Having some bad luck

[Mxman38]

Hey guys/girls I could really use some help. I have been in the hobby about 5 years and have always had a mixed reef set up- nothing to crazy SPS/LPS some softies. Anyway, I have had 55 gallons and up, currently a 180 (my favorite was my DBS 80 rimless, I regret selling it). I will try to make a long story short----

When I moved into my house last year I splurged and went with a 180g, 3 AI 26's with an open top, 2 WP40's and a Diablo Skimmer that I +1'd. My sump is a wildco BRS 200; though it is big, it realistically only holds about 20 gallons of water. This is the only tank I've never done a fuge on and as of lately I have been battling brown algae all over my tank, in fact it has completely covered all my coralline on my overflows (no hair algae though). I have been losing huge colonies lately, especially my stylopora and it is real hit or miss with some other coral.

So on to my parameters and husbandry:
I do weekly 10% water changes which I make my own (0 TDS; however, I do notice brown crud in my salt bin) I use red sea pro. (I feel like 20% is just way to much salt hence why I miss my 80g)

I change out my high capacity GFO (about 1.25 cups) every 3-4 weeks along with my carbon (dual BRS reactor).

I do not use a 2 part anymore because I stopped testing as frequently and I told myself I would get a doser but never did. I use Kalk +2 in my auto top off container which is 20 gallons, I use about 1 teaspoon per gallon of fresh water.

I don't syphon sand really because I only have an inch or so, with about 1lb per gallon of live rock.

My PH is 8.0 to 8.3
temp was 72 but I added another heater for winter so its around 78 now
nitrate/nitrites/ammonia is 0
alkalinity is low around 7 and calcium is 420ish. My phosphate is showing .5 on the Milwaukee meter.

I need to get back into a groove and with working 16+ hours a day I have been slacking. Is there something I need to change with my routine, do I need a fuge or maybe a bigger sump? I only have 5 fish and they are all small- so my bioload shouldn't be heavy.

On the contrary my good friend has a 90 and never has done a waterchange in about 3 years, his SPS are thriving and his tank is amazing :facepalm:

Here is my original build thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2477769

 

[mr9iron]

Well, your alkalinity seems somewhat low, and your phosphates are high. I think that if you get these two parameters back in check you will be on the road to recovery.

 

[shifty51008]

I agree with the phosphates, lower those to .03. You will have to change the gfo daily though till you get it down as gfo fills up within 24 hours with high levels. Once you get it down to .03 then it should last a month or ao before needing changed depending on if you add phosphates to the tank. Only testing will tell how often to change.

 

[C.Eymann]

I would use phosphate sponge for 24-48 hrs to lower your PO4 then continue with GFO to maintain the desired range, phosphate sponge is great at taking out a large amount of PO4 all at once, GFO, not so much, but make sure to remove it within 48hrs.

Also just because you only have 1" of sand doesn't mean it wont trap detritus/nutrients, What are you housing fish wise in the system?? feeding routine?? is it aquascaped in a way which would allow detritus to build up behind the rock structure?

Basically track down the source of your nutrient issue, also in the mean time, manually removing algae will help with getting those algae bound nutrients out of the system (think algae scrubber)

 

[DDon]

Do you have any pictures of the brown algae? When I hear brown algae all over and coral loss, my mind goes to dinos.
Also, have you double checked your phosphate readings? 0.5 is pretty high and seems out of place for your loading and the fact you are running high capacity GFO and changing regularly.

 

[Mxman38]

I would use phosphate sponge for 24-48 hrs to lower your PO4 then continue with GFO to maintain the desired range, phosphate sponge is great at taking out a large amount of PO4 all at once, GFO, not so much, but make sure to remove it within 48hrs.

Also just because you only have 1" of sand doesn't mean it wont trap detritus/nutrients, What are you housing fish wise in the system?? feeding routine?? is it aquascaped in a way which would allow detritus to build up behind the rock structure?

Basically track down the source of your nutrient issue, also in the mean time, manually removing algae will help with getting those algae bound nutrients out of the system (think algae scrubber)

I totally forgot about P04 sponges; I will put some in my sump for a few days and then change GFO to get my readings back to normal. I have a hippo, sailfin, foxface, small clown, diamond goby, a 2 shrimp. I had an outbreak of ich and lost my big naso and kole tang. I feed frozen once a day- typically rinse it out before feeding. plenty of room behind rockwork (thread with pics attached in original post).

Do you have any pictures of the brown algae? When I hear brown algae all over and coral loss, my mind goes to dinos.
Also, have you double checked your phosphate readings? 0.5 is pretty high and seems out of place for your loading and the fact you are running high capacity GFO and changing regularly.

Yeah.... the more I think about it my LFS sold me about 20lbs of dry rock and said it would be okay to mix in my tank.... maybe that leached P04 and started increasing my levels over the 3 months? Same brown algae found on the glass, is on the coralline.

 

[yellowRubi]

You are using the blue bucket red sea salt?

 

[Mxman38]

You are using the blue bucket red sea salt?

Sorry I just double checked... i switched to Red Sea Coral Pro.... its black. I was using the bio actif... heard good reviews about red sea and got it for a discount... 30 bucks cheaper.

 

[Reef Critter]

Are you using RO water for your changes? If so, check the water quality. It may be time for new filters. You could just be pouring bad water back into the tank with your changes. Just a though..