Tank not aging well...

[steve9k]

...at least, not as well as I had hoped.

I got my 75g package in mid-April. My main problem is that (a) I'm not seeing nitrate at about 50ppm and (b) I have oodles of brown algae (which, according to the LFS, is not diatoms but *real* algae). I am assuming that the nitrate is causing/contributing to the aglae growth.

I always thought that anareobic bacteria in the live rock & sand would take care of the nitrate and convert it to nitrogen gas, but that doesn't seem to be happening. (I only use RO/DI water, and feed the fish once a day sparingly).

LFS guy suggested that I put the rock directly on the tank bottom and either remove the sand or put in the front of the tank and vaccuum during water changes. Which, of course, is counter to TBS's instructions.

Just wondering if any other TBS folk have any advice or suggestions.

 

[fancyfish]

have you checked your phosphates? also what about water flow. this is an important part of reefkeeping which is often overlooked. How often do you change your water? what about your skimmer? do you get a reasonable amount of skimmate. if not you may need to adjust. good skimming is by far one of the most important pieces to the reef keeping puzzle. I am no expert but have found through my experience that these things are very important.

 

[steve9k]

I have two powerheads running, plus the sump return, so I think water flow is pretty good. Get lots o' skimmate -- very dark, foul-smelling stuff. Water change: about 10% once a month.

Are there any critters that will eat the stuff? The snails that came with the package don't seem to do much with it.

 

[wooglin]

Two power head and the sump return may not be enough. What kind of powerheads?

In my 75 gallon TBS tank I have about 4000 gallons per hour of flow. Even with that much flow I still have dead spots.