Need help with algae, corals dying.

[EnterName]

Others already said to please add photos of the algae under neutral light but I'm noticing you are using Elimi-NP and ReefEnergy which means you are carbon dosing, adding amino acids, fatty acids, and vitamins. This in itself isn't an issue but it can boost growth of bacteria and protists extremely so maybe the "algae" isn't actual algae but bacteria or for example dinoflagellates due to excessively feeding them.

Of course it's better to let the community see the issue first before jumping to conclusions but that's something you might want to keep in mind.

 

[majano lover]

i'm not experienced but that sounds like it might be detritus or what EnterName said

 

[exnisstech]

I have to agree with @Lavey29 in that you probably don't need to dose as much stuff as you are. I just dose to keep up with the tanks alkalinity consumption.

This tank gets 25ml ESV 2 part and nothing else except a 25g weekly WC. Tank is 285g total. I did try elimi NP and it did absolute nothing for my higher NO3 and PO4 levels. I run some GFO when my PO4 gets over 0.9 which is as high as I can test. I like to run it below 0.5 but don't I over it. NO3 was 30+ but was down to 17 Sunday. I started skimming wetter and changing my socks before they overflow. I was letting them overflow for a couple days.
Tank has been running 1.5 years and I've never had an algae problem.

This tank is about 60g total volume. Been running for over 3 years and I dose nothing but all for reef.
WCs are 4g every 2-3 weeks. Never had an algae problem with this one either.

I'm starting to think no action is the right action sometimes. Sufficient cuc a little manual removal and time for the tank to mature has worked for me in the past when I have had nuisance algae issues. Any time I've tried dosing something for algae matters always got worse.

This tank has a lot of what sounds like you may be dealing with. It looks a bit like GHA but is brownish and comes off easier than GHA. Some times I'll blow it off or vacuum it out. I pull frags ams brush them off. My snails do a good job also. I dose nothing but AFR and the algae appears to slowly be fading away. Tank has only been running 6 months or so. NO3 is so low on this tank I dose ammonium bicarb to keep it detectable and PO4 runs below 0.05 so that tells me elevated nutrients are not the cause of the nuisance algae which is what people usually blame for the cause of algae.

Snail at work

I was even getting clumps of algae growing in the sand and that has stopped. Another reason I believe time and patience play a big part.
A recent image.

 

[oKrazyii]

I have to agree with @Lavey29 in that you probably don't need to dose as much stuff as you are. I just dose to keep up with the tanks alkalinity consumption.

This tank gets 25ml ESV 2 part and nothing else except a 25g weekly WC. Tank is 285g total. I did try elimi NP and it did absolute nothing for my higher NO3 and PO4 levels. I run some GFO when my PO4 gets over 0.9 which is as high as I can test. I like to run it below 0.5 but don't I over it. NO3 was 30+ but was down to 17 Sunday. I started skimming wetter and changing my socks before they overflow. I was letting them overflow for a couple days.
Tank has been running 1.5 years and I've never had an algae problem.

This tank is about 60g total volume. Been running for over 3 years and I dose nothing but all for reef.
WCs are 4g every 2-3 weeks. Never had an algae problem with this one either.

I'm starting to think no action is the right action sometimes. Sufficient cuc a little manual removal and time for the tank to mature has worked for me in the past when I have had nuisance algae issues. Any time I've tried dosing something for algae matters always got worse.

This tank has a lot of what sounds like you may be dealing with. It looks a bit like GHA but is brownish and comes off easier than GHA. Some times I'll blow it off or vacuum it out. I pull frags ams brush them off. My snails do a good job also. I dose nothing but AFR and the algae appears to slowly be fading away. Tank has only been running 6 months or so. NO3 is so low on this tank I dose ammonium bicarb to keep it detectable and PO4 runs below 0.05 so that tells me elevated nutrients are not the cause of the nuisance algae which is what people usually blame for the cause of algae.

Snail at work

I was even getting clumps of algae growing in the sand and that has stopped. Another reason I believe time and patience play a big part.
A recent image.

I mean I’m only really dosing afr the reef energy is just amino acids and stuff but it’s mostly food for my corals I only use 4ml a day should I not be doing either? I only dose 10ml daily of afr

 

[exnisstech]

I mean I’m only really dosing afr the reef energy is just amino acids and stuff but it’s mostly food for my corals I only use 4ml a day should I not be doing either? I only dose 10ml daily of afr

I would cut back on feeding the coral. They really only need light but some can benefit from feedings but I would not feed every day. I feed a powdered coral food but only once a week in the acro tank. Do you have fish? Feeding the fish will also feed the corals.

Do you know what your alkalinity consumption is? 10ml AFR seems like a lot for the small frags you have. The tank I posted above with the GSP on the back wall is 99% acros and until recently when my consumption increased after I raised my pH I was only dosing 30ml of AFR to keep my alk at 8.5 dkH.
The bottom tank has some LPS frags and a few SPS along with 5 clams and I'm only dosing 5ml AFR a day.

 

[sixty_reefer]

This looks like a possible case of dinoflagellates to me.

 

[oKrazyii]

I mean I’m only really dosing afr the reef energy is just amino acids and stuff but it’s mostly food for my corals I only use 4ml a day should I not be doing either? I only dose 10ml daily of afr

I would cut back on feeding the coral. They really only need light but some can benefit from feedings but I would not feed every day. I feed a powdered coral food but only once a week in the acro tank. Do you have fish? Feeding the fish will also feed the corals.

Do you know what your alkalinity consumption is? 10ml AFR seems like a lot for the small frags you have. The tank I posted above with the GSP on the back wall is 99% acros and until recently when my consumption increased after I raised my pH I was only dosing 30ml of AFR to keep my alk at 8.5 dkH.
The bottom tank has some LPS frags and a few SPS along with 5 clams and I'm only dosing 5ml AFR a day.

Honestly idk how I’d even begin to calculate how much alk my tank consumes lol I just read that all for reef was what I needed so I got it and then saw all I needed to complete the spectrum for dosing was the ab+, I only have my engineer goby currently since all other fish died, I have to setup a qt and get new fish eventually

 

[Shnetts]

I mean I’m only really dosing afr the reef energy is just amino acids and stuff but it’s mostly food for my corals I only use 4ml a day should I not be doing either? I only dose 10ml daily of afr

Have you been testing frequently your calcium, alk and mag? 4ml seems like a lot for the looks of your tank. My 25g that has ~50 pieces of coral only takes 2.8ml daily to keep params steady. and thats ~10 colonies. I have a feeling your dosing is something to look at. If you dont have super accurate test kits its much easier to just do a large weekly wc. replenishes params and removes excess nutrients.

 

[oKrazyii]

I mean I’m only really dosing afr the reef energy is just amino acids and stuff but it’s mostly food for my corals I only use 4ml a day should I not be doing either? I only dose 10ml daily of afr

Have you been testing frequently your calcium, alk and mag? 4ml seems like a lot for the looks of your tank. My 25g that has ~50 pieces of coral only takes 2.8ml daily to keep params steady. and thats ~10 colonies. I have a feeling your dosing is something to look at. If you dont have super accurate test kits its much easier to just do a large weekly wc. replenishes params and removes excess nutrients.

Not really, since my api kit is so **** I’ve been waiting till I get the Hanna to regularly test

 

[exnisstech]

TBH I think @Lavey29 suggestion of stopping and just doing weekly water changes is good advice. Many folks myself included have had success with just water changes on a low demand system. I like to do 10% weekly when I run a tank with just WCs. I like to keep my alk at 8.5 dkH so I use instant ocean salt which mixes just over 9. That should buy you some time to do some more research into what you need to dose vs what the Internet says you need. That itself can be a daunting task with all the misinformation and different opinions available making it very difficult for people new to the hobby to decide what is actually needed.
Never dose unless you know why you are dosing then use a calculator to determine how much product is needed. Its a useful bit of info I picked up along the way.
To calculate your alkalinity consumption you'll need a good test kit. I've had consistent results using hanna and salifert. Then you'll need a baseline of the alk level in your tank to start. I'm not positive if I'm correct but I wouid test a few hours after a WC and not be adding anything as far a dosing. Just tossing numbers out as an example. Say your alk is 9dkh on the first test. Wait 3 days and test again. You can wait longer but I like at least 3 days. Then test again. Its best to test alk at the same time or at least close any time you test because the levels can fluctuate through out the day. Say your second test after 3 days is 8.4 dkH. That means your consumption is 0.2 dkH per day. Consumption of 0.6 dkH divided by 3 days. Then you can use an online calculator to determine the amount needed daily. Tropic Marin instruction day to dose AFR based on calcium consumption but most of us including our resident chemistry Randy Holmes Farley dose it based on alk consumption.
I'm still learning and this is all information I picked up here at R2R so I take no credit for anything except reading a lot lol.

 

[G&B Reefing]

Your testing results should drive the need to dose (and also drive how much to dose) outside of water changes.

Nitrate and phosphate seem super high… you have all that algae and coral consuming and you still measure that high!? If it was me I would get out a tooth brush and scrub all the rock work, do three 50% water changes, and stop dosing across the board. Run alk, ca, po4, and no3 tests for the next few weeks and establish a daily consumption value to identify how much all for reef to dose. Add some fish and cut out the daily amino dose (until your no3 and po4 consumption starts decreasing nutrient levels).

 

[oKrazyii]

Api test kits usually aren't accurate. Grab yourself some salifert, red sea, or Hanna's to test water parameters.
Do you have a FTS?
What CUC members did you order?
What do your nitrates look like?

@vetteguy53081 @exnisstech @EnterName

 

[EnterName]

Api test kits usually aren't accurate. Grab yourself some salifert, red sea, or Hanna's to test water parameters.
Do you have a FTS?
What CUC members did you order?
What do your nitrates look like?

@vetteguy53081 @exnisstech @EnterName

Unfortunately the video doesn't work for me but considering how fast it grows and that it even grows on the glass I still think it might be some sort of bacteria (e.g. Green Cyano). Hair algae is possible but this would probably grow much longer on places you can't clean easily (on the rocks or near the silicone sealing).

Maybe just stop dosing Elimi-NP and ReefEnergy for a few days while tracking nutrient levels and see if the growth slows down just to make sure.

 

[oKrazyii]

Api test kits usually aren't accurate. Grab yourself some salifert, red sea, or Hanna's to test water parameters.
Do you have a FTS?
What CUC members did you order?
What do your nitrates look like?

@vetteguy53081 @exnisstech @EnterName

Unfortunately the video doesn't work for me but considering how fast it grows and that it even grows on the glass I still think it might be some sort of bacteria (e.g. Green Cyano). Hair algae is possible but this would probably grow much longer on places you can't clean easily (on the rocks or near the silicone sealing).

Maybe just stop dosing Elimi-NP and ReefEnergy for a few days while tracking nutrient levels and see if the growth slows down just to make sure.

I’ll try that, I just don’t as dusting all my rocks off and added clarity to try and help get rid of more of the **** and uh I sucked this worm thing up from under my zoa frag, I’m very confused what the heck this is or where it even coulda came from cause I’ve dipped and inspected every frag I’ve put in here as well as every rocks I’m assume this is a fireworm?

 

[exnisstech]

Not positive but possibly a big spaghetti worm. If so they're harmless and good cuc members.

 

[oKrazyii]

Not positive but possibly a big spaghetti worm. If so they're harmless and good cuc members.

Well I put him in qt for now u til I can be sure

 

[vetteguy53081]

I mean I’m only really dosing afr the reef energy is just amino acids and stuff but it’s mostly food for my corals I only use 4ml a day should I not be doing either? I only dose 10ml daily of afr

If doing regular water changes, you can reduce this step..
Is tank at or near a window?
Also, how much flow are you providing in the tank?
Some causes: Lack of flow, indirect sun, under-filtration, overfeeding, and even no skimming as examples

 

[oKrazyii]

I mean I’m only really dosing afr the reef energy is just amino acids and stuff but it’s mostly food for my corals I only use 4ml a day should I not be doing either? I only dose 10ml daily of afr

If doing regular water changes, you can reduce this step..
Is tank at or near a window?
Also, how much flow are you providing in the tank?
Some causes: Lack of flow, indirect sun, under-filtration, overfeeding, and even no skimming as examples

Well I have a ton of circulation with the 2 pumps, 1 gyre and 2 hob filters, I have to run the gyre at the lowest setting possible lol, I have a skimmer, the tank is near a window but no light gets in from it and I never have the blinds open, I think my problem is and always has been over feeding tbh, I normally feed frozen cubes. I had 2 firefin 1 clownfish, 1 blenny, a watchman goby, my engineer goby, 2 cleaner shrimp and a peppermint shrimp, plus 2 pistol shrimp and even then I feel a whole cute was too much for them? But idk how I’m supposed to like only use some of a frozen cube? But now I feed like a pinch of pellets for the engineer goby, crabs and hermit crabs

 

[G&B Reefing]

Well I have a ton of circulation with the 2 pumps, 1 gyre and 2 hob filters, I have to run the gyre at the lowest setting possible lol, I have a skimmer, the tank is near a window but no light gets in from it and I never have the blinds open, I think my problem is and always has been over feeding tbh, I normally feed frozen cubes. I had 2 firefin 1 clownfish, 1 blenny, a watchman goby, my engineer goby, 2 cleaner shrimp and a peppermint shrimp, plus 2 pistol shrimp and even then I feel a whole cute was too much for them? But idk how I’m supposed to like only use some of a frozen cube? But now I feed like a pinch of pellets for the engineer goby, crabs and hermit crabs

I cut my frozen cubes into quarters, feed a quarter in the morning and a quarter at night.

Store in a plastic bag in the freezer.

 

[oKrazyii]

Well I have a ton of circulation with the 2 pumps, 1 gyre and 2 hob filters, I have to run the gyre at the lowest setting possible lol, I have a skimmer, the tank is near a window but no light gets in from it and I never have the blinds open, I think my problem is and always has been over feeding tbh, I normally feed frozen cubes. I had 2 firefin 1 clownfish, 1 blenny, a watchman goby, my engineer goby, 2 cleaner shrimp and a peppermint shrimp, plus 2 pistol shrimp and even then I feel a whole cute was too much for them? But idk how I’m supposed to like only use some of a frozen cube? But now I feed like a pinch of pellets for the engineer goby, crabs and hermit crabs

I cut my frozen cubes into quarters, feed a quarter in the morning and a quarter at night.

Store in a plastic bag in the freezer.

I’m not gunna lie I never even thought of that, how do you cut them? Just a normal knife?