Redid tank 75 gallon

Matrix14 · Jan 20, 2017

Purchased my tank last year and didn't use rodi water and had hard time with keeping fish alive. Punched 40 lbs of rock, sterilizer, protein skimmer,uv light. Then got hurt at work and just left tank running without water changes due to injury. Then I had a horrible brown algae break out. All over my rock and sand. Took all rock out and scrubbed with toothbrush, cleaned sand most I could. Now picked up the 4 stage buddy twist rodi and buddy booster, 20 lbs more rock, multimedia reactor, powerhead. Been doing this for last 2 months and haven't added any fish yet. Taking my time this go around and hope it will be a better experience. Added a few pics.

Broadfield · Jan 20, 2017

Hopefully you have better luck this time around! You undoubtedly will get various algae in the first year of the tank being set up. For me personally, I always get diatoms first(brown dusting all over the sand, rock and glass), then a tad bit of bright green algae(non-filamentous), third some green hair algae and lastly maybe cyano. However, this can all just be part of the natural cycle of a reef tank... so patience is key. They will typically clear up on their own throughout the process. Of course this is assuming you are using 0 TDS RO/DI for your water changes/top-off and not overfeeding/overstocking. Good luck man, it's nice to have you on the forum!

Matrix14 · Jan 20, 2017

Broadfield said:
Hopefully you have better luck this time around! You undoubtedly will get various algae in the first year of the tank being set up. For me personally, I always get diatoms first(brown dusting all over the sand, rock and glass), then a tad bit of bright green algae(non-filamentous), third some green hair algae and lastly maybe cyano. However, this can all just be part of the natural cycle of a reef tank... so patience is key. They will typically clear up on their own throughout the process. Of course this is assuming you are using 0 TDS RO/DI for your water changes/top-off and not overfeeding/overstocking. Good luck man, it's nice to have you on the forum!

Thanks! I know patience is key. So far I got the green hair algae this week. I cleaned it off before it spread else where. Dping water changes every 2 weeks. In a few weeks I'll update. Thanks again.

Ray Linnabary · Jan 20, 2017

Matrix14 said:
Purchased my tank last year and didn't use rodi water and had hard time with keeping fish alive. Punched 40 lbs of rock, sterilizer, protein skimmer,uv light. Then got hurt at work and just left tank running without water changes due to injury. Then I had a horrible brown algae break out. All over my rock and sand. Took all rock out and scrubbed with toothbrush, cleaned sand most I could. Now picked up the 4 stage buddy twist rodi and buddy booster, 20 lbs more rock, multimedia reactor, powerhead. Been doing this for last 2 months and haven't added any fish yet. Taking my time this go around and hope it will be a better experience. Added a few pics.

I am in the same boat. I was trying to save money by treating tap water with chemicals. I figured if they sold those products, they must work. My tank is fairly well established now, but I do have problems from time to time. Right now I am dealing with algae everywhere. One of the things I didn't know about tap water is the fact that it contains copper, which I later learned is toxic to coral. Anyway, long story short...I bought an RO filter and make my own water now. Wish I would have done that from the beginning. I lost several hundred dollars worth of fish and coral. Thanks for sharing your experience. Your tank is looking good. Wish you better luck this time around. Hope you are feeling better as well.

Matrix14 · Jan 21, 2017

Ray Linnabary said:
I am in the same boat. I was trying to save money by treating tap water with chemicals. I figured if they sold those products, they must work. My tank is fairly well established now, but I do have problems from time to time. Right now I am dealing with algae everywhere. One of the things I didn't know about tap water is the fact that it contains copper, which I later learned is toxic to coral. Anyway, long story short...I bought an RO filter and make my own water now. Wish I would have done that from the beginning. I lost several hundred dollars worth of fish and coral. Thanks for sharing your experience. Your tank is looking good. Wish you better luck this time around. Hope you are feeling better as well.

Thanks ☺ today I might pick up a cleaning crew. Gonna get some snails and maybe a starfish.