ready to give up....

[ZOOT098]

ok so it been like three weks at least if not four and my tank is still coudy and green (phytoplankton)
i have done huge water changes every other day 20-25%
backed off at other members reccomendation when i hit 50%
then went to bi weekly 20% changes
have been using a 100 micron filtersock, which i have to change every other day
skimming like crazy
even started running a phosphate reactor
still cloudy and green, looks like shit

kind of at the end of my rope dont know what else to do:frustrat:

help

 

[yote]

Have you tryed leaving the lights off for a few days?And is the tank getting any direct sun light?
If its that bad,I'd probably try a 75% water change.But if you do,make sure the temp and salinity are right there with the tank.
We know how big a pain in the ass this stuff can be.We've all been there in one way or the other.

 

[reeffreak]

Are you using Ro water?

If this is a new cycling tank than let it cycle without light.You will still need to do water changes because the algae will die.

 

[ZOOT098]

no direct sunlight
have been using rodi water since setup

pain in the ass is a lighter term than i would choose at this point

i could gear up for a 75% change

my lfs is telling me to let it run its course, do normal water changes, dont change lighting cycles, and it will eventually go away, but how long is long enough?

the tank is new by most reefer standards (less than a year) but ive seen younger tanks than mine looking alot better

funny thing is the tank was fine, crystal clear, until i purchased a 10 pound piece of live rock from my lfs, then it went poof within 1 day of putting the rock in the tank

might be no connection but it seems wierd, she said all her rock is cured and ready to put in the tank

 

[Brat]

it might not have been cured and is going through a cycling.

 

[Piggy]

Did you happen to smell the rock before you put it in your tank? If not next time you go back to the LFS smell one and see if it stinks. If it does it's uncured LR. How big was this rock? What are your paremeter readings?

 

[joeman]

Are you running a UV Sterlizer? I had a similar outbreak for no apparent reason once - whole tank turned into Pea soup!!! I tried a few things until I read that a UV would help. It cleared it up in 2 days.

 

[gasman]

I heard the same thing about a uv sterlizer I would try that next.

 

[Melonbob]

I had major problems at a few months in, in my case, cyano and hair algae. I ended up fixing it by feeding less, running Marine SAT and keeping up on water changes. It did however, bug me for about 3 mths. My point is, don't give up. Once you're past this, it gets alot easier

 

[Altohombre]

do you have a skimmer running? I have had good success with Sera Marin Silicate Clear which clears your tank of silicates that diatoms and other algae feed off of. You would also need to keep running phosphate as well. Maybe stick some extra carbon in your tank to help clear it up.

 

[messiah023]

Zoot,

"my lfs is telling me to let it run its course, do normal water changes, dont change lighting cycles"

What are your lighting cycles?

If you have an algae buildup of this size, you are only feeding it with lighting.

You should light for like 6-8 hours per day (for the corals).
You are 2 months in, I don't think you have corals yet, so I would shut down the nutritional source for the algae (LIGHTS)!

Also, what are the tank temps? You have a pretty good lighting fixture there, is the water getting too warm?

 

[ZOOT098]

water is steady at 79 degrees

my actinics come on around 6:00am and the daylights around 7:30, then daylights off around 8:30pm actinics off around 9:30pm

i am running a skimmer as well as draining the tank thru a 100 mic filter sock

i do have a few corals, so im not sure if cutting the lights out will hurt them or not

i do have a uv steralizer, i guess its worth a try to hook it up and see if it helps..

today i actually shut the lights out and wrapped the tank with a sheet to block ALL the light. Im going to let it go like that until tomorrow night.

 

[Melonbob]

you are running too much light IMHO, especially if you are having problems like this. My lights(actinics) come on at 11am and off at 8pm. I am slowly increasing, but my corals are having no problems with that amount of lighting. I was cut to about 5hrs a day when I had all my algae problems

 

[Bifferwine]

Most people keep their lights on for a maximum of 12 hours a day. In your case, yours are on at 6:00 and off at 9:30 -- that's 15.5 hours. That's a lot of light. Way too long since you are having algae problems.

If I were you, I'd turn all your lights off for 2 days (your corals will be fine). Then, start the lights again, but for 6 hours a day. Then, if you want, inch your way up (increase it by 1/2 hour every week) until you get to where you want to be. But I still wouldn't exceed 12 hours a day, total.

 

[joeman]

i do have a uv steralizer, i guess its worth a try to hook it up and see if it helps..

Yes, I would. All the other advice is going to help because it is about fixing the root cause of your problems, but if you are having a 'pea soup' outbreak of algae, then your UV will eliminate it.

 

[yote]

I agree,You got WAY to much time with the lights on.
It wont hurt your corals at all to go a week with the lights off.But it'll sure starve out some algae.

 

[ZOOT098]

i will hook up the uv tonight
any recomendations on gal per hour through it???

also with the lighting, is that 6hours including turning the actinics on 1 hour before and after the daylights? which would be a total of 8 hours with some sort of light

 

[messiah023]

Zoot,

You can do 6 - 8 hours total... not true need to spread the actinics for the extra hours. Corals will typically need no more than the 6 hours. The extra hours are for our own selfish pleasures (ooooh, that sounded dirty!).

Good luck...let us know how the UV worked....just keep the lights off though for the next day or so to kill the green monster.

 

[d.french]

8 a.m. for actinics and 10a.m. for all lights and then 4:00p.m. daytime lights off and actinics go off at 10 p.m. 14 hours of actinics and 6 of daytime light only in summer when its hot in fall and winter i run 7 to 8 hours daylight lights. once a week i run only actinic and when i fought algae for first year i would do a 2 days in row once a month with no lights to help get upper hand on algae since snails stay out eating with lights off. Honestly the more water changes i did the worst off i was, it was a constant cycle, i only do water changes once every 4 months, a good skimmer will take care of problems in your case i think uv sterilizer is great idea.

 

[ZOOT098]

you know french i found the same thing with water changes, it would clear up a little bit then by the next day same old thing, in the last month i would bet i turned the water in that tank over 3 times

i took the sheet off my tank today (after two days in complete darkness) and it really had cleared up alot, i could actually see the back of the tank.

im going to be away for the weekend, so i think i will set the light timers for three hours a day while im gone

hopefully i will have time to hook up the UV