Pretty Bummed.... Several Issues,

Vapour1ze

I'm an Addict.
Well everything has been going good since I started the tank build,,, moving along great, recently though ever since about a week after I finally got my halides on I'm getting browinsh and greenish algae all over my glass, magfloating daily,,, Then my sand starts turning brown,,,, now my live rock is turning brown and pretty bad in some patches,,, not sure it doesn't really look like a turf or slime algae, but just like the rock is looking sick,,, also I've had a small flatworm infestation which was bad which I nuked twice with the blue life flatworm control, never saw one fall off after adding the chemical.... so I think this product is a P.O.S ! in my opinion. 3-4 weeks ago the tank was algae free, white sand, everything doing good.

Today, algae, sand is nasty, tank doesn't have the pop that it did a month ago, and the tank is only 2 MONTHS OLD!

Phosphate? Well the API test that is terrible says 0, but thats ridiculous anyway, I'm running a reactor but with carbon, not phosban.. Overfeeding? I don't think so I feed a chunk of rods, and it usuallys gets devoured before hitting sand or rock,,,...

RO/DI Water yes I'm using it.... Filters are as old as the tank,,, 2 months. Not sure where to take this route, I think that this week I'm getting a diamond goby.

I do have a lot of fish however my total system volume is over 150 gallons, having the display be the 90...

Stock List,
-2 Yellow Clown Gobys
-1 Mandarin
-GoldRim Tang 4 - 5 in"
-Yellow Tang 4 - 5 in"
-Maroon Clown
-SnowFlake Eel
-Cleaner Wrasse
-Sixline Wrasse
-2 Chromis
-Peppermint Shrimp
-Crabs and Snails but a handful of each, not many.....

BTW Corals are all still doing good,,,, SPS have polyps open still and are growing,,, everythings open.... Not sure whats going on,,,, I water change about 10 gallons a week... plus about a gallon a day of top off.
 
That is frustrating. In my experience, my algae problems seemed to be from problems with my skimmer. Whenever I got my skimmer tuned in, my algae problems went away. Just a suggestion to monitor your skimmer. Do you have a refugium?
 
If you have algae, you have phosphate. That's one.
The brown is cyano, an ordinary phase. Do lightsout for 3 days, 4th actinic once a month, and yes, hard skimming, to get the dieoff out. Stay away from Red Slime Remover and its ilk for a newish tank. Rely on depriving it of light.
 
Just checked out your thread. Tank looks good there. I also see that you do have a refugium. Another thing I did to cut down on the algae growth on my glass was to increase the flow to my refugium. Just another idea. Keep us updated.
 
a neighbor went through the sam thing. i went over there and he had bought some very cheap bulbs thay we found to be the source if the issue.
 
At 2 months, I would not sweat anything, it will cycle through after a couple more months--do more WCs more frequently, increase flow if possible (not that I know your current flow).
I would suspect it to stabilize after 8-10 months.
I'll bet your rock is leaching out nutrients-- Rowaphos would help immensely.
 
Took my tank nine months to get rid of the algae problems (knock on wood). API kits showed 0 phosphates consistently. A month ago I used a Hanna photometer to start testing phosphates and had 0.08, plenty high for algae problems. No more phosphate kits for me. Increased skimming, rinse my food, and use GFO in one reactor and carbon in another. Tank stays clean with light touch ups every 7-10 days.
 
-2 Yellow Clown Gobys
-1 Mandarin
-GoldRim Tang 4 - 5 in"
-Yellow Tang 4 - 5 in"
-Maroon Clown
-SnowFlake Eel
-Cleaner Wrasse
-Sixline Wrasse
-2 Chromis
-Peppermint Shrimp
-Crabs and Snails but a handful of each, not many.....

I think you went a little qick. This is a big bioload for a 2 month old tank. I would not add anything else. Good skimming, carbon, phosban, cleanup crew, and frequent water changes will be needed. Do you have a fuge set up with cheato?
 
yes running a seperate 20g tank with 3 in. sand bed and chaeto and some rubble..... connected to the split of my drain from the display.....which is why i was thinking the phosphate thing should be at zero because wouldnt the cheato be consuming it or no
 
dude, your tank is only 2 months old, when i went thru that phase it was really frustrating but it will go away on its own just keep up with maintenance, since you already have some stock it might take a little more time for your tank to mature, steer away from the chemicals for now and if you really want to take care of the problem turn the light off for 3 days, use phosban, feed less, change water, and it will go away......FWIW i let the tank do its thing and just keep up on maintenance... good luck

sana
 
yea??? i dont know im a freaking worrier i guess i like everything to look and stay clean......... haa,,, i think i will get another reactor though and run some gfo...
 
yea some parts of the rock look like this,,,
cyano_alg_id_wwm_cody.jpg
from being nice and purplish white like a month ago =/ the spots that arent having this on them are just turning like a really dark color...
 
What happened is that the adding of the new lights shined a light (( pun intended )) on an existing problem -- excess nutrients in your tank.

You have a very high bio-load for a 2 month old 90 gallon tank. I see this being a continuing issue.
 
You just switched to Halide lighting? I'm thinking that your tank is having a LOT mor e photosynthesis going on because of that and this has a lot to do with the algae bloom your experiencing. I also agree that is a pretty big load on a 2 month old tank. Those algae blooms are just a cycle that everybody goes thru with a new tank though. Make sure your doing your water changes with good RO water. Make sure its good stuff with a TDS meter. Also make sure you have a good skimmer and its working efficiently.

Also you might want to increase your cleanup crew. I'd get about 25 or so turbo's and they will help to devour that algae you have going.

Good luck,
Chris
 
i keep up on changes usually skimmer pulls out some good stuff,,, i was just thinking its happening because of my ro filters getting bad maybe,,, but its only been 2 months, or phosphate.... but i thought cheato ate up phosphate,, i really dont think the bioload is that bad, its a big system total volume wise..
 
+1 on the turbos. I had a similar breakout in my 29g and it was all devoured literally overnight.

Even though your tank does have a larger volume, adding stock should still be a slow process or it can throw off your params.

I agree with sanababit. Just let the tank do its thing. I've noticed that even the most balanced tanks go through phases.
 
From what I have read you have to be careful with flatworm exit because it will kill all the flatworms all at once. that will cause all of your other problems to skyrocket. My tank is 5 months old and it cleared it self of the hair and slime algae at about 4 months. I have a much lower bioload though. it may take yours a bit longer.
 
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