHA and the algae itself is slimy and under white light, red. I can attempt to get photographs later if you need any

I would appreciate any ideas. I cant do a rip clean i simply dont have the time, and I have rocks I cant remove because they are homes to animals that cant move. I have a feather duster glued to a rock, and one of my fish lives under a rock that his pistol shrimp dug (the shrimp is now dead)

TLDR: I need my tank rid of algae and looking good by June or my 2 year old tank i am very attached to will be sold

Thank you all. I appreciate your help you have given me in the past.

 

[Ro Bow]

Sorry for asking so much

 

[dstockwell]

Can you setup a smaller system like a brute and rip clean at your pace.

 

[hsosa]

ok , u said u didn't take care of the tank and now u want to get it back in order. from ur description the algae has taken over the tank and its a eyesore . 1st you have to make this ur #1 priority. Ur tank is not balanced. without knowing ur tank parameters and what u keep. I would start with small water changes every few days . start dripping Kalkwasser to help ur PO4 go down. cut the lights to 6hrs a day . and do some testing . clean the glass stay motivated.

 

[Ro Bow]

Can you setup a smaller system like a brute and rip clean at your pace.

My parents wouldnt be willing to spend more money on that. and i dont have enough allowance

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have been inactive here for a few months. A few months ago I was constantly asking for help getting rid of algae.

I've returned because I dont know what to do. I need help getting rid of the algae in my tank.

I've asked this a million times here. Others have too. I've done my research. I've read through other threads. But I need your help one last time.

Due to personal matters, my tank was on the bottom of the chore list for a while. I neglected it. Only topping off water and feeding the fish since November. I recently tested the water and the water condition is fine. No fish losses ever. I disabled the white lights and use only the blue for less algae growth. The algae isnt going away.

Its overgrown and killed all the corals I had in my tank. We were quite attached to them.
All my fish and arthropods are fine. The snails of course keep falling when they graze rocks from an angle, and there were one or two deaths when they fell in the back of the tank.

Its gotten to the point that my parents are threatening to sell the tank by summer if it doesn't look like the tanks in the local saltwater aquarium store, with picturesque corals and aquascapes. I don't blame them. I just want to keep the fish ive grown so attached to. But no matter what I try I cant get rid of the algae. I need my tank to be beautiful by June in order to keep my tank. Ive had it for 2 years now. Theres been algae for a year now - but it hasnt been this bad yet

Recently ive been plucking the algae off the rocks and did a few water changes and sand clean-up but nothing helps.
The algae is slimy - at first it was mostly gha that was taking over the tank but its "evolved" - first, there was a bit of red cyano bacteria showing up on the rocks - and now, (and it has been like this for 2 months) it is mixed in with the GHA and the algae itself is slimy and under white light, red. I can attempt to get photographs later if you need any

I would appreciate any ideas. I cant do a rip clean i simply dont have the time, and I have rocks I cant remove because they are homes to animals that cant move. I have a feather duster glued to a rock, and one of my fish lives under a rock that his pistol shrimp dug (the shrimp is now dead)

TLDR: I need my tank rid of algae and looking good by June or my 2 year old tank i am very attached to will be sold

Thank you all. I appreciate your help you have given me in the past.

Please post pics under white lighting to accurately assess what you are dealing with. there are various forms of algae that fit your description

 

[Ro Bow]

ok , u said u didn't take care of the tank and now u want to get it back in order. from ur description the algae has taken over the tank and its a eyesore . 1st you have to make this ur #1 priority. Ur tank is not balanced. without knowing ur tank parameters and what u keep. I would start with small water changes every few days . start dripping Kalkwasser to help ur PO4 go down. cut the lights to 6hrs a day . and do some testing . clean the glass stay motivated.

My tank is a Red sea reefer 300xl 65 gallon with a 10? gallon sump
My fish are 2 clownfish, a ywg, tomini tang, and 2 pj cardinals
I have at least 5 turbo snails - at least one mexican, the rest are striped
I also have some astria snails
I have a fighting conch who doesnt even clean my sand he just poops everywhere and burrys himself for weeks - hes alive, he came out from his slumber a few days ago and has been exploring)

I have never heard of kalkwasser. I will do a bit of research on that.
I will cut down the lights as mentioned - i have it at 7 hours a day right now idk if itll make that big a difference. Problem is, the tank is in my kitchen with windows everywhere. light shines from outside constantly.
I scrub my glass daily and ill do some tests again soon and ill update the post

 

[Ro Bow]

Please post pics under white lighting to accurately assess what you are dealing with. there are various forms of algae that fit your description

Will do

 

[Ro Bow]

@vetteguy53081

 

[hsosa]

what water are u using to mix ur salt with ? tap water or RO water ? when u do ur next water change change the water from the sump and clear out all the detritus from the sump.

 

[vetteguy53081]

@vetteguy53081

There is both Bryopsis and gHA. You have to battle each in a different fashion. Important with bryopsis is the most overlooked item - The Roots. You can pull GHA by hand and the Bryopsis . . . YOU MUST REMOVE THE ROOTS AND EVERY ONE OF THEM. As long as there are roots- you will Not get rid of it. To get each root, use a dental pick or small croschet needle to pull them. Once done, reduce white light intensity and number of hours of white lighting and add some snails such as :
Astrea
cerith
turbo grazer
trochus

A Pencil urchin

8-10 Caribbean blue leg hermits

Are you using RODI water or tap water from the faucet ?
What is your phosphate level?
Is tank at or near a window?

 

[Ro Bow]

There is both Bryopsis and gHA. You have to battle each in a different fashion. Important with bryopsis is the most overlooked item - The Roots. You can pull GHA by hand and the Bryopsis . . . YOU MUST REMOVE THE ROOTS AND EVERY ONE OF THEM. As long as there are roots- you will Not get rid of it. To get each root, use a dental pick or small croschet needle to pull them. Once done, reduce white light intensity and number of hours of white lighting and add some snails such as :
Astrea
cerith
turbo grazer
trochus

A Pencil urchin

8-10 Caribbean blue leg hermits

Are you using RODI water or tap water from the faucet ?
What is your phosphate level?
Is tank at or near a window?

I am using RODI water
My phosphates read at 0
My tank is surrounded by windows as mentioned

 

[Ro Bow]

what water are u using to mix ur salt with ? tap water or RO water ? when u do ur next water change change the water from the sump and clear out all the detritus from the sump.

RO water. I will definitely do that thanks

 

[Hemmdog]

My tank is a Red sea reefer 300xl 65 gallon with a 10? gallon sump
My fish are 2 clownfish, a ywg, tomini tang, and 2 pj cardinals
I have at least 5 turbo snails - at least one mexican, the rest are striped
I also have some astria snails
I have a fighting conch who doesnt even clean my sand he just poops everywhere and burrys himself for weeks - hes alive, he came out from his slumber a few days ago and has been exploring)

I have never heard of kalkwasser. I will do a bit of research on that.
I will cut down the lights as mentioned - i have it at 7 hours a day right now idk if itll make that big a difference. Problem is, the tank is in my kitchen with windows everywhere. light shines from outside constantly.
I scrub my glass daily and ill do some tests again soon and ill update the post

Move the tank out of the sun, do a series of water changes to get your nutrients in check and siphon out detritus.
That’s not a huge bioload for that size tank. This location where it’s getting sun is the biggest issue I see with the details provided.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am using RODI water
My phosphates read at 0
My tank is surrounded by windows as mentioned

Windows are your issue which I suspected. UV is very strong and will penetrate shades/blinds/curtains/ Place a piece of black construction paper from Walmart on the side facing window and you will see a huge reduction. Reduce white light intensity and hours of light as suggested and follow the regimen I mentioned earlier. You will win this

 

[mrpontiac80]

To everyone trying to help…. I pose a question. We know vibrant is an algaecide…. But in this case could it be recommended ? I used it once before everyone discovered what it was, and I did have a couple of serpent star deaths. For that reason I personally would not use it again, but it did get rid of the algae in my tank.
it sounds like the OP is quite young and on a budget with a timeframe. @Ro Bow please allow the more experienced reefers to voice opinions on using vibrant in your tank before listening to me

 

[Ro Bow]

Move the tank out of the sun, do a series of water changes to get your nutrients in check and siphon out detritus.
That’s not a huge bioload for that size tank. This location where it’s getting sun is the biggest issue I see with the details provided.

i cant move it out of the sun. This is the only place it can be. I dont have any other room in the house.

 

[Ro Bow]

Windows are your issue which I suspected. UV is very strong and will penetrate shades/blinds/curtains/ Place a piece of black construction paper from Walmart on the side facing window and you will see a huge reduction. Reduce white light intensity and hours of light as suggested and follow the regimen I mentioned earlier. You will win this

I placed the black cardboard paper there for 2 months and stopped a month ago because it wasnt helping. Like i said in the post I completely stopped the white light and only use blue. I will try the black cardboard paper again i suppose. May as well. Thank you. I appreciate your help

 

[Ro Bow]

To everyone trying to help…. I pose a question. We know vibrant is an algaecide…. But in this case could it be recommended ? I used it once before everyone discovered what it was, and I did have a couple of serpent star deaths. For that reason I personally would not use it again, but it did get rid of the algae in my tank.
it sounds like the OP is quite young and on a budget with a timeframe. @Ro Bow please allow the more experienced reefers to voice opinions on using vibrant in your tank before listening to me

I will try it depending on what others say thanks. And yeah im in my first year of high school. Ive had the tank for a few years and used to be super into it but because of recent anxiety I have put less and less energy into maintaining the tank.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I will try it depending on what others say thanks. And yeah im in my first year of high school. Ive had the tank for a few years and used to be super into it but because of recent anxiety I have put less and less energy into maintaining the tank.

Reef tanks are definitely a challenge at times. I have kids your age but I too am only starting my 3rd year in this hobby. I’m still learning every day!