Tank is currently going through the uglies.. anything I can do?

[brandon429]

What we never discuss in these reaction posts: the quality of test kits used to make the baselines. Any common nitrate comparison thread for example shows a fifty ppm spread among common kits so that means if you own the zero kit you’re reacting with a dose, and feeding algae bigtime, and if you own the 50 ppm kit, you’re reacting by vodka trying to desperately reduce the dangerous levels..mis testing / prove that isn’t happening before all reactions.

that’s one reason rip clean threads look so great and don’t have any bad outcome reports, or trade off invasions, they’re pure action not any form of hesitation

the chance the op here is using accurate test kits: 1%.

 

[RobertTheNurse]

I honestly took things very slow in this hobby. I think that is key. My first pet into my tank after 6 weeks...a snail lol...my first coral several weeks after. For the ugly stage, just plain old good husbandry. I agree with the conch, this thing does not stop...so clean up crew will def help.

I also dosed a little bit of vibrant...I basically did half the dose for the clean tank, and only dosed twice. It almost tanked my nutrients. Killed off all the GHA.

Using good water is key as well. Reverse osmosis.
Rob

 

[Dad2Wyatt]

There is a group of videos by Tidal Gardens about how they dealt with "ugly phase" in their tanks.

Reef chemistry section has a lot of information about consequences of having no detectable (at Salifert tests sensitivity) phosphates. Too high (detectable at API tests sensitivity) and you can fuel algae.

I’ll look up the tidal gardens videos! I knew I had watched a couple videos back when I THOUGHT my tank was going through the uglies but couldn’t remember where I found them!

 

[Dad2Wyatt]

What we never discuss in these reaction posts: the quality of test kits used to make the baselines. Any common nitrate comparison thread for example shows a fifty ppm spread among common kits so that means if you own the zero kit you’re reacting with a dose, and feeding algae bigtime, and if you own the 50 ppm kit, you’re reacting by vodka trying to desperately reduce the dangerous levels..mis testing / prove that isn’t happening before all reactions.

that’s one reason rip clean threads look so great and don’t have any bad outcome reports, or trade off invasions, they’re pure action not any form of hesitation

the chance the op here is using accurate test kits: 1%.

Agreed! I think it was actually you who told me to focus more on consistency than chasing specific numbers! I also found that when using the two different nitrate test kits I have (both api) my numbers vary as well. Tested this morning just for curiosity after realizing I have 2 different kits. One again showed in the 5-10 range the other was 20-40 range. Both were used to api specs 100%

 

[Dad2Wyatt]

I honestly took things very slow in this hobby. I think that is key. My first pet into my tank after 6 weeks...a snail lol...my first coral several weeks after. For the ugly stage, just plain old good husbandry. I agree with the conch, this thing does not stop...so clean up crew will def help.

I also dosed a little bit of vibrant...I basically did half the dose for the clean tank, and only dosed twice. It almost tanked my nutrients. Killed off all the GHA.

Using good water is key as well. Reverse osmosis.
Rob

I only use RO/DI for changes and top offs so water quality SHOULD be good. It definitely looks better than tap water as far as color and clarity go.

considering that my test kits are already showing super low nutrient levels I definitely think it’s best if I stay away from chemicals currently.

I’ve also read that even running carbon could have detrimental effects if I’m not running the correct kind. I’m currently using a reef spec free sample from saltwateraquarium.com but I may need to do some research and make sure this is the right kind to be running. It definitely helped my water clarity but I don’t want the trade off of feeding nuisance algae if I’m not running good carbon.

 

[brandon429]

hey that's neat you had a calibration set handy. I think since they both didnt show zero that at least means something

 

[brandon429]

there are even posts about the expensive hanna one not lining up, I'm not sure we can win at nitrate testing lol. phosphate/tbd

I surely have seen phosphate and nitrate alignment produce clean tanks from challenge ones, the trick is if you make a thread on it not all tanks comply, in fact the minority will. its a very artistic thing to pull off, that's why the main examples are one off testimonies and not threads showing six in a row. that being said, the larger the tank the harder it is to rip clean so the balancing methods are 100% valid and in need of study so they can be used as prevention as well

if your attempts to control params don't work you can easily fall back on the rip clean, its the official safe reset option for sure.

 

[ying yang]

What we never discuss in these reaction posts: the quality of test kits used to make the baselines. Any common nitrate comparison thread for example shows a fifty ppm spread among common kits so that means if you own the zero kit you’re reacting with a dose, and feeding algae bigtime, and if you own the 50 ppm kit, you’re reacting by vodka trying to desperately reduce the dangerous levels..mis testing / prove that isn’t happening before all reactions.

that’s one reason rip clean threads look so great and don’t have any bad outcome reports, or trade off invasions, they’re pure action not any form of hesitation

the chance the op here is using accurate test kits: 1%.

I only own 2 test kits for nitrate for example which are api and salifert and api reads 30- 40 and salifert reads between 25 and 50 so pretty much I get consistent results with the both of them .
I remember when joined r2r and asked you about my qt tank and had 0 yellow reading on api which alot can't seem to get ^_^

 

[brandon429]

my main report comes from searching test kit comparison threads, until we get digital not many align for the masses/they post

in the end I'm not sure final readings matter anyway as Rich Ross has threads and video on 20$K reef tanks that run six times normal phosphate levels and then Paul B's tank runs at 160 nitrate at times, he's said (again same testing variance applies but still elevated, sustained, and seems to match the degree of waste the tank carries for the long term)

zeovit German tanks run sustained low P and N, artistically-abled reefers can make anything work. What I'm into is studying what works best in lots of 100 for public posted tanks, whatever the most reproducible method is for cycling, disease control, parameter tracking, I'm for it.

 

[ying yang]

my main report comes from searching test kit comparison threads, until we get digital not many align for the masses/they post

Yes see it in threads often,and even hanna test kits which are super expensive on my country at $ 90 upwards and in america I think they like $ 50 pffft but all hobby grade test kits I guess

 

[ying yang]

Here my 9 month old tank which feed heavy 3- 4 times a day due to my cbb fish po4 around .1 on salifert and nitrate inbetween 25- 50 on salifert and between 30- 40 on api so if tests are correct then quite high nutrients and dont scrub rocks,or siphon sand,just wc once a week either 7- 8% or around 15% and feed fresh oysters,clams,scallops etc and always let some hit the sand so cuc can grab and worse I had one rocks so far is a brown coating but just bought more cuc and cleaned it right up

 

[brandon429]

thats truly quality live rock there for sure, very nice

 

[Dad2Wyatt]

there are even posts about the expensive hanna one not lining up, I'm not sure we can win at nitrate testing lol. phosphate/tbd

I surely have seen phosphate and nitrate alignment produce clean tanks from challenge ones, the trick is if you make a thread on it not all tanks comply, in fact the minority will. its a very artistic thing to pull off, that's why the main examples are one off testimonies and not threads showing six in a row. that being said, the larger the tank the harder it is to rip clean so the balancing methods are 100% valid and in need of study so they can be used as prevention as well

if your attempts to control params don't work you can easily fall back on the rip clean, its the official safe reset option for sure.

100% agree here! I spent some time reading the rip cleans and I am confident it would be night and day different, but as others have said on month 4, my uglies really aren’t THAT bad yet. I also spent some time on the nuisance algae forums though I never found an actual explanation, not cleaning the glass for a few days and just letting the algae do it’s thing had a lot of anecdotal evidence for creating cleaner looking tanks!

also I should mention that I before last Monday I was only running one powerhead which I believe let a good amount of cyano build up in lower flow areas. In the past week I have seen cyano almost completely disappear(even if something else took its place). Someone mentioned that it can sometimes take a month for one small change to actual show it’s effect in a tank. Maybe My lack of flow was the root of all my problems

 

[ying yang]

thats truly quality live rock there for sure, very nice

Started off with dry rock and dry sand at begginning of this year,so apparently a long way yet to wait till fully matures.
I got scared with all the pests that I read and read again made people tear down their tanks so decided start with dry rock ,but if could start again or if started a new tank then would 100% try my best to get some real ocean live rock to start tank ^_^
Even though dip corals before put in tank,the amount of different pods and worms is unbelievable and if im honest I probably get more enjoyment after lights go out and all creepy crawlies come out to play,that micro world is truly amazing.
The 9 fish I have and corals are great,don't get me wrong but micro fauna just floats boat lol

 

[rwheeler0213]

Parameters using API test kits
Ph:8.2
Nitrate: 5-10 ppm
Alk: 11
Calc: 440 ppm
Phosphate: undetectable (api goes from 0- .25 so my goal is to keep it undetectable until I get better kits)

currently running carbon



my tank is currently going on month 4. Diatoms died out and I’ve been trying to naturally fight cyano and hair algae. But that’s not even my main concern. The film algae on the glass is getting unbearable. I’ve been cleaning daily but would like to come from work at least a couple times a week to being able to see my tank without cleaning the glass first.

okay so it’s not that bad but everything looks cloudy and definitely not appealing before I clean it. I’m getting a flipper for Christmas so I’m sure it’ll make my life a little easier but anything I can do other than that?

Also any tips for the cyano/brown algae(I don’t believe it’s diatoms bc those have cleared off of all rock by this point)??

Chemi clean. Had that same issue with dust like algae on glass, rock, sand. Follow the directions exact.

 

[rwheeler0213]

Update: after I got done ranting I cleaned my glass and my water is actually a bit cloudy today(was clear before bed last night) could 0 phosphates have something to do with that? Also any phosphate tests you recommend?

 

[rwheeler0213]

Hanna. Easy to use.

 

[Cjeippert]

thanks all!
think I’m going to add a few more snails, and an emerald crab or two, get a better phosphorus tester, and just focus on scrubbing and siphoning and reap benefits down the line!

I added 4 trochus snails a year ago which literally turned into over one hundred. I am always selling to local reefers for like 1.50 to 3$ a snail. The trochus can flip themselves over and are kind to the corals. I have had other turbos that broke branches on sps

 

[Dad2Wyatt]

I added 4 trochus snails a year ago which literally turned into over one hundred. I am always selling to local reefers for like 1.50 to 3$ a snail. The trochus can flip themselves over and are kind to the corals. I have had other turbos that broke branches on sps

Not sure where you’re located but definitely interested!

 

[Cjeippert]

Not sure where you’re located but definitely interested!

Phoenix Metro