Green water...HELP!!!!!!

[Texas Aggie 06]

I recently (beginning of the year) set up my second tank. Here are the specs (in great detail):

48 gal bow front:
- 36" Coralife PC + Lunars (96 watt 10,000 + True Actinic 03 Blue + two 3/4 watt Lunar Blue-Moon-Glow LEDs)
- Seio Super Flow Pump M620
- Siphon Overflow
Aquascape - 40 lbs Agra-Alive substrate & 45 lbs Live Rock

15 gal Refugium:
- 24" Coralife Compact Fluorescents (50/50 lamps)
- Seaclone 100 Skimmer
- Cap Aqua Return Pump 800
Aquascape - Refugium Mud, Rock Sediments and Leaf Caulerpa (from 8 yr old setup) - added 16 oz OceanPods

Livestock:
2 Purple Firefish
2 Green Mandarins
1 Crocea Clam
1 Red Fromia Sea Star
1 Fancy Brittle Star
1 Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber
1 Toadstool Leather Mushroom
1 Purple Gorgonian
15 Assorted Mushrooms rock
4 Acroporas + 1 Acro Crab
2 Bumble Bee Snails
8 Nassarius Snails
12 Dwarf Hermit Crabs
(seems like alot when I write it all out but everything is very small)

Within the past week, a greenish cloud has engulfed the tank. Any ideas?? (or thoughts about the setup???)


First cloudy day

Yesterday

HELP!!

 

[Zoalander]

Man where do I begin. Your tank is too new to have all that in it. 2 mandarins is a huge no no. Crocea clam doosn't belong under your lighting and your tank is too new for a clam or the mandarins. You keep acros under PC's what color are they? As to the tank being cloudy like that it could either be a water quality issue or the caulerpa has gone sexual on you. Have you tested your water? Nitrates, trites, ammonia, ph? How often do you feed? I still can't believe you have 2 mandarins in there and a clam, and acros under PC's.

 

[Texas Aggie 06]

I also have MH's but have been told to wait till this problem goes away to put them back as it might contribute to the problem. I just got the Mandarins and added copepods the day I set up the refugium (over two months ago) to supply their food. They are eating frozen foods as well, so they are happy and fat! I did not write to be criticized on my choices; I came here to see if anyone had opinioins about my setup to possibly help improve and get help with the green water. My levels are perfect so I am begining to think the plants have gone sexual. I was told about the possibility of this happening about a week ago, but since I dont know what to do in the situation that it is the plants, I was hoping someone here could give me some insight.

 

[Zoalander]

Your going to get criticized when you say you have 2 mandarins in a 46 gallon and don't go so far as to say that they are eating frozen(are they a mated pair?). Your going to get criticized when you say you have 4 acros and a clam under 96 watts of PC's with out explaining that some one told you to cut off your MH's (which has nothing to do with you water problem). Do you dose phyto? If your not overdosing phyto then the caulerpa has gone sexual. Have you tested your water? That would also be a good start. Are you doing regular water changes?

 

[reefwick]

Yeah there is alot of problems going on here but to start....... Try large WC's and turn up that skimmer baby. I think a lot of this is due to the large load in such a short period of time.

 

[Texas Aggie 06]

I've tested, and all levels are perfect. I have been using DT's every other day, but using half of the recommended amount as the filter feeders are pretty small. So I don't think I have overdosed. If it is the plants (which I really think it is...) what can I do at this point? Should I take the plants out and get a different kind? I have not done a water change yet, but was planning to do one tomorrow. Since my levels were perfect I was under the impression that I shouldn't do water changes frequently, but I've never had a refugium so I am new to that aspect.

 

[reefwick]

WC's are you friend. Especially when your having a problem like this. So you say your parameters are perfect, well what are you calling perfect??? FYI & IMO chaetomorphea (sp?) would be a much safer and efficient macro to go with in the sump.

 

[Ritten]

Texas, can you get your hands on to a hot magnum filter? Go to a swimming pool supply store and buy some diatemateous (? sp) earth. That will clear your green water right up. Run 1/2 cup for an hour. Change it. Run another half cup, etc. for about nine times, my problem was solved.

 

[Zoalander]

DT's every other day in a small tank is too much. I would dose 1-2 times a week max. You should dose DT's oyster eggs instead. Do you run carbon? If not you should start. Also is everything alive or are things not looking good anymore. Instead of doing a huge water change do 10% every other day for the next week. Get rid of the caulerpa and get cheatomorpha. It could also be a phyto bloom, is you caulerpa turning white?

 

[Texas Aggie 06]

Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
sp.grav: 1.026 (a little high i think but i will fix during the water change tomorrow)
calcium: 450
phosphates: 0.2 (wow 2 days ago they were 0 - is this part of my problem maybe??)
I thought the plants would help the phosphates, but I maybe wrong. I think maybe I should get a different skimmer....any suggestions?

 

[Texas Aggie 06]

Everything is alive and seem happy. The sea fan, acropora and leather mushroom all have their polyps out and the fish are very colorfull, swimming and eating like normal. I've been watching the plants to see if they look like they are dying, but it all looks green still. I plan to pull anything that turns white.

 

[Zoalander]

Your params are normal. Is the cheato turning white? If not it could be a phyto bloom or just part of the cycle process. You may have too much nutrients in the water and not enough getting flitered/skimmed out. Just do the water changes and run carbon and see what happens in the next week.

 

[Texas Aggie 06]

thanks for all the advice guys!!!! i will try some stuff tomorrow and wait it out for another week. If I decide to get a new skimmer, does anyone have suggestions on a certain brand???

 

[chrismunn]

ive always heard that caulerpa is a bad choice for nutrient export, i guess this is why huh? throw it away dude, get some cheatomorpha, ive heard its alot less angry, and a little more forgiving! lol....
im still in disbelief that your keeping all that stock in such a new tank! there is no way that the biological aspect of filtration is up to par for such a large bio load, not in that short of a time period. wait a year or so, it will be much better than it is now!
IMO, and im not trying to bash ya buddy, but your moving a bit too quik! be patient. (im sure yav' heard it a million times uh? well this is why!)

params may be perfect, but perfect has nothing to do with long term stability. it takes a while for that balance to settle, deffinatly more than 3 months! (the biological stability) putting that much together so quik is tricky buisness! you gotta know your stuff if your gonna get away with that!

do what they said, 5%-10% water changes every couple of days, that'l help clean ya up a bit. water changes wont affect your params in a negative way if you have a biologically stable system, even if its not stable, its still not gonna hurt you at all, bit it will definatly help you!

personally i dont think 1\2 the recomended dose of dt's every other day is too much, i got away with it for a year with no consiquence. BUT, when my system was as young as your is, it crashed entirely, and it was because of adding dt's. i lost everything!

anyways im getting a headache

cheers

 

[Brandino007]

Ok man I have had this problem befor.
I tried everything 100% water changes, Skimmer, etc.
The only thing I that got the job done was take all the corals out of the tank into someother tank and leave the lights off on the main tank for a week or how ever long it takes.
I have done this and it hasnt came back since.
(my zoo colonies doubled in size during the time the tank had green water lol.)

 

[mavgi]

i saw that in other forum before you need to add phosphate remover, three bags that came in one box and if you have uv work with it it will be perfect.i didn't read all the post here but hope you use ro distilled water and not tap water this what can cause this or you add additive that cause this to anyway here is s the picture for the tank how it was and after.

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[The steven liu]

If you have greenwater the best "natural filter" without having to fuzz with chemistry is to get a giant clam, a derosa or a squamosa would clear that water up pretty nicely.

 

[boxfishpooalot]

the only thing that worked for me was to borrow an Ultra violet light from the lfs. It dissapeared in about 1 week, crystal clear.

 

[fullkontact]

uv for sure....cleared mine up in 3 days.

 

[Texas Aggie 06]

thanks for all the advice guys....I pulled the plants out and I am now looking for new ones to put in soon. I also did a 10% water change today. I am looking into some of the other things mentioned, since I dont have all of the equipment available to me, but plan to drive to houston this weekend to see what I can get. Thanks again for all the help, and if ya think of anything else, LET ME KNOW! thanks!!!!!!!!!!
-Kris-