Hello Everyone,
I was away for 3 weeks and came back to algae issues. I think it all started with the housesitter being overzealous with feeding. I don't think the implicit cleaning instructions and dosing was followed either.
Since being back and after water changes etc nothing seems to be helping and it appears to be getting worse. I am frustrated and worried about the tank.
Being a newbie makes it all the worse :banghead:
Struggling with Cyano, thin brown strands of hairy algae, with bubbles on it from its respiration. Green hair algae and some kind of algae that has grown on the back wall.
Tank is +- 130L - Read Sea 130 D
Tank is 10 months old. Was an established tank that was moved to us, used everything as is and went through the noraml cycle.
SG - 1.026
Kh - 8
Ca - 470
Mg - 1440
Temp - 23.5 - 24 Deg C
Ph - 8.30
Ammonia NH3 - 0.15
Nitrite NO2 - 0
Nitrate NO3 - 2
Phosphate - 0.03
Skimmer - Standard skimmer. Replaced the pump 3 weeks ago. Please see the attached pic of the skimmate.
Light - Zetlight UFO 8300
Flow - 1 x Jebao. Standard Return pumps
Fish - 2 clowns, 1 cardinal, 1 Fire goby, 1 firecracker shrimp and 1 cleaner shrimp. Blue legged hermit and 2 snails.
Coral - All LPS, a few zoas (they have struggled to spread since being in the tank). 1 Duncan frag. Hammer and 2 bubble tips.
Rocks on the left are live rock. Large piece on the right is artificial rock.
Water change every 2 weeks. 25 - 30 liters (+/- 20 to 25%)
Running Carbon
Dosing twice a day.
Reef Fusion 2 - 0.5ml
Feeding half a block of mysis shrimpor blood worm or pinch of flakes every second day.
My questions:
1. Could I be getting a false reading of No2/No3/po4 because algae is eating up all the nutrients?
2. I haven't changed anything. The frustrating part is that nitrites, nitrates and phosphates have low readings, so while I'm tempted to do a massive water change I'm wondering if that'll really do any good - if the algae is staying ahead of the producition of nitrate and phosphate, presumably whatever the source is will keep feeding the bloom and a water change will make no difference?
3. Which leads me to try to figure out what the source is, but I have no credible theory.
4. Do i also have a bryopsis problem as well?
So what is the way forward??
Do i go the ChemiClean route, Peroxide?
Do i start dosing nopox? I have used this in the past but found that it seems to make the hammer lose colour?
More clean up crew? Urchin, snails, lawnmower blenny?
I have started using Seachem Phosguard in the back chamber (do i continue with this)?
Additional filter floss
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated to getting it back on track, algae free and looking awesome.
I was away for 3 weeks and came back to algae issues. I think it all started with the housesitter being overzealous with feeding. I don't think the implicit cleaning instructions and dosing was followed either.
Since being back and after water changes etc nothing seems to be helping and it appears to be getting worse. I am frustrated and worried about the tank.
Being a newbie makes it all the worse :banghead:
Struggling with Cyano, thin brown strands of hairy algae, with bubbles on it from its respiration. Green hair algae and some kind of algae that has grown on the back wall.
Tank is +- 130L - Read Sea 130 D
Tank is 10 months old. Was an established tank that was moved to us, used everything as is and went through the noraml cycle.
SG - 1.026
Kh - 8
Ca - 470
Mg - 1440
Temp - 23.5 - 24 Deg C
Ph - 8.30
Ammonia NH3 - 0.15
Nitrite NO2 - 0
Nitrate NO3 - 2
Phosphate - 0.03
Skimmer - Standard skimmer. Replaced the pump 3 weeks ago. Please see the attached pic of the skimmate.
Light - Zetlight UFO 8300
Flow - 1 x Jebao. Standard Return pumps
Fish - 2 clowns, 1 cardinal, 1 Fire goby, 1 firecracker shrimp and 1 cleaner shrimp. Blue legged hermit and 2 snails.
Coral - All LPS, a few zoas (they have struggled to spread since being in the tank). 1 Duncan frag. Hammer and 2 bubble tips.
Rocks on the left are live rock. Large piece on the right is artificial rock.
Water change every 2 weeks. 25 - 30 liters (+/- 20 to 25%)
Running Carbon
Dosing twice a day.
Reef Fusion 2 - 0.5ml
Feeding half a block of mysis shrimpor blood worm or pinch of flakes every second day.
My questions:
1. Could I be getting a false reading of No2/No3/po4 because algae is eating up all the nutrients?
2. I haven't changed anything. The frustrating part is that nitrites, nitrates and phosphates have low readings, so while I'm tempted to do a massive water change I'm wondering if that'll really do any good - if the algae is staying ahead of the producition of nitrate and phosphate, presumably whatever the source is will keep feeding the bloom and a water change will make no difference?
3. Which leads me to try to figure out what the source is, but I have no credible theory.
4. Do i also have a bryopsis problem as well?
So what is the way forward??
Do i go the ChemiClean route, Peroxide?
Do i start dosing nopox? I have used this in the past but found that it seems to make the hammer lose colour?
More clean up crew? Urchin, snails, lawnmower blenny?
I have started using Seachem Phosguard in the back chamber (do i continue with this)?
Additional filter floss
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated to getting it back on track, algae free and looking awesome.
