Help me get my tank back on track, please!

D

DeepThought

New member
When I started this tank (75g mixed reef) I had high hopes that it would look just as good as a tank that I had seven years ago... but so far, no dice. My tank has now officially had it's 6 month birthday and I need some help. I need someone with experience on how to get a tank back on track to help me out. I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

I haven't had a fully blown successful reef tank in about two years. I've been in school and working full time and doing a lot of things in between and haven't really had a whole lot of time to devote to a tank. BUT, I want that to change. I have been loosing my passion for saltwater aquariums slowly over the last two years and I have within the last two weeks thought about giving it up on more than one occasion. So, I'm reaching out to you... to those on the board that can offer me some advice to get my tank back on track.



Here's the stats, just in case your not up to date on my build thread. I want everyone to know everything about the system so that they can make some judgement calls...



75g tank with glass holes overflow

20g long sump - one end baffled with mechanical filter, middle (will be) small refugium, end is the mag 9 return.

~60lbs live rock in the system

~20lbs base rock in the system

~40lbs course aragonite in the display tank



Livestock:

1 yellow tang

2 tomato clowns

1 bicolor blenny

1 diamond goby - going back to the store once the cyano is under control. dang thing stirs up the sandbed too much.

1 purple pseudochromis

21 hermit crabs

3 mexican turbos

2 nerites left

1 feather duster



Corals:

a few dying SPS frags

1 large basketball sized nepthia (recent)

1 zoanthid colony

1 small head of frogspawn



Equipment:

500w titanium heater

mag 9 return pump

octopus ca 125 calcium reactor w/ 5lb co2 bottle

Octopus Diablo XS160 protein skimmer rated for 160g aquarium - (manufacturer recommended 90-110g)

Apex Jr. Aquacontroller with Temp probe... (soon to buy PM1 module for the pH probe.)

4x54w T5HO DIY retrofit kit with unfinished canopy

2x koralia 4's



Parameters:

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate 5-10ppm

Phosphate - crappy kit, can't read.

pH - inaccurate at this point. my guess is that it is relatively stable. I will be buying a probe soon.

Temp: currently 79.2F It varies between 78F at night and 80.5 during the day. Measured by my Apex Jr.

Calcium: 400ppm

Alk: 6mEQ/L - I turned up the effluent on my calcium reactor so the alkalinity may come down some.

Magnesium: 1200mg/L



Problems...



1. Cyanobacteria is growing on the sandbed and now some on the rocks. Diamond goby is mopping it up but I'm taking him back to the store after he finishes cleaning the rest of it up by next week or so. He's making too much of a sand cloud in the tank to keep him. The cyano has started approximately 3 weeks ago and has progressively gotten worse over time. I have siphoned some out, I have done a few 5g water changes. Other then that I haven't really done anything else about it. But, I am ready to.



2. My Reef Octopus Diablo XS160 cone protein skimmer isn't pulling anything out of the water. We have already really talked about this subject elsewhere and the manufacturer suggested that I have too big of a skimmer on my tank and need to downsize. This is a possibility. I have had my SC65 skimmer going for the last few days and it is making some skimmate but not a whole lot - even though I am having some difficulties with cyano. It's just kinda bothering me that I know I have some nutrient accumulation but a protein skimmer isn't pulling anything out of my system - which is really, really weird to me.



3. My SPS frags that I have purchased - some of them are dying and some of them are actually coloring up. I don't really know what gives. I know that I probably have some phosphate in the system.



4. Coralline algae just doesn't want to seem to grow and take a foothold. I would really prefer my side glass, overflow, and rocks to be purple if they aren't covered with corals. It just seems like the coralline doesn't want to take a foothold no matter what I do.



5. limited time and funds - I love the hobby and love to look at my tank - but I have spent a lot of money on it so far and I want it to work!!! I am willing to put more time and if necessary more money into my system but I'm at the point where if I don't see some improvement in my tank in the next six months I almost feel like selling off all of my equipment and saving my money - buying a truck and saving up for some land in the country - cause God knows I could have already bought my piece of heaven on Earth if I didn't have this addiction to saltwater aquariums. Just sayin' I'm not satisfied. I know I can do better. I just am missing some kind of secret ingredient - oh yeah, it's called "success."

What I want out of it...

1. I want to get the cyano under control.
2. I want to find a skimmer that works for my system. - something that will actually pull skimmate and function as it should.
3. I want some recommendations as far as additional livestock is concerned.... clean up crews, microfauna, reef safe and effective beautiful fish that are compatible with what I already have.
4. I want some pretty purple coralline algae to start growing over everything that isn't covered by a coral.
5. When my family comes to visit, I want them to go WOW!
6. I want some LED light recommendations as well... I prefer a more white/almost yellow look to a tank and all of these new LED lights are sooo overpowering in the blue range it's crazy. I just want something that will look good to my eyes and that can be adjusted and controlled to my eyes as I see fit.
7. I don't want to spend any more money on SPS frags until I know they will not die in my system. But, after I know I can get my parameters straight and consistent, I want to get back into SPS frags in the next year or so.

In general, please help me.
 
So... what should I do?

I was thinking... steps in order...

* 20g water change ASAP
1. Add my phosphate reactor back to my system.
2. Add some GAC back to my system
3. Add macroalgaes, copepods, and other critters to my tank to help with filtration.
4. upgrading my light system to an LED system..

I don't honestly know where I should start, besides a water change and siphoning out the cyano. I just want to get my tank back on track and need some helpful advice...
 
Get your cal, alk, and mag stabilized. Have you thought about running bio pellets? I would also add some more nerite snails and maybe a sand sifting star fish to keep the sand bed stirred up, but that's it for livestock until you get things under control. Do you have enough flow across your sandbed? Cyano often grown in low flow areas. How long is your lighting period?
 
Sorry for your frustrations. If it was my tank first thing I would do is invest in some test kits that are considered good. (salifert,red sea,Hanna,Elos ).. You need to know without a doubt what your levels are(well as good as a hobby test can give). Not knowing what your P04 levels are and having issues with corals and cyano could be the only thing wrong..

For the cyano I would do a 3 day lights out and syphon all you can before to kill it off. It may take more then one treatment but doing that once a month should knock it right out. And find the too cause of it. Being either nutrients,flow or old lights could even be natural light shining in the tank.. That being said your skimmer has to be in good shape to pull all the dead red out. Making sure you are running it in the right depth of water I'm sure you already went over in the other thread. And in my experience a diamond goby doesn't eat cyano he may just be moving it around. I'm strongly guessing that you have a phosphate issue and running GFO should help you out along with weekly water changes.guessing you do run RODI water and a decent salt mix to rule that out.

As for the skimmer maybe it is oversized for the tank and maybe think of trading it to someone local from RC for a smaller one. I personally would keep it for when your tank grows in and just rock the SCA for now..

Why run a calcium reactor if the demand is low and not testing PH? Not knowing what your PH is and running a calcium reactor is like playing Russian roulette with your tank.. Your PH could be seriously low due to the reactor. I personally would take it off line untill (1) you have a constant means to test PH (2) when the demand in the tank calls for it. From the stock list I'm guessing weekly water changes will prob keep up with demand If the SPS are frags as you stated.

As for the LED its all about how much you wanna spend. You can either DIY one or get an off the shelf one. Have you seen reefbreeders lights? They are a sponsor on RC and have some affordable lights that are half the price of the AI and ecotech ones and are fully controllable and you can have the spectrum customized to what you want. I'm guessing you want a 10k look on the yellow side so just say that to Reefbreeders and they will hook you up. I have one of the value fixture(bought from the manufacturer not reefbreeders)and have been customizing it myself soldering in different LEDs and this thing rocks. I paid $180 for a 120 watt Dimmable LED.. Do your research on what you want and def do your research on acclimation to the LEDs. I came from a 150 MH to a 120 watt LED running under 60% you will bleach all corals if you don't start LOW.. A lot of info in the Chinese led thread or just got to the reefbreeders website and check them out. If your handy you can probably do a nice DIY one from rapid and integrate it into your controller but I guarantee that will be more expensive than the phantom series of LEDs they offer.

Water changes ,macro algae,and pods can do nothing but help the situation so I say go for it. My advice is just my opinion and what I would do to solve the issue.. Having quality test kits I think is the most important thing to have in a situation like yours. Testing newly made batches of saltwater should be added to your routine if you dont do it already as I have been surprised more than once on fresh batches (buckets)of mix.I can never understand why guys will spend thousands on tank and equipment and rely on API test kits.
Good luck hope things work out for you and your tank gets back on track and gives you that satisfaction you once had.
 
Thank you so much for your comments.

I guess i will turn off the reactor tonight and make up some of Randy's recipes.

Ill put in an order for macroalgae and critters tonight. I might be able to get a cup of true live sand from a buddy.

I use seachem reef test kits. They are as accurate as i can afford. The pm1 module for my apex should be in by not this week but the next.
 
No problem I hope it works out for you.

As for dosing how much alk and cal get used daily? You may need to dose but I'm guessing not much as your tank doesn't seem like its very stocked..Have you thought about kalk? Def the cheapest and easiest form of dosing hands down. And you already have the calcium reactor for when it can't keep up in the future if that ever happens. A lot of guys actually use the two together to combat the low PH from the reactor by supplementing kalk to raise the PH. Again good luck.
 
My tank uses approximately 80ppm ca per week and anywhere from 2-3dKH.

Limewater is an interesting solution to the calcium and alkalinity question.


So far i have gotten a diverse array of answers from other forums but for the most part i am hearing :

Carbon/gfo
Macroalgae and critters
Turn ca rx off.
Possibly upgrade lights.
 
I pulled my skimmer and cleaned it.

I figured out a problem though... I looked at my calcium reactor really, really well to make sure everything was working and to say good bye to it for a little while. Well, I noticed that originally, I had the bubble counter filled with bubble counter fluid. Well, I just looked at it, and the entire thing is filled with saltwater. Apparently, bubble counting liquid got into my tank. If I am not mistaken, this liquid is kinda like mineral oil... Oil had gotten into my system and that is why my protein skimmer(s) weren't skimming very well. It also explains why some of my more sensitive corals are dying away.

I'm definitely going to do a few large water changes as soon as possible to get rid of as much leftover oil in the system as I can. I'll be siphoning out the bottom of my sump to get rid of any oil that might have settled on the bottom. (oil is more dense than water).

So... one problem will be fixed sooner rather than later.

I'll be purchasing macroalgae pretty soon. Can't today - I might on Monday.

I re-checked my salinity and it's at 1.023. It was at 1.026 at one time. I hope to bring the salinity back up after these few large water changes.

After I cleaned my skimmer today and did a small water change, it's finally making a small foam head again. Maybe after I rid the system of my mistake, my skimmer will be running full speed ahead again. I'll be glad when it does.
 
Glad you found something out of the ordinary. Good find:-). Maybe mineral oil is different but I've always known oils to float.

I would think the skimmer would pull oil out as it does fats but your prob right as it prob coated the insides causing the bubbles to pop prematurely. I would get a shop vac and do a full clean out of the sump if it was me. I actually do that about twice a year on the frag tank to rid it of detritus and it does a good job at keeping nitrates at bay. Maybe even a vinegar soak of the skimmer to increase performance.

I would def hook up that reactor and get some GAC in the system. I run carbon 24/7 on both my tanks. Some do some don't I just always thought it best to do so being I run a mixed reef.

Keep us posted on the progress and hope you get back to your happy place :-p
 
I would get some GFO in your sump or a reactor ASAP! I cant even begin to tell you the difference it made for me. I was at the point you are in the early summer of last year. Tank was about a year old and i had done EVERYTHING possible to reduce phosphate and control my algae, besides run gfo. I found a product called chemi pure elite which is a mixture of carbon and gfo , much more carbon tho, and used that plus brs gfo and it made all the difference. The remainder of the algae went away after a few water changes and allowed me to focus on other things in the tank. After you do that, i would nail out a solid husbandry plan for maintenance and parameter control and stick to it religously. Make up a chart or just get a notebook and keep a log of your weekly testing, water changes, equipment maintenance, and overal state of your reef tank. That way if something is fluctuating you can easily refer to your book and figure out the problem and make a plan to fix it. As for the yellow look you want, geisemann makes a bulb called ge6500k. Throw one or two of them in with your other bulbs and that should def. fix your "blue " issue. Id also recommend that when your doing your weekly 10% water change, use the water your taking out of the tank and pull a piece or two of lr out each time and scrub it with a toothbrush to clean the algae off. As far as the skimmer goes , the one you have is excellent id keep it but if your not satisfied, try getting a bubble magus rated for your size tank. A buddy of mine just bought the hob version for his 60 gallon and its only been running a week and is already pulling crap out in beast mode style! Lastly id say just as another poster did, switch up the test kits. Knowing your tanks params accurately is the most important thing you can know. I know you dont have alot of funding right now for it but if you seitch to red sea, which are stellar btw, you can get them in combo cheaper than separately. Just buy one pack of them every other week and youll be golden. You can get the nitrate and phosphate combo kit for 45$ and the alk calcium and magnesium combo for 50$, so if you buy every other week its only 25 bucks a week!! Good luck i hope you get it back on track i know the feeling and i hope ive helped some, ill be subscribing to this thread in hopes we can get you going in the right direction again!!
 
The oil that you figure, leaked into the tank should have floated on the surface of the water. I've never known any type of oil to sink. As others mentioned, it would not hurt to run some carbon to help pull out any contaminants from the water. As I mentioned in my first post, I reccomend doing some reading on bio pellets. I had a huge hair algea problem and overall, my tank looked terrible. I ran carbon and gfo for awhile without much luck and good quality carbon and gfo is quite expensive to be changing regularly. Now I run a reactor with bio pellets and don't have any algea at all and my tank is doing great!
 
I agree with Dapg8gt 100%. Get those params in check. Adding GFO, lights out for 3 days, Calcium Reactor off. Dose kalk. And Id def consider going to LEDs. Those temp swings are a little too large. Id say No on the biopellets. Biopellets sounds like a very bad idea at this point in the game. Not necessary. Tank sould be good in no time.
 
Alright. So, i did a 5g water change. Im still collecting water for the larger water change. My skimmer is workin a little better now as well. I added thr phosphate reactor back to the system and will be adding some carbon to the tank this evening. I also am slowly raising up my magnesium levels over the course of the next couple days to 1350mg/L. I mixed up equal parts magnesium cloride and magnesium sulfate to get close to nsw.

Still debating on lights. I could buy four more t5 bulbs and a ballast and have eight bulbs over my 75g and spend about $150. I also have the option of buying a full spectrum led unit for $420 and have no idea on performance. What would you guys do over a 75g mixed reef? Led or stick with t5?
 
I added more magnesium this morning. Should have gotten up to 1300 as of this morning. I am going to add 12 more ounces and retest all of my levels tonight.

I have left the lights completely off today and tomorrow. The macroalgae should be arriving tomorrow. Im going to bite the bullet and treat my system with red slime remover on wednesday or thursday. Ill be turning my diablo skimmer on tonight to get a head start.

That diamond goby is going back either this evening or possibly thursday. Its stirring up wayy too much sand in the system.
 
You might want to research that red slime remover. Its just gonna mask the problem not eliminate it. I've used it a looooong time ago in a nano but have read some stories of tank wipeouts with it. I would try the lights out for 3 days and see from there. Increased removal of it, flow and waterchanges should do it.. JMO though good luck and glad to see its coming around.
 
This seems to be the only thread on the net regarding mineral oil getting into reef tanks. This just recently happened to me a couple weeks ago on my 90g reef tank and I'm loosing virtually all my sps. Some how the mineral oil in my aquamax star calcium reactor got sucked into the tank. Things started looking bad a few weeks ago so I did my usual 10g per week water change, checked params which were spot on but nothing changed. I then did another 10g water change later that week, tested parameters which again were spot on and things were still getting worse. I then took a water sample to my LFS for a parameter check to make sure my test kits were ok and sure enough they were. Also not that my filter socks were overflowing in 1-2 days. They were coated with a clear slime. My LFS said he thought it was coral slime seeing as they were stressed. When I got back from LFS I noticed there was no air gap in my bubble counter on my reactor. I noticed the co2 bubbles were traveling all the way to the top. Normally the counter is half to 3/4 full of mineral oil. I then shook the reactor and sure enough the reactor bubble counter was full of water, all the way to the top! Sooooooo. I then did a 50 gallon water change, took out sump and cleaned all components like skimmer, calc reactor, pumps, gfo reactor, heaters, purigen bags etc. So far the slime seems to be gone from the bags, I installed a check valve after bubble counter, and parameters are still all in check.

Unfortunately the sps still seems to be dying off and I am really discouraged. Does anyone have any advice for me beyond what I have already done?

Thx
 
gmehal,

Sorry to hear about your toubles. I don't know if this message will get to you or not, but I just wanted you to know that I feel your pain. I had a few things go completely wrong in my system - one of them being the mineral oil issue... which pretty much did the same thing to my tank. The second issue that happened which made me take the whole tank down was that my RO Unit carbon exhausted and ended up leaking chloramines into my tank, which caused some massive die offs and a lot of algae production. So, at this point I am kind of starting over and taking some redundancy steps to make sure that the next tank that I start will have everything properly in place and all precautions taken care of. It's not the best advice in the world, or probably something you want to hear - but at this point, I think it's safe to say that the easiest thing to do is... clean, clean, clean and pretty much start over.
 
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