tank problems

[kellon16]

Long story short I have been having stuff die off and had a major algae bloom in my tank.
Here is a list of my water perams
P04=2.0
ca=380
nitrate=0-5.0
alk is around 11
salinity is about 25 ppt
temp=78 degrees

It is 220 mixed reef tank. I have mostly sps though. I am running 3 400 watt 20 k MH. An octo 250 skimmer and Im running a dual calcium reactor. I am running Carbon and GFO witch I am not going to lie I am a bit slow on changing every once and a while. Any suggestion? I also went a few months with out my vortecs mp40w and was only running my tunzes when the bloom broke out, I dont know if that would have anything to do with it. Any feed back would be great! thanks a lot.

 

[gilmour01]

that is a really high phos level if its accurate. i'd start with WC's and new GFO.

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

that is a really high phos level if its accurate. i'd start with WC's and new GFO.

+1... that's definitely gonna cause some problems.... do three 15% water changes for a week and retest

 

[aquafrags]

po4 way too high, make sure your skimmer is working efficiently, i would feed every other day and replace your gfo once a week until you get that level down

be careful with your alk, new gfo will lower it everytime you change it out

what test kit for the PO4??

 

[inactive]

Lots of light, are you burning stuff out?

 

[gparr]

If you are getting a phosphate reading that high in the middle of a "major algae bloom," then your phosphate level is likely extremely high. Phosphate is difficult to read accurately because so much of it gets taken up quickly by algae and, therefore, is not available in the water when testing. My guess is that you need to take every step possible to reduce organics. Those steps could include an effective skimmer that you keep clean and functioning at top efficiency, growing chaetomorpha algae in a long reverse cycle (if not around the clock), regular and fairly large water changes, changing carbon and GFO on a regular (every 2 weeks) basis, and establishing effective flow throughout the tank to keep organics in the water column so they can be removed. You didn't mention your bioload, but if you have a lot of fish or some very large fish, cut back on your feeding frequency and volume. Kraylen also raises a good question about lighting, but that phosphate number tells me that your primary focus needs to be organics reduction.
Gary

 

[firsttime]

Like Gary said, you do need to watch your phosphates. In reality they are higher than what you are recording because the algae is using it to grow.Also you should increase your calcium to about 410 and see what is your change in alk over a 24 hr period. Try to test your alk three/four times over 24hrs and see how to changes.

Do not decrease your phosphates rapidly as that will also nuke your tank, take a slow approach to reducing phosphates but you definitely need to bring them around 0.00 - 0.04 .

 

[Christian]

I have had excellent luck using a product called ChemiPure Elite. Certianly still do your water changes to gradually bring down your PO4, but the CP has ferrous oxide in it (like phosban) and doesnt need a special reaction chamber.

 

[kellon16]

alright thanks I just replaced everything and cleaned the skimmer. I think the problem is my bio load and feeding. I have lots of fish and feed a lot. As for Ca problems would you increase the drip on the car reactor? But if you do that it can raise the alk up more? Ant the only things I have burned out were a couple of weeks ago when I changed the bulbs. I burnt up my garf bonsai colony and my german blue =[. But I also got rid of a couple of my bigger fish so we will see if that effects anything. Would leaving the lights off for a couple of days and doing a water change be a good idea or would that drop the phos to fast?

 

[SaraB]

So I've been at this same place and I'm just getting on the upswing of the issues. Follow what Gary has told you as he's been helping me with my tank as well.

Seriously do change out the Carbon and GFO every other week no matter what a pain it is to do so!!! Also, check your TDS levels on your RO/DI unit as well. If you are using an in-line meter, double check it with a hand-held unit as the in-lines are not always accurate.

If you are getting a phosphate reading that high in the middle of a "major algae bloom," then your phosphate level is likely extremely high. Phosphate is difficult to read accurately because so much of it gets taken up quickly by algae and, therefore, is not available in the water when testing. My guess is that you need to take every step possible to reduce organics. Those steps could include an effective skimmer that you keep clean and functioning at top efficiency, growing chaetomorpha algae in a long reverse cycle (if not around the clock), regular and fairly large water changes, changing carbon and GFO on a regular (every 2 weeks) basis, and establishing effective flow throughout the tank to keep organics in the water column so they can be removed. You didn't mention your bioload, but if you have a lot of fish or some very large fish, cut back on your feeding frequency and volume. Kraylen also raises a good question about lighting, but that phosphate number tells me that your primary focus needs to be organics reduction.
Gary

 

[kellon16]

Thanks everyone. Today I decided to try out the np bio pellets. I have a full chamber of that and a full chamber of new carbon. I also have about 4 bags of carbon in the sump and a couple of new GFO. I have been running the skimmer overtime alll day. I put a powerhead in the sump. I just tested for phos and this can not be right It is at .5. That can not be right can it? also I have been checking my alk and it is going up some how do I need to slow or speed up my drip on my Ca reactor?

 

[kellon16]

Anyone?

 

[gparr]

You've done a lot. The only thing that makes me nervous is adding the bio pellets. I'm not a fan of adding something new when you're in the middle of trying to fix a problem. I think you would be better off getting things stabilized and running smoothly with your existing system. Once things have been cooking along for a few months, then consider trying something new. The GFO could easily have reduced the available phosphate to that level that quickly, depending on how much you used. Be careful using large quantities of GFO. That stuff can make significant changes quickly. Remember that your phosphate readings are deceptive because your nuisance algae is sucking up the majority of available phosphate very quickly. Not sure what to tell you about your Ca reactor. I'm a 2-part person and have never used one.
Gary

 

[kellon16]

Ok so I did all that stuff before I left on a vacation for a few days come back and everything is a lot worse. more algea, a ton of stuff died and bleached out! I have no idea what to do at this point ill try to get params posted tonight

 

[kellon16]

ok well some how the phos have jumped to .5 again. I had a ton of salt water mixed up and I did not inform the person watching the tank to not use that water to refill the water evaporating from the sump so tehy have been pouring salt water into the tank, could that have hurt anything? it made the salinity jump a little. I am stressing big time I have lost lots of nice stuff.

 

[gparr]

Adding saltwater as a top-off is generally not good, depending on how much it raised your salinity. Where in Illinois do you live?
Gary

 

[kellon16]

I live in Towanda just north of normal and bloomington

 

[gparr]

That's too bad. Was hoping it was closer so I could see the system first hand. But a 2-hr. drive is a bit much.

What is your salinity at now? What device are you using to measure salinity?

What is your bioload? How many fish, what types of fish, what sizes? How often do you feed and what foods do you feed?

How old is your tank? How deep is your sandbed? How old is your sandbed? What type of sand makes up your sandbed? Sugar-sized sand? Coarse aragonite? Crushed coral?

Are there other potential sources of nutrients and bad substances?

Having a problem such as this and then going away on vacation is usually not a good combination, but that can't always be helped. I didn't like adding the biopellets in the middle of trying to solve a problem, because it adds an unknown and complicates the matter. Doing so and leaving on vacation so you can't monitor the effects of the biopellets just compounds the problem. Are they still in the system? If so, and it's up to you, I'd be inclined to remove them.

Gary

 

[kellon16]

I never put the bio pellets on line saved them I endedup using gfo until things got better. I have a 5 to 6 inch sand bed(courser sand). there are about 12 fish in the tank. A couple are a good size. i have cardinal fish clown fish, a regal angel, spotted cheek tang, two anthia a couple blennys, purple tang, xmas wrasse, melanaress wrass and a few other small fish