Need some help!

[cgray07]

So I have a 90g DT with a 40b sump/fuge. I'm using a reef octopus diablo xs160 skimmer 300w dim-able red leds for a fuge light and 2 AI Vega colors for dt lighting. I have 2 clowns, an algae blenny, 25-30 snails, 30-40 hermits, a small gsp frag and a small firework polyp. My water is testing zero for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate with my API kit at home, and the same with Red Sea kits at my LFS. Phosphates are also reading zero with a Hannah reader at the LFS. I use fresh RO/DI that I make at 0-2 TDS for my water changes and ATO. My salinity is 1.025-1.026 and temp is consistent at 78 degrees. My problem is that I used dry rock against my better judgement without acid bathing it and now have an algae problem that I'm unsure how to solve! I have built a big algae turf scrubber (unfinished product included in pics) that will go online this weekend. I do weekly 30g water changes have reduced feeding but it just keeps growing! My LFS is suggesting that I pull all but a few small pieces of the rock and acid bath it then let it cycle for 2 weeks and put it back in the tank in hopes that the rock will stop leeching phosphate. Do you guys suggest this or putting the algae scrubber online and hoping that that works? I'm just at a loss and want to do this right so nothing dies! Thank you in advance for the replies and I apologize for the long post. I can also post more pics if needed!
-Connor

 

[Dr. Reef]

Scrubber is a band aid. You will have to fix the problem. I would take half of rocks out and clean them, acid bath them and then cycle them before returning them back to the main tank. Then repeat for the rest half. I have a feeling in a small system like urs pulling 95% of rock may throw tank in a mini cycle and remaining few rocks may not have enough real estate for bacteria to handle full bio load.

 

[cgray07]

Ok looks like I'll start the process tomorrow. Since my GSP and firework have been frowning is there any specific way to move them without killing them?