Struggling with... well, everything

[Orddie]

Looking for some help trying to get my tank parameters right.

The tank is about 6 months old and is a Reefer 250 - 65 Gallon tank.

We have some corel lime growing on the rocks, the wave makers, and back wall.

What I'm having issues with

• - Green algae (having to clean glass every day)
• - Tank parameters - Possibly due to Green algae?
• - Apex output

I have been testing weekly with all the Hanna testers. If Hanna makes a tester, we own it and use it.

Hanna testing results

• - Nitrate's have been 0 since July
• - Phoshate moves between 0 and 0.05
• - Nitrite - Always 0
• - Alkalinity moves between 11.5 and 8
• - Ammonia - Always 0
• - Ph - moves between 7.6 and 8.2
• - Salinity is 1.023.

Testing sucks. So we are starting to deploy an Apex system. We currently have an Apex Pro with a Salinity probe and a Trident NP.

Apex Results

• - Salt - 53.3. I had some trouble calibrating this probe. Thinking I got it way wrong and will order another bag to calibrate. If this was true, my tank would be dying (or so I think)
  - ORP - moves between 181 and 272 (272 at the time of this post)
• - PH 7.85 at the time of this post. Ranges from 7.65 to 7.94
• - NO3 - currently 0.2
• - P04 - Currently 0

What's in the tank.

Fish

• - Mandarin
• - 2x clowns
• - 2x Mollys - Thinking one of them is egg-bound. We had a small baby fish for a few weeks
• - Starry Blenny
• - Firetail shrimp

Coral - all appear healthy

• - Green Star Polyp
• - Torch
• - 2x Hammers
• - Bird's nest

Clean-up crew

• - Few snails
• - Few turbo snails
• - few crabs
• - sand sifter snails

Feeding
Once a day in the evening

• - Piscine Mysis shrimp (some days)
• - Reef Nutrition TDO pellets

Equipment

• - Red Sea Skimmer
• - Reef-Spec Carbon from Red Sea - changed monthly.
• - ReefMat fleece roller filter
• - Nano-Tech Bio-BLocks (2 of em)
• - ReefDose dosing 4 part
• - 2x Reef wave 25

Weekly Tasks

• - 10-gallon water change using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix
  • Water is set to 78 for about two hours before salt goes in
  • I use the Bulk Reef Supply Refractometer test with a target of 35
  • Use the Calibration fluid to ensure It's correct - weekly.
• - Any equipment cleaning needed - mostly skimmer cup
• - 1-2 times a week, we dose Reef Energy Plus AB+ by Red Sea

Daily Tasks

• - Glass cleaning
  • See image below; what you see on the right glass is what needs to be cleaned every day. That is 24-hour growth.

 

[mmorrison55]

Pics of the algae under white lights is best for a diagnosis. But being that you said your tank is 6 months, I’m going to guess it’s not as bad as you may think. You are still in the ugly phase time frame, but if you are seeing coralline then you are on the right track. Eventually your coralline purple, pink and hues in between should replace the green algae on the rocks.

Having to clean the glass daily is a bit of a concern though. What kind of wave makers are you running and how many? May need to have another or two and position them so they will hit the glass. I definitely need to clean my glass weekly, but daily seems like something may be going on, but I’m not experienced enough to tell you what that could be.

#reefs#reefsqaud

 

[dwest]

I would focus on 2 tests now. Salinity and alkalinity.

I would read about best way to get consistent salinity measurements. I use a Milwaukee digital refractometer. But this isn’t perfect and others use other things. Don’t trust the apex for this. (Rereading your original post makes me think you might this covered)

Then I would measure alkalinity at least a couple times a week using your Hanna kit. Dose alkalinity and calcium based on the alkalinity measurement. Keep the alkalinity as stable as you can. I target 8 dKH.

I would likely add one more feeding per day and keep doing water changes.

 

[EnterName]

Did your tank already go through the green hair algae phase? After 6 months it could still be a (rather late) ugly phase that will pass on its own, in my opinion.

Algae won't grow without nutrients, and in nature nitrate is below 0.03 ppm, very similar to phosphate, so low nutrient levels don't mean too much. I personally don't think your parameters are out of the ordinary for such a young tank. Right now the algae is arguably taking up most of it, so if it keeps growing, there is probably more than enough carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus available.

If you still want to increase nutrient levels (which I would advise against at the moment), you can use Randy's DIY ammonia and Miami Reef's DIY phosphate recipe.

I would not start feeding more to increase nutrients. When you add more food, you are not only increasing nitrate and phosphate, you are also adding various organics. The effect of the added food on nitrogen levels is also delayed, since the food needs to be broken down first. This means it's easy to overdo it by accident and then have to deal with getting rid of all the detritus again.

 

[Peer.Boerner]

I hope you figure this out! You’ve certainly invested in quality gear. Following to learn. Thx for sharing.

 

[Orddie]

mmorrison55. Here are the tank pics. It won't let me update the OP anymore :( EDIT: And just like that, Im now a supporter...

What you see on the right glass is what we have to clean off the glass every day.

EnterName Yeah, we had long hair about a month ago. Once the blenny entered the tank, it cleaned up nicely.​

Apparently, the Dunkin was not happy to have its pic taken...

I forgot to add that we have

- 2x sand sifting snails
- 1x fire tail shrimp

Also, bi-weekly, we tank pods and dose Reef Energy AB+

 

[mmorrison55]

Your tank looks like it’s doing good to me. I was expecting your sanded to look like artificial turf or something.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Looking for some help trying to get my tank parameters right.

The tank is about 6 months old and is a Reefer 250 - 65 Gallon tank.

We have some corel lime growing on the rocks, the wave makers, and back wall.

What I'm having issues with

• - Green algae (having to clean glass every day)
• - Tank parameters - Possibly due to Green algae?
• - Apex output

I have been testing weekly with all the Hanna testers. If Hanna makes a tester, we own it and use it.

Hanna testing results

• - Nitrate's have been 0 since July
• - Phoshate moves between 0 and 0.05
• - Nitrite - Always 0
• - Alkalinity moves between 11.5 and 8
• - Ammonia - Always 0
• - Ph - moves between 7.6 and 8.2
• - Salinity is 1.023.

Testing sucks. So we are starting to deploy an Apex system. We currently have an Apex Pro with a Salinity probe and a Trident NP.

Apex Results

• - Salt - 53.3. I had some trouble calibrating this probe. Thinking I got it way wrong and will order another bag to calibrate. If this was true, my tank would be dying (or so I think)
  - ORP - moves between 181 and 272 (272 at the time of this post)
• - PH 7.85 at the time of this post. Ranges from 7.65 to 7.94
• - NO3 - currently 0.2
• - P04 - Currently 0

What's in the tank.

Fish

• - Mandarin
• - 2x clowns
• - 2x Mollys - Thinking one of them is egg-bound. We had a small baby fish for a few weeks
• - Starry Blenny
• - Firetail shrimp

Coral - all appear healthy

• - Green Star Polyp
• - Torch
• - 2x Hammers
• - Bird's nest

Clean-up crew

• - Few snails
• - Few turbo snails
• - few crabs
• - sand sifter snails

Feeding
Once a day in the evening

• - Piscine Mysis shrimp (some days)
• - Reef Nutrition TDO pellets

Equipment

• - Red Sea Skimmer
• - Reef-Spec Carbon from Red Sea - changed monthly.
• - ReefMat fleece roller filter
• - Nano-Tech Bio-BLocks (2 of em)
• - ReefDose dosing 4 part
• - 2x Reef wave 25

Weekly Tasks

• - 10-gallon water change using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix
  • Water is set to 78 for about two hours before salt goes in
  • I use the Bulk Reef Supply Refractometer test with a target of 35
  • Use the Calibration fluid to ensure It's correct - weekly.
• - Any equipment cleaning needed - mostly skimmer cup
• - 1-2 times a week, we dose Reef Energy Plus AB+ by Red Sea

Daily Tasks

• - Glass cleaning
  • See image below; what you see on the right glass is what needs to be cleaned every day. That is 24-hour growth.

Your tank looks fine.

Here are my thoughts to simplify your workload and peace of mind.


1 - no need to test Ammonia or nitrite. Don't worry about the pH or ORP readings from the Apex and don't bother using a pH test kit. Ammonia will always be zero, nitrite should but doesn't matter and pH and ORP will do their thing and are nothing to chase.

2 - mix up a batch of Randy's DIY calibration solution and use that instead of the store bought refractometer solution. It is more accurate and reliable, even with basic measuring tools. You can then compare your refractometer and Apex probe. Somebody else can post links if you can't find them in the stickies in the chem forum.

3 - If the low phosphate and nitrates concern you, then either feed a bit more or take the ReefMat offline part time or full time.

4 - I would personally stop dosing the AB+ and just feed the fish for far less cost and hassle.

5 - I am not sure how much substrate and rock you have, but don't think those bio blocks are needed. I'm not saying removing them will fix anything, but I just don't see any major benefit.

6 - Your alk swings may be real or testing error, but getting them dialed in with your doser shouldn't be hard. If there is anything to discuss, it is how you are trying to manage this.