Ok, you all win! Gulf rock is on its way, now what?

[rennjidk]

After going through issue after issue, and applying every possible cure, I talked with my wife, and instead of breaking down the tank, we ordered 20lbs of premium live gulf rock.

Believe it or not, this was taken today AFTER a half hour of cleaning and a calcium carbonate treatment. The GHA had clogged the rear sump and forced an ATO dump which I was lucky enought to be standing next to when it happened.

There were large mats of cyano on every surface, including the GHA itself. These took over after beating dinos and a couple other "uglies".

Right now the plan is to remove the fish, then rock and sand, replacing it with the new when it arrives. I'm not going to qt the rock, just inspect and place, dealing with undesirables as needed.

Does anyone have some advice about something I may have missed? Can you tell me how to get the flow right in this friggin tank, or how to scape the 20lbs of fist sized rock? I'm seriously considering the old school "back wall slope" because no matter how I position the islands or Neros, I still end up with massive dead spots everywhere.

 

[Uncle99]

What do you maintain as parameters and what flux typically in a day?

Instability favours that pest stuff.

 

[rennjidk]

What do you maintain as parameters and what flux typically in a day?

Instability favours that pest stuff.

I don't test daily. I auto feed heavily for nutrients and aim for 10N/0.1P. The rest is handled with balling hybrid and stays pretty stable week to week. If things start to climb I skim more and add a little gfo to the reactor.

 

[Uncle99]

I don't test daily. I auto feed heavily for nutrients and aim for 10N/0.1P. The rest is handled with balling hybrid and stays pretty stable week to week. If things start to climb I skim more and add a little gfo to the reactor.

I see that only when water chemistry is quite unstable, but if your on the mark at all times, I have no idea why pest algae’s and bacteria flourish in that environment.

 

[GARRIGA]

Hard to argue against live rock.

 

[jabberwock]

You will notice that the rock has a top and a bottom, a live side and the side that was on the sand. Don;t worry too much about scaping, stack when you can. I think you could leave the sand...

 

[Mwatts12]

That same issue will happen with the live rock. I would do some reading / searching. Dino’s/cyano/GHA will all take over the live rock as well.

 

[Lavey29]

That same issue will happen with the live rock. I would do some reading / searching. Dino’s/cyano/GHA will all take over the live rock as well.

If you don't maintain your tank properly.

 

[xWascallyWabbit]

I would just chime in that if your aiming for 10N and .01P AND you have that much algae after removing a whole bunch more AND admitting to auto feeding heavily that your nitrates are NOT 10. The reading on the test kit is just what's left over or available in the water column. Your Nitrates are probably through the roof. Just bound in all the algae that is growing. Reduce feeding/lights. Large frequent water changes. Hand remove as much as possible and Reef flux. Just my humble suggestion.

 

[xWascallyWabbit]

I also don't know what filtration you have which you may need.. if your going heavy input you need heavy output. I don't see any coral in the tank so all the nutrients are feeding algae and just algae. For a small fish load in a 20gal I'd feed very sparingly maybe a few pellets per fish twice a day. Use your pinky nail as a size reference for how much to drop in.