Tank Collapse!

G

goulding.c

Member
My tank was fine for 5 years until I had my first baby. She is so cute with mommy's blue eyes. Anyway, my biweekly waterchanges of 40 gallons on my 125 with 55 sump got slower every 3 or 4 weeks, then the hair algea blew up big time! it is growing ove rmy corals, my monti is bleached out, I have not tested water in 3 years since everything was so good until tonight. My Calcium is 350 ppm, alk is 7.5 meq/l. My other test kits are so old I dont trust them. I ordered new ones tonight.

Please help, I have added extra ph remover in bags, changed my mh bulbs, turned off my blue pc bulbs completly. I have changed water every week for 3 weeks now trying to suck out algea but its going nuts!

It all started when I removed to much kelp from the sump about 6 months ago, then it took the chance to over gain it. Now the sump is stuffed with kelp again but the tank is also stuffed with hair algea.

Please help!!
 
I would turn off your lights for at least a couple of days. It won't hurt your corals and it should slow down the HA growth. Also, what is your bio-load and how much do you feed?
 
I wouldn't turn off the lights for a few days. Maybe one day at the most. I would recommend decreasing the photoperiod by maybe a few hours a day. Run Phosphate remover for a while, keep up on the water changes and make sure your top off is good ro/di water. Assuming you are using your own filter or purchasing ro/di water have you checked the tds of it. If its more than 10 I would change the filters or get ro/di somewhere else. Ideally you want 0 tds. I might be "preaching to the choir" since you said you have been doing this for 5 years. Just my 2 cents. Good Luck
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15507602#post15507602 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sanababit
use algaefix marine and kiss your problem goodbye

sana
Click to expand...

this. it really does work. I can attest and there's a whole thread on RC about how it has worked for countless others.

of course, it's not a substitute for good housekeeping habits--like regular water changes--which you appear to already be doing.
 
I agree with have good housekeeping habits to control your HA. I've been suffering from HA for the last year or two. My weekly WCs became monthly to every 2 months or longer. However, I'm slowly winning the war. Earlier in the year, I had used a phosban reactor, an anti-algae chemical that killed off most of my shrimp and clam (not algaefix), turned off lights, added more hermits and snails, etc etc. It didn't really put a dent in the HA growth. However, during the last month my tank has improved quite a bit. The only things I have been doing are weekly WCs, changed the light in my sump for better chaeto growth, daily removal of HA from rocks, bought a Vortech to replace 2 Koralias in my tank for better flow (much less dead spots and debris on rocks), and added a couple of emerald craps and some more hermits. I don't run phosban, or add any chemicals. I have 0 ammonia, nitrite and nitrats. I think in another month, all of my HA should be gone.
 
My ro unit is 6 months old, I will re test tds tonight, bulbs have been replaced, lights cut back on time, added emeralds 3 months ago, have not seen them since, I ordered all new test kits mine were pretty old,

I think I am getting my water chem out of wack also last night, my calcium was 350 with an alk of 7.5. its been a while since I was up dated on my levels but those sound low to me. Any thoughts? I added carbon and a new pho remover last night. I was told to only use the brown pho remover as the white stuff just leaches back out. I have bumped up to weekly 40 gallon changes. Anything else I am missing here?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15507907#post15507907 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kikireef
I wouldn't turn off the lights for a few days.
Click to expand...

Why not? It seems like it's worth a try. Many have tried this with success.
 
try to scrape it all off and manually get rid of as much as you can then add some GFO in a media reactor. worked like a charm. have never found anything that will eat it.
 
the alk read 7.5 if i did it right but the kit is very old also over a year. i ordered a new one. I heard the idea on the reactor tubes but what is the gfo?? Is that the other type of phosphorous media that is brown??

Can someone give me an idea on where about my levels should be. I remember there were some tables and calculators on the net but I don't remember where???
 
So here is another thought, my system has a 55 sump under the stand. that is terrible to try and work on, can't get to skimmers ect... My wife and I have talked about making a sump room in the basement under the tank, and just pumping up to the tank threw the floor. Thats already how I do my water changes. So if I do this the easiest way is to build the whole new sump plumb intot eh tank and then just shut down the old one and remove. Does anyone have any advice here? I was thinking of using a rubber horse water tub tht see most stores use. And maybe having a shallow large pan for my kelp stuf to grow like mad. I figure this woulb be a good time. I can't even add the phos reactor without great pain because I am so tight right now. Thanks everyone!!!
 
I just retested calcium and alk, and the new test kit for calcium is showing 350, the old alk kit is showing 7.5. It was 14 to 15 drops to change color on the alk. Hopefully the new kit will be in tomorrow. Let me know if anyone has ideas on the sump.
 
I would use a 100 gallon rubbermaid horse watering tub for the sump and use an external pump plumbed through the drain of that rubbermaid.
 
That is what I was thinking. My wife and I own a metal fabricating shop, if I get to crazy I was thinking of making a large rectangular sump out of stainless with a tray system for water to trickle over kelp and then into the sump. But, that would be more work. Should I fill the tub with reef rock and make trays to hold things like protein skimmers, ect.. Thanks!!
 
1.) You should be using the phosphate media in a reactor. The "brown stuff" and GFO, which is short for granular ferric oxide, are one in the same.

2.) I'm not sure what you have in your sump, but it's not kelp. Most likely Caulerpa or Chaetomorpha.

3.) 7.5 is most likely a measure of dKH and not meq/l, which is close to where you want it, though a little low if you're not running something to maintain is there constantly.

4.) Stainless isn't really stainless and it will corode in saltwater.

Maybe try to find someone that does acrylic work that is willing to barter for some metal work.
 
1. Yes I need the reactor, just not much room

2. Its not kelp it is caulerpa, I just call it kelp for fear of misspelling caulerpa or the chaeto stuf, sorry for being short on this

3. Not sure on the dkh this is the test were you add drops until the color change, then divide by 2 and and it says each drop is = to .5meq/L. It says meq/L all over the instructions so I must be high.

4. There are differant grades of stainless, some do rust such as cheap stainless exhaust for cars and trucks i think this is 304 , other forms will almost never corrode 309 maybe I have to check, The magnet test is crude but it will let you know how good it is. Really good stainless has no magnetic properties, impurities in the cheaper stuf make sit slighlty magnetic. I have made little stands and pcs in the past that do not have a single stain on them for 6 years now submerged.

On the sump issue, I have a 4'x4'x2' deap fiberglass pond that is empty, I am thinking of starting a new sump set up this weekend so I have more room and a better set up. Should I fill with reef rock? It will be nice to have my 2 skimmers and other equipment were I can finally service it easily!

Thanks For everybodies help!!!
 
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