Media reactor or no?

[SOGavity]

Ive been having some algae issues with my reef tank and after losing some corals and not being able to keep snails alive, I did the unthinkable to removed some of the worse covered rocks and scrubbed them. I dipped some of the effected corals in some diluted hydrogen peroxide and put it back together. I did not take out all of the rocks, just the ones that were covered. I also had a bad cyno outbreak as well. Before I turned to scrubbing the rocks, I ordered a spectrapure dual media reactor. But... it got lost in shipping. I finally got it today after 3 weeks, but im not sure if I should use it. My issue now is after cleaning the algae off the rocks, my nitrates are still really low. My nitrates are 3 while my phosphates are at 0.6. Im starting to see some cyano come back and my sand is quite red. My flow is as high as I can get it without ripping polyps off my corals. So, do I dose nitrate, or do I run GFO... or both? Or should I leave things alone and see if the algae grows back?

 

[Dfost]

I would personally do a few water changes to remove some of the excess phosphate. Gfo will help with PO4 but make sure to rinse it well before running it in the reactor. They cyano is from imbalance in PO4 flow is not likely the issue. My favorite way in removing Phosphate is a refugium with cheato. Also dosing a nitrogen source will generally reduce phosphate. So to answer your question you could do both but I would take it relatively slow to not bottom out PO4 and cause a huge swing for your corals.

 

[slingfox]

To get the best help you should provide more info, including:

- Size of system and how long has it been running
- If your tank is less than 3 years old, did you use dry rock / sand or ocean rock / sand
- What livestock you have
- What clean up crew?
- Feeding routine
- What type of nutrient export do you currently use
- Key tank parameters
- Full tank pics, including close up of problem areas

 

[Sam7]

Slow down you move so fast ......we need all the info Slingfox asks

 

[Kodski]

Large issues like this will likely require more than just one action.

As slingfox said, knowing more information would be helpful to point you in a better direction.

I would start by doing a few large (50%-75%) water changes two or three days apart. At the same time, I'd identify why your phosphates are so high to begin with and come up with a plan to address that. Is it overfeeding? If so, what food do you use? Can you substitute for a lower phosphate food or feed less? Something along those lines.

Once you've done a few water changes to bring down the phosphates, I'd slowly start using GFO. The key is SLOWLY. If you've never used it before it can quickly cause more problems for you. Start with a quarter of the amount you'd normally use. Then see how that helps. Then the next time, use half the amount, then 3/4 of the amount, and finally the full amount. This will help you understand how your phosphate levels react with each use of GFO.

All the while, keeping up with weekly 10-20% water changes. Do this, and you should be able to reduce your nutrients in a short period of time with little issue. You can try dosing nitrates, but personally, I've never had an issue with 0 nitrates as long as there are some phosphates available. Chances are, you have nitrates even if they test at 0 because of your feeding, they are just being used before you can test for them.

 

[SOGavity]

To get the best help you should provide more info, including:

- Size of system and how long has it been running
- If your tank is less than 3 years old, did you use dry rock / sand or ocean rock / sand
- What livestock you have
- What clean up crew?
- Feeding routine
- What type of nutrient export do you currently use
- Key tank parameters
- Full tank pics, including close up of problem areas

-90 gallon display with a 30 gallon sump
-My tank is 2 years old started with dry rock, later add live. Started with live sand.
-I have 2 clown fish (one is 1" the other is about 3/4 of an inch), orchid dottyback, 4" bi-color foxface, a baby yellow tang, added recently, also added recently is a very small scooter blenny. 3" tomini tang. 3" Yellow wrasse. 4" Blue-sided fairy wrasse and a 1" azure damsel. They were all added slowly over the last two years.
-Clean up crew right now consists of 2 brittle starfish, Blue Coral Banded shrimp, very tiny (added with the tang and scooter blenny), emerald crab, and somewhere around 6 hermit crabs, 6sih nassarius snails (they are the only ones that live). For some reason, Cerith snails, bumblebee snail, Astrea snails, turbo snails (all I've had) die in my system.
-I feed twice a day. I feed mostly a frozen medley that I grind myself because it's impossible to buy frozen where I live, (brine shrimp, krill, spirulina, squid, octopus, shrimp, oysters, clams and mix it with some flake food to make sure they're getting the nutrition they need. Once a day, 6 days a week, I add one clip of sea veggies.
-I do a weekly water change every Tuesday. I remove 15 gallons and self-sift the sand. I have a very nice chaeto refugium with all the little creatures you can ask for. I have to remove some with every water change. I have a Bubble Magus Curve 5 protien skimmer. I use filter floss instead of socks. And recently started using polyfilter right at the return pump chamber.

Salinity 1.025
Temp 77F
Alk 8.8dkh
Phos 0.6ppm
Nitrates 3ppm
Calcium 380
Magnesium 1440

Because I scrubbed the algae off the rocks, I don't have any recent pictures of the problem areas, but I do have some old ones. It's night time here, so I can take photos in the morning of where the cyano is growing back.

 

[Kodski]

Wow, you sure on the correct track to success. Unfortunately, your nutrient export just isn't enough to keep your phosphates down. Your feeding is definitely causing the high nutrients though. Can you try cutting back to feeding half the amount each time you feed? Skip the flake food, its super nutrient dense, which could be the cause of your phosphates. You've got a great mix of homemade frozen food. Don't worry they are getting all the nutrients they need. Also, I'd skip the nori, there's plenty of algae for the tangs and fox face to eat. In fact, doing so will help to promote the tangs to help you clean the rocks. If you want, just supplement nori once a week. Fish are lazy, if they know they are getting fed, they won't graze on the rocks nearly as much.

Next, I'd do a few large water changes like I mentioned. It will help to drop the phosphates initially. After that, definitely run GFO, but as I said prior, start slowly with it.

Your yellow wrasse is why you can't keep snails. They love inverts. I'd suggest either rehome the yellow wrasse and grab a bunch of new clean up crew snails. If you don't want to rehome the yellow wrasse, a few pin cushion or tuxedo urchins will make short work of the algae. Make sure your frags are glued down well and you won't have any issues with them. I'd also suggest picking up a few dozen stomatella snails. Great little guys that will hopefully fly under the wrasses radar to get the smaller cracks and crevices that the urchins can't reach.

A few follow up questions.

How often do you change your filter floss? It should be every other day, every three days at the very most.

How long does your refugium light run for?

 

[SOGavity]

Wow, you sure on the correct track to success. Unfortunately, your nutrient export just isn't enough to keep your phosphates down. Your feeding is definitely causing the high nutrients though. Can you try cutting back to feeding half the amount each time you feed? Skip the flake food, its super nutrient dense, which could be the cause of your phosphates. You've got a great mix of homemade frozen food. Don't worry they are getting all the nutrients they need. Also, I'd skip the nori, there's plenty of algae for the tangs and fox face to eat. In fact, doing so will help to promote the tangs to help you clean the rocks. If you want, just supplement nori once a week. Fish are lazy, if they know they are getting fed, they won't graze on the rocks nearly as much.

Next, I'd do a few large water changes like I mentioned. It will help to drop the phosphates initially. After that, definitely run GFO, but as I said prior, start slowly with it.

Your yellow wrasse is why you can't keep snails. They love inverts. I'd suggest either rehome the yellow wrasse and grab a bunch of new clean up crew snails. If you don't want to rehome the yellow wrasse, a few pin cushion or tuxedo urchins will make short work of the algae. Make sure your frags are glued down well and you won't have any issues with them. I'd also suggest picking up a few dozen stomatella snails. Great little guys that will hopefully fly under the wrasses radar to get the smaller cracks and crevices that the urchins can't reach.

A few follow up questions.

How often do you change your filter floss? It should be every other day, every three days at the very most.

How long does your refugium light run for?

I tested the water again. Everything is the same except for the nitrates went down to 2.4ppm. I started GFO yesterday, using 1/2 a cup. I'll test again tomorrow and see if it's working on the phosphates. The good news is, my tank is looking good after scrubbing the rocks. The sand is still red but everywhere else the Cyano was growing back on the rocks has disappeared as of this morning.

The display lights run for 10.5 hours. Refugium runs 12 hours.

I change the filter floss every tuesday and either Friday or Saturday. That's when it naturally clogs up.

The snails were dying before I got the yellow wrasse. I doubt he has anything to do with it. Here is the updated photos I promised.

 

[waverider]

I’ve just beaten a bout with GHA and cyano on my 35 gallon no sump system. It’s taken about a month but the tank is looking awesome now. Here’s the way I did it: About a month ago the tank and rock were a complete jungle of long hair algae and sheets of cyano on my sandbed. Due to abandoning the tank over months of summer.

First task was scraping the glass. Next I vacuumed all the debris. Next I used my thumb and tubing to pinch and simultaneously vacuum the algae off the rocks. That worked really well. I did this once every 3 days. I made sure the water change water going in was 1.025. SG, . 8.3 Ph, 9dkh. 1350 mags. (I use All For Reef and RedSea 3part. Good new salt water nutrient free is the solution. Because the existing water is high nutes.

Then turn my lights blue and I cut out the white green and red channels completely. I also cut back lighting schedule to 2 hour sunrise, 6 hours low blues, flowed by 2 hour sunset. A modified shorter, bluer light cycle.

Then I immediately mixed up a media bag with 2/3 carbon and 1/3 Chemi pure Elite. I also added an internal 9 watt UV with its own power head pushing sand around sending algae and cyano into the water column where it is either filtered out directly or killed by the uv and then filtered out. Also. I am dosing. AFR daily to stabilize dKH at 9.5. This helps coralline algae outcompete green algae as its crucial for calcification on the rocks

Almost forgot: immediately after manually removing the algae and cyano into introduced 3 Mexican turbo snails and 5 hermit crabs. It’s been a month and they immediately went to work mopping the floor. Rocks are vergin and pristine again.

Finally I run a skimmer for nutrient export and gas exchange and ph

I also dose microbacter 7 and mb clean. You need beneficial bacteria to outcompete the algae and cyano

Now Algae and cyano are gone. Nitrates stable at 5. Phosphates stable at .5

Tank has seen a 95% turn around in a month

Dec12 my WWC shipment of Zoanthids comes in and I can start my Zoa garden

Recap:
1) manually rip that sh#t out, vacuum it away, replace with fresh sea water with strong params.
Repeat every 3-4 days

2)Turn down lights, blue only , shorten cycle, add snails and crabs

3) add a filter media with carbon and resin and some GFO to bring down phosphates. Let it run for a month.

4) increase flow to blow the algae and cyano into water column and add a UV with power head to kill it

5) add a skimmer. Clean it Get it running clean.

6) add beneficial algae strains. I use microbacter7. And. MB clean

I don’t have a lens for my phone so color is poor but tank is looking awesome in person and clean now Thanks for reading about my tank rehab!