Here We Go, PICS Inside, And Yes...I Need Help ;-)

NewPortRichey

Sushi Anyone????????????
Ok, below are some crappy pics of my tank taken last night. It's been up and running for almost a year and a half now. I added a denitrator about 6 months ago. It's a 75 gallon bowfront, two metal halides and the usual flourescents and blue led's for the night. I have a protein skimmer in the sump. After about six months I started adding corals. Open brain, xenia, bubble and it all did great. But...:frustrat:...about 4 months ago everything died suddenly. I speculated that one of the anemone's died or something and released a toxin. My hippo tang got this SINGLE white spot on its side about the size of a dime but it eventually went away. Oh, I've got three tangs in there now, a couple of damsels and a big clown. Since everything died the tank has been overun with algae. Take a look at the photos but I think it's bubble algae. There's even some bubbles on top of the algae on the rocks. I checked my water parameters three nights ago and everything seems to be fine. I've purchased a refugium HOB and that should arrive tomorrow along with some codium and caulerpa. Here's a link to what's coming:
REFUGIUM STARTER KIT- 5 MACRO ALGAE, PODS, SNAILS STARS - (eBay item 130143373548 end time Aug-23-07 19:52:10 PDT)

So, by the looks of the photos I definitely need some help. I need to get rid of this stuff and get my tank/fish healthy again.


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wow growing an aptasia farm there? is that what im seeing all over that rock? how often are you doing water changes? and are you using ro/di water for not only water changes but for top off water too? If not that would be the best start.

btw haha nice bottle of vodka just hangin out in the stand!
 
hahaha, that Vodka is for the denitrator. Once a week it gets an injection of that. Yeah, I need to get rid of those Aptasia's, I just read they're a nuisance. Any ideas on how to rid my tank of those? I told ya' I was a noob.

I'm using reverse osmosis water for water changes and top off. I had a great time installing that and the water softener. Lol. The denitrator was supposed to almost eliminate water changes. It was said that once every 2-3 months would be fine. Something tell me that's not correct?

wow growing an aptasia farm there? is that what im seeing all over that rock? how often are you doing water changes? and are you using ro/di water for not only water changes but for top off water too? If not that would be the best start.

btw haha nice bottle of vodka just hangin out in the stand!
 
i havent heard of anybody actually squirting booze into thier systems. i would do weekly waterchanges untill the green furry stuff goes away. also you could try a phosphate remover. i have used the carib sea phos buster before. saw results in 48 hrs.

as far as the aptasia goes, the natural way is you could get some peppermint shrimp. they will eat it. i have not had a single problem with them since i got my peppermints. (and i had it before them) Copper band butterfly fish also eat aptasia.... well sometimes. I have not been able to test mine because i have never seen any in my 80 gallon even before i put the shrimp and butterfly in. blue line makes a product called aptasia control. Its a chemical way of doing it, but i have never had issues with it and it rocks the house on killing them. here is also a link on how to get rid of them with lemon juice injections. (i do not know how well this works because i have never tried this method)

How To Eliminate Aiptasia Anemones with Lemon Juice A Reef Tank Safe, Effective, and Easy to Perform Injection Procedure That Costs Only Pennies!

Hopefully this was of some help to you
 
Welcome to the site!

I would eliminate everything that could be feeding the algae.Mainly light and nutrient.Test for phosphate,increase water changes and reduce lighting and feeding.Like everyone else said,get some peppermint shrimps for the aiptasia and try some Mexican Turbo Snails for the algae.

I'm no expert on denitrators but it seems to defeat the purpose by using it when you're using a canister and bio-balls which are big contributors to nitrate.I would definitely clean them often or just remove them all together.The skimmer also looks a little undersize but it seems to be pulling some nasty gunk there.Your call on if you need another skimmer or bigger one.
 
Using vodka or pure sugar is kinda common in Europe... The theory being that bacteria in aquariums are limited by a carbon source, and vodka or sugar provides that carbon to keep bacterial populations high and thus nitrates at zero. The downside is that you risk causing a huge algae bloom and suffocating all your fish if you add too much. As far as I know it has not been scientifically tested. I ran an experiment of my own last year and added the recommended dose of sugar for around two months and saw no change whatsoever in my nitrate levels. So who knows if dosing vodka or sugar works or not.

Ya, your tank needs a bit of work :). BIG BIG water changes. And frequent water changes! You only need to buy a denitrator if your nitrates are dangerously high and you can't get them down any other way. In your tank, I'm not so sure that peppermint shrimp would survive to eat the aiptasia, shrimp are much more sensitive to water parameters than fish or other inverts.

I see lots of flake food in your picture. Flake and pellet foods contain ash, which causes algae. Switch to frozen food only. And of course, use dried seaweed sheets for the tangs.

Looks like you have a couple of pajama cardinals in there too that you didn't mention. How many and what kind of fish total?
 
I personally think that anyone that purchases a denitrator was screwed.
If you practice good husbandry and maintance,then you dont need it.

I see your running a pro-clear wet/dry filter system.You need to take some time when you do your next water change and give it a good cleaning,Rinse out the pads,and wash the bio-balls off in the water you draine from your tank.I'm going to suggest to change 15 gallons once a week.

Also,When was the last time you tested your parimeters?
Test for ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,phosphate,calcium,PH,alkilinty.

And you have WAY to many tangs for a 75.I wouldnt have no more than one tang in there.

Take those flakes and pellets you have there and toss em in the trash.Start using frozen foods.Frozen food dont have near as much phosphate in it.
Dont feed any more than what your fish can eat in about a minute once every 2 to 3 days.

And go ahead and send me the vodka.
Good luck with it.
 
Wow, ok, the bioballs should go huh? Do I put anything in there to replace them? I had my water tested tonight at my LFS and everything was ok except for my salinity level. It was OFF THE CHARTS. I did about a 35% water change tonight, cleaned the glass and rearranged the rocks a little bit. I'm going to keep the lights off for a few days and see what happens. Ya, I've been WAY overfeading I guess. The dry food is officially in the garbage. THanks guys.

I guess I'm still a little confused about the bioballs. I'm going to continue to run the denitrator, the cannister filter is history and I've got a refugium arriving tomorrow. Can someone elaborate a little bit on why the balls are useless? And can you please give me a recommendation on what I should replace the bioballs with?:bowdown:
 
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