What should I do....

[MadReefer]

Well this is what my tank looks like after dosing Vodka, water changes, and Phosban. Is there away to remove the green algae other than scrubbing the rocks? Or should I leave it be? This hasn't grown but decreased a tiny bit. Any suggestions welcome, pics below.

Mark

 

[Hawkeye]

What is your magnesium level at?

I'm not 100% sure but I had something pretty close/similar to what I see there and it's all turned to brown since I upped my mag levels.

 

[MadReefer]

Phil, no idea. What would cause it become low?

 

[Dave]

Do you have any mithrax crabs? Are they eating it if you do?

 

[Hawkeye]

Phil, no idea. What would cause it become low?

well i have a clam that supposedly uptakes mag - also a few frags - but not many. I think a possibility might be the synthetic saltwater used(i used reef crystals) may be slightly low on mag - and as you continue to do water changes - it becomes a cumulative effect.

Another possibility might simply be the skimmer is not doing it's job to remove organics before the algae can utilize it.

 

[MadReefer]

I was thinking about the crab but not sure if they will eat it. I only used the Reef Crystals once for a 10g water change, was using IO before. The skimmer has been in for a month. The build up did start when the other skimmer got cranky. Guess I'll wait and see. Good reason to rip out all the rock and re-aquascape. I could scrub th rock before placing back in. Anyone want to help with some tank decorating ;D .

 

[mnat]

Just went throught this myself. As Hawkeye stated if you up your Mag levels for a few weeks is will essentially expode the photosynthetic cells of the hair algae killing it. Also, are you running any phosban/chemipure? What is the "flow" in your tank like? Higher the flow, less chance of algae. How long are you running your lights? The best way to get rid of the algae is borrow the NJRC sea hare and let it go to war. Mithrax crabs won't touch hair algae. The other thing to do is pull out the live rock and give it a good scrub with a toothbrush or other semi stiff bristled brush. Use several buckets as it will cloud up the bucket really quickly. It took me some time, but I am now hair algae free.

 

[MadReefer]

I dose Kent Strontium and Molybdenum every 2 weeks, 1 cap full. It contains Strontium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, and Sodium Molybdate. Instructions state 1 cap full per 50g every 4 days. I like to dose slowly. I guess i will increase the dosage as indicated.

 

[blange3]

I dose Kent Strontium and Molybdenum every 2 weeks, 1 cap full. It contains Strontium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, and Sodium Molybdate. Instructions state 1 cap full per 50g every 4 days. I like to dose slowly. I guess i will increase the dosage as indicated.

Why dose at all? You have a small coral population, your aren't testing for those things, and you are having problems keeping calcium balanced.

I would go back to the starting point.

Stop dosing everything.

Do a 10% Water change.

Test your parameters the next day.

Wait a week. Test your parameters again.

Do a 10% water change.

Test your parameters the next day.

Do nothing for another week. Test your parameters.

Now we have a baseline to see what's going on. Evaluate the algae at this point and compare to the posted pix.

Then we talk and make a plan.

IMHO you just have too many variables over the last few weeks to get a grip on where your tank is heading and why.

Remember, only bad things happen quickly in a reef tank.

 

[MadReefer]

Bill,
I was thinking the same thing. To many problems and not just lately. I could take an ax to it....LOL. Maybe I should just throw in the towel and say I did my best at the time and go back to FW.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

I agree with Blange3 (as usual) except I would recommend increasing the percentage of the water change volume to at least 20% ideally 30% for each water change.
Definitely stop dosing all those trace elements. It's a waste of money and probably contributing to the algae problem if it's not THE problem.

 

[depitch039]

I agree.

Don't add anything you can't test for.

Adding a couple of crabs might be helpful but water changes to reduce the pollutants is the best strategy.

 

[Hawkeye]

Bill,
I was thinking the same thing. To many problems and not just lately. I could take an ax to it....LOL. Maybe I should just throw in the towel and say I did my best at the time and go back to FW.

you're starting to irk me... ;D

you CANNOT quit! For heaven's sake I'm still trying to get my frags growing and eventually would like to be able to "give back" to the club - including fellow members.

Did I ever show you the pics of my snails with hair algae on them. My wife kept complaining about the "toupee" on the snails.

Just Keep it simple. Make roy do your water changes. LOL.

For me i just kept at the water changes and monitored the parameters. Good luck!
(p.s. rome wasn't built in a day...your tank will come around in time).

 

[MadReefer]

Funny Phil. The 75g is up a year and a half and hasn't stabilized. I did better with the 55g using a canister filter and HOB skimmer. My patience is reaching it's limit.

 

[JRWOHLER]

I agree with the above.

I would do a minimum of 20% water change max 50% depending on what you can afford, try to do it once or twice with max amount.

Make sure you blow the rocks with a turkey baster or power head before you start the water change.

Try to limit how much you feed the tank. Cut back to the minimum what you are feeding.

Here Phil I will post one of mine from my nano.

That is a snail under there. :-[

Don't give up you are a great member of our comunity and I am sure we would all hate to see you go.

 

[blange3]

Bill,
I was thinking the same thing. To many problems and not just lately. I could take an ax to it....LOL. Maybe I should just throw in the towel and say I did my best at the time and go back to FW.

Not to worry, you'll get through this. Just be patient!

I agree with all who suggested larger water changes. But just getting you to stop dosing altogether and focus on water changes was my goal. After you posted the first set of parameters I was expecting to see some evidence that larger changes were necessary.

 

[JRWOHLER]

If you have a canister filter you can run it on a very temporary basis just to clean the gunk from the water after stirring it up. Have read that some have success with that, and if the premise is your rocks are trapping waste then this might help speed things along.

 

[MadReefer]

My last dose of anything was Tuesday. I am still waiting for my test kit so all I have to measure is:
Ammonia - 0 - same
Nitrate - 15/20ppm - same
Nitrate - 0 - same
Cal - 340 - slight increase
SG - 1.024
Temp - 78

 

[blange3]

My last dose of anything was Tuesday. I am still waiting for my test kit so all I have to measure is:
Ammonia - 0 - same
Nitrate - 15/20ppm - same
Nitrate - 0 - same
Cal - 340 - slight increase
SG - 1.024
Temp - 78

We need the Alk and Mg numbers to pair up with that Cal to see what is going on there.

Also, we need to test the new water you make up for a water change. Do you mix ahead of time and aerate it for a day?

 

[MadReefer]

I didn't order test kits for Alk and Mag. I usually mix it for a few hours before using it.