I have been to several LFS and it's not helping and been told 2 different versions of whats happening. One store gave me Reef Fusion parts 1 &2 and then my corals started dying (frogspawn types) took water to another LFS and he said calcium too high and they dying from burn. I removed them type corals and moved to my 75 gallon tank and was able to save a few. Did water change and install a different protien skimmer(LFS #2) it is a coralife 125g (that store said it was a protien algae outbreak and the instant ocean one i had is garbage. and was sold TLC biological clarifier marine S.A.T.
I need help PLEASE
- Thread starter mojuave
- Start date
d2mini
Reef enthusiast
Looks like dinoflagellates to me.
Too many nutrients in your water/sand bed.
You can try several things... lights out for a few days and then cutting back on your light schedule, better protein skimmer, running GFO in a reactor, feed less, vacuum the soil a little bit at a time, more water changes. You should also be testing for nitrates, ph, phosphate, alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium so you know where you stand. Don't rely on your LFS for that.
Too many nutrients in your water/sand bed.
You can try several things... lights out for a few days and then cutting back on your light schedule, better protein skimmer, running GFO in a reactor, feed less, vacuum the soil a little bit at a time, more water changes. You should also be testing for nitrates, ph, phosphate, alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium so you know where you stand. Don't rely on your LFS for that.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
It does look like a case of dinos. They are toxic, so if you have herbivorous fish or a clean up crew eating them, they can die.
What are your water parameters? That is not a calcium problem.
What are your water parameters? That is not a calcium problem.
Ted
Living one day at a time
Anytime I see dino's I get a shiver up my back...You have a big battle a head my friend. D2 and Biff are the best people to talk to. They will get you straight.
Homer
Reefing newb
I have been fighting them.. so far the best thing is lights off for few days :)
ok did water test everything is in balance PH 8.0 ammonia o nitrites .05 but nitrates are up and in stress level I know this is way too high I have been doing water changes and even got instant ocean natural nitrate reducer. This isn't the first time been having nitrate issues. I was talking to LFS and they recommend a reactor but is this the way to go?
Oh even doing the biozime nitrifying bacteria
Oh even doing the biozime nitrifying bacteria
Northstar24
The Tang Herder
We need way more information here. Obviously if you are reading nitrites you are having water issues. My advice, stop dumping the various snake oils into your tank that the LFS is selling you and start with the basics. Large water changes on the order of 10-20% on a regular basis.
To get to the root cause of your issues, we need more information on your tank, you cannot possibly give us too much information here. How much rock is in the tank? Current inhabitants? (fish and inverts) What are you feeding the tank, how much and how often? What do you have for flow in the tank? etc. Also, I do not see a test for Alk in your comments above, have you tested it? What is it at?
The more information you give us, the more we will be able to help you
To get to the root cause of your issues, we need more information on your tank, you cannot possibly give us too much information here. How much rock is in the tank? Current inhabitants? (fish and inverts) What are you feeding the tank, how much and how often? What do you have for flow in the tank? etc. Also, I do not see a test for Alk in your comments above, have you tested it? What is it at?
The more information you give us, the more we will be able to help you
FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
+1 North
Also, what type of water are you using - RO/Di or tap?
Also, what type of water are you using - RO/Di or tap?
Ok I am using Ro/Di water. My alk is at 140, I have roughly 125 lbs rock between DT and sump, Using crushed coral subsrtate, have 2x 750gph circ pumps, 1 1250 gph circ pump and 2 nozzles returning from a 1200 gph sump
inhabitants are Naso Tang, Yellow Tang, 2x bengi cardinals, 2x spotted cardinal, 2x yellow tail damsel, 2x black/white striped damsel, clarkie clown, brown oscil clown, oscil clown, dartfish, a black damsel(unsure), flame angel, coral banded shrimp and snails and crabs.
I feed 2 cubes of mysis shrimp and 2 cubes of brine shrimp daily (not all at once) between 2 tanks (small portion maybe total 3/4 cube to 75 gallon tank)
I have UV light in sump currently turned off (was told to when given treatment by LFS)
125g coralife super skimmer
Oh also maybe this will help my DIY led lights were not enough (was told, for corals) so I am adding more LED and left side tank has many more LED than right (going slow) and this stuff seems to be growing more on the right side (less light)
inhabitants are Naso Tang, Yellow Tang, 2x bengi cardinals, 2x spotted cardinal, 2x yellow tail damsel, 2x black/white striped damsel, clarkie clown, brown oscil clown, oscil clown, dartfish, a black damsel(unsure), flame angel, coral banded shrimp and snails and crabs.
I feed 2 cubes of mysis shrimp and 2 cubes of brine shrimp daily (not all at once) between 2 tanks (small portion maybe total 3/4 cube to 75 gallon tank)
I have UV light in sump currently turned off (was told to when given treatment by LFS)
125g coralife super skimmer
Oh also maybe this will help my DIY led lights were not enough (was told, for corals) so I am adding more LED and left side tank has many more LED than right (going slow) and this stuff seems to be growing more on the right side (less light)
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Homer
Reefing newb
I kept my lights of for 2 weeks :D :D
but what about my last post where it seems this is overgrowing where i have less light
Ted
Living one day at a time
How long has this tank been running? Crushed coral will trap stuff and can cause the nitrate issue. In the 90's thats all we used and we always had nitrate problems and tank crashes. Sand is a much better. The clean up crew can sift through it, not with crushed coral. Do you have any sponges in the water anywhere? Not animals but over power heads bubble trap etc. Those need to be rinsed weekly as well or they will be nitrate factories. Are there Bio balls in your sump? That is another nitrate factory if you have them, for some reason many LFS still recommend them but really not good for a reef tank. As far as the uneven light, I dont think that is the cause. Right now you seem to be feeding a lot I would cut that in half. and only feed every other day. Look for nitrate factories and seriously consider changing out the crushed coral. :twocents:
going on 3 years its been running. i started with crushed black coral/white sand and hated the darkness then switched to white sand and the mess was too much, glass cleaning, fish swimming it was everywhere so actually now i am in process of going to crushed coral and only have tank done (not live, have to create it) again side with low light and sand seems to produce the most of this stuff. no bio balls, water returns to sump through 2 entries both covered with felt "sock" <-- both brand new less than 2 weeks. no filters on any powerheads but I'm using as circulation pumps not power head option (seems to get more area of flow)
Northstar24
The Tang Herder
Well, there are a few things here for starters. First, you can ignore the LED's as the cause of the issue. They do not phase shift like old T5 or MH bulbs do. You're currently testing positive for nitrites which means you also likely have nitrates bound up in the algae.
With all that frozen that you are feeding, I'm sure you've got phosphates as well. Phosphates and nitrates feed algae like nobody's business. If I understood your post correctly, you're feeding three cubes a DAY to your tank. If that is the case, you're putting a lot of nutrients into your tank. I have a similarly stocked 180, and I feed a half cube or so every day, sometimes every other day. All my fish are fat and happy, I suspect you could cut your feeding back quite a bit without issue. If you feel that you need to feed this much, you're going to need more nutrient export, either in cauleropa/chaeto or larger, more frequent water changes
Also, you had sand and are moving to crushed coral? This is a bad idea. Crushed coral is notorious for collecting crap and letting it decompose in your tank, which leads to more nitrates. You're best bet is aragonite sand, and adjusting the flow accordingly so that its not blowing around. I have oolithic sand (the smallest you can get) in a tank with ~50x turnover and I don't have a sandstorm.
With all that frozen that you are feeding, I'm sure you've got phosphates as well. Phosphates and nitrates feed algae like nobody's business. If I understood your post correctly, you're feeding three cubes a DAY to your tank. If that is the case, you're putting a lot of nutrients into your tank. I have a similarly stocked 180, and I feed a half cube or so every day, sometimes every other day. All my fish are fat and happy, I suspect you could cut your feeding back quite a bit without issue. If you feel that you need to feed this much, you're going to need more nutrient export, either in cauleropa/chaeto or larger, more frequent water changes
Also, you had sand and are moving to crushed coral? This is a bad idea. Crushed coral is notorious for collecting crap and letting it decompose in your tank, which leads to more nitrates. You're best bet is aragonite sand, and adjusting the flow accordingly so that its not blowing around. I have oolithic sand (the smallest you can get) in a tank with ~50x turnover and I don't have a sandstorm.
ok sounds good I feed like that because I am always looking at the fish wanting it when i go near the tank they herd where i feed. It not so much the flow that moves the sand as is the fish (clarkie seems to love mixing it up lie it bothers him), my substarte is only to the black edge of the tank about an inch and i forget to mention have a sand sifter that prefers the coral over the sand to dig in. I attached a pic the sand is moved till glass bottom shows and it throws sand everywhere all over rocks and corals
Attachments
I was just saying it seems worse there like this stuff is feeding off the lower light vs brighter. and my nitrates are currently very high
Northstar24
The Tang Herder
Light is a secondary growth source for most bothersome algae, both nitrates and phosphates are growth limiting nutrients for most nuisance algae. Get rid of those, and the algae will follow.
I would start by discontinuing use of the various 'fixes' the LFS has been selling you (use that money on salt instead) and focus on feeding less, and doing water changes more. You'll need to do this until your nutrient tests come back into line (nitrites, nitrates, and phosphates specifically)
Phosphates will probably test 0 with all that algae, but in reality, there are likely high amounts of phosphates in your system from all that frozen food - but they are currently bound up in the algae and not showing up in your tests.
Also, when you run out of the frozen that you have, you really should find something more nutritious for them, such as Rod's food or Formula I and II
