Project save my tank.

Markk96

Markk96

Premium Member
My tank is going downhill, not sure why, I have replaced all my bulbs, RO/DI filters, water changes, skimmer is pulling out some nasty stuff.

I have nothing but nasty stringy brown algae, which seems to get worse when I do a water chage, so I am thinking salt, my RO/DI is 0 TDS with the new DI filters.

Phosphates are probably the issue, but who knows with out a really high end phosphate reading kit.

I am running Phosphate remover, carbon and have cranked up my ozone. I am opening up a new bucket of salt and will do a water change with that.

If I do not get it under control then I will just take it down and start planning what to do with the empty hole in the wall.
 
Sounds like excess nutrients but you never know with a reef tank:(

Have you changed your GFO recently? Are you running enough to make a dent in the phosphates if they are really high? A meter would be good to test the tank water and the water coming out of the GFO container.

Is your refractometer accurate? Perhaps, you could cut down on the photoperiod a bit as new bulbs might not be helping?
 
I changed out my GFO tonight, so we will see what that does, my lights are going off for a couple of days.

I am thinking of just taking my sump down, cleaning it and put it back in place as well, but that is a major ordeal.
 
Is the stringy algae dinoflagellates? Decreasing light will definitely knock them down as will raising ph, dripping kalk and limiting nutrient input.
 
Yeah it is dinoflagellates for sure IMO, I think some of it is killing my snails, so it is probably toxic to them. I do not drip Kalk, so maybe I should start?
 
I fought that a while ago ( few years ) dripped kalk, dropped my photo period and it did seemed to help. I have a 2.5 gallon dripper you could have.
 
Summarized solutions:

1. Reduce available nutrients in the water. These include nitrate and especially phosphate. In a severe case, the concerns with driving phosphate too low may be minor compared to the dinoflagellates (and their toxins). In addition to the usual ways of reducing nutrients (skimming, growing macroalgae, deep sand beds, etc.), aquarists should consider very aggressive use of granular ferric oxide (GFO). Putting a larger than normally recommended amount into a canister filter or reactor, and changing it every few days, may help. Don't bother to measure the phosphate level, because the goal is to have it well below normally detectable levels (say, 0.02 ppm).

2. Reduce the photoperiod to four hours per day. This may help to keep the dinoflagellates under control, but by itself will not usually eradicate them.

3. Use more than normal amounts of activated carbon, and possibly ozone, to deal with toxins that the dinoflagellates may be releasing. This may allow snails and other organisms to survive while the dinoflagellates are still at nuisance levels.

4. Manually siphon out as much of the mass of dinoflagellates as possible. Daily removal would be preferable to keep populations at a reduced level.
 
I will buy some kalk and use a bucket to drip it with, or mix it with my topoff water. This is just some nasty stuff, corals look great, but it starting to hang off them.


Thanks Dave I have read that.
 
Sounds like dynos to me too.

I would raise alk and reduce photo period.

It sounds like you have decent flow but make sure the bottom of the tank's water is getting a good amount on laminar flow vs turbid flow. Your sand needs to be swept clean and chemical/gas exchanges HAVE to take place down there, not just the upper part of the water.
 
PS

If any corals have been recently fragged put them in a different location, like a frag system because it will penetrate the wound and kill it. Rinse them off in NSW of coarse before you relocate them.
 
My tank has high flow, and this algae seems to love high flow, it grows right in the direct path. The sand is moved around so I am not worried about that.

Moving the corals to a different system is not an option right now.

Yeah John this stuff sucks.
 
Mark, I am so sorry, I know all the time and energy you have put into your system. I really hope you get this beat.
Wish you the best of luck.
 
I'll be there Friday morning with a truck to load the tank and all the equipment up. Problem solved. hehehe


Mark, it sounds like you are on the right path, stay the course and it will correct itself.
 
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