needs some opinions

R

Reefer head

Reefing newb
algae bloom right ? and is a uv sterilizer the only fix? ,imput is apreciated
 

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A UV sterilizer isnt really going to solve that for you

Algae outbreaks are always tied back to a nutrient export issue of some sort. Have you tested the water? If so, what is it testing at?

What kind of rock / sand was used to set up the tank?
How long has the tank been running?
Do you use tap water or RO/DI water?

Need more info here....
 
Also a 55 gal is a little small for a yellow tang. You should find him a bigger and better home. Also how much rock do you have in there? Looks like you need quite a bit more.
 
Nites are like .1 my alkalinity is the only thing a little high . Also I planned on trading the tang when he got bigger. it's fiji rock and I used cured tap water but it's been fine with that for a really good while
 
using tap water will definitely lead to algae problem like you are seeing. Most of us use RO/DI water because it doesn't contain anything that can harm corals or sensitive inverts or fuel algae growth.

And everyone says that about their fish/tank, but I can count with one hand the number of people who actually upgrade their tank or trading it. What usually happens is the fish dies and people are simply stunned that they didnt realize they had a problem or they think that these fish just dont live very long. These fish can easily live 10+ years but a life of stress from being in a small tank will lead to an early death. Then you go back and buy another one. Cycle repeats. And then people ban the collection of aquarium fish because of the absurdly high death rate due to ignorance. Sorry to sound harsh, that is the reality of the situation.
 
It like take a St Bernard and keeping him in a 5 x 5 pen, sure it will work ok as a puppy, but when the monster grows up it'll be hating life. Will it live, yeah a guess so but not a great life for a large animal in a small space. Not to sound pissed off, but it bothers me when people do this.
 
North and Little have you covered.

You need lots of water changes and with RO/DI water.
Invest in a RO/DI unit. Best thing you can get in this hobby.

UV is a waste of money.
 
Okay, there are more than just nitrates that you should be testing for. Algae blooms like that are due to a build of of primarily one of three things in your system - all due to a lack of nutrient export

1) Nitrates - This is the end product of the ammonia cycle, and while some nitrates are not an issue to fish or most inverts - algae can and do use nitrates as fuel to grow. Nitrates are reduced by feeding less, water changes, protein skimming, and setting up a refugium with macro algae that will suck nitrates out of the water

2) Phosphates - These come from frozen foods, and fish waste, and have also been known to leech out of lace rock or dry rock used when the tank was set up. For removal - see removal sugguestions above for nitrates

3) Silicates (mostly for diatoms, but can be other algae as well) Silicates come can potentially come from dry rock, but the biggest source is using sand that is not meant for saltwater aquariums ('play' sand sold at home improvement stores for example) but they are also found in most tap water. Using tap water over long periods of time causes them to build up, and lead to an algae bloom

The other thing that can cause algae issues (mostly the red/brown cyano or 'red plague' ) is using old bulbs that need to be replaced. As T5 or MH bulbs age, the light they put out shifts into the red spectrum, which fuels algae growth. T5 bulbs should be replaced every 6-9 months and MH bulbs every 9-12 months

That's all I can offer until you provide some addtional answers to my questions as far as water test results and how much / what kind of rock you have etc

I wont beat you to death on the tang, other than that I have had smaller ones in my 180 that have looked cramped - and buying a fish you know that you don't have the tank size to support is not a good habit to get into. If you don't have the space for its needs as a mature fish - you have no business putting it in your tank
 
Northstar24 said:
Okay, there are more than just nitrates that you should be testing for. Algae blooms like that are due to a build of of primarily one of three things in your system - all due to a lack of nutrient export

1) Nitrates - This is the end product of the ammonia cycle, and while some nitrates are not an issue to fish or most inverts - algae can and do use nitrates as fuel to grow. Nitrates are reduced by feeding less, water changes, protein skimming, and setting up a refugium with macro algae that will suck nitrates out of the water

2) Phosphates - These come from frozen foods, and fish waste, and have also been known to leech out of lace rock or dry rock used when the tank was set up. For removal - see removal sugguestions above for nitrates

3) Silicates (mostly for diatoms, but can be other algae as well) Silicates come can potentially come from dry rock, but the biggest source is using sand that is not meant for saltwater aquariums ('play' sand sold at home improvement stores for example) but they are also found in most tap water. Using tap water over long periods of time causes them to build up, and lead to an algae bloom

The other thing that can cause algae issues (mostly the red/brown cyano or 'red plague' ) is using old bulbs that need to be replaced. As T5 or MH bulbs age, the light they put out shifts into the red spectrum, which fuels algae growth. T5 bulbs should be replaced every 6-9 months and MH bulbs every 9-12 months

That's all I can offer until you provide some addtional answers to my questions as far as water test results and how much / what kind of rock you have etc

I wont beat you to death on the tang, other than that I have had smaller ones in my 180 that have looked cramped - and buying a fish you know that you don't have the tank size to support is not a good habit to get into. If you don't have the space for its needs as a mature fish - you have no business putting it in your tank
Click to expand...

damn that sucks,i was just going by the 10 gallon per inch rule. il trade it in today:frustrat:
 
Reefer head said:
damn that sucks,i was just going by the 10 gallon per inch rule. il trade it in today:frustrat:
Click to expand...

While that is a guildine to work with, most of the larger fish in the hobby also have minimum tank sizes listed for keeping them - for most of the tangs it will be 100+ gallons. This is because they are serious swimmers - and they almost all need 6 or even 8 feet of horizontal swimming space due to how active they are. When you see a healthy tang in a tank large enough, you will know exactly what I am talking about

For instance, my Naso can be across my 6 foot tank in two swipes of its tail. 180 gallons is usually the minimum you see listed for a Naso, but even with 6 feet of swimming space there are days were he looks cramped, and he's only about 7 inches long. At some point, in order to keep him happy I will need to upgrade to an 8 ft tank (I'm sure my wife will LOVE that conversation.... )

If you ever have questions about potential fish for your setup, feel free to post here and ask - we're all more than happy to report back anything that we know about them.

Now - back on topic of your algae issue. How much rock do you have in that tank? Its hard for me to tell from the clouded water, but it looks very light on the live rock - you should aim for at least 1-2 pounds per gallon of rock as this is your primary filtration for a saltwater tank

Also, what kind of lights do you have over this tank, and is it Fish only, or a reef?
 
We've all been there Reefer, finding out in the beginning that our tanks are not big enough for the fish we really want, and that our water isn't good enough until we're using RO/DI. Suddenly the costs of keeping a reef tank sky rocket, and this where most people either quit the hobby or push on and do their best. Then you have other types that simply just don't care about their animals, and they'll pack their systems with as much fish and anemones that they can and brag about how they do it all with canister filters and tap water.

Until you can afford the exact setup you want, it's always a compromise when you have a small tank, like keeping a dwarf angel instead of a tang, things like that. There are plenty of beautiful fish that can fit just fine in a 55, though.
 
Lights are actinic and 10000 k HO, it's fish only for now other than clean up crew and one bubbly tip. The only reason it looks low in rock is because I put a good amount in my new tank to decrease a spike, I don't understand y a uv sterilizer wouldn't work to keep the water well...steril. Also iv started rinsing the filter media every couple of hours and see ALOT come out of them
 
Reefer head said:
Lights are actinic and 10000 k HO, it's fish only for now other than clean up crew and one bubbly tip. The only reason it looks low in rock is because I put a good amount in my new tank to decrease a spike, I don't understand y a uv sterilizer wouldn't work to keep the water well...steril. Also iv started rinsing the filter media every couple of hours and see ALOT come out of them
Click to expand...

Well a UV sterilizer kills bacteria that are sensitive to UV light. It will not kill algae spores. UV sterilizers actually don't do a good job at even killing bacteria in our tanks because the water moves too fast not allowing for each batteries to be exposed to the light long enough to have an impact. Furthermore, denitrifying bacteria is of critical importance in our tanks so if the UV sterilizer actually worked you wouldnt really want it too.

The filter you are using is working to remove some contaminants but if you don't continue to rinse the media out every couple of hours those contaminants will build up and actually become a source of pollution for your water.

By bubbly tip, do you mean bubble anemone? If so they require good water quality and very powerful lights. I suspect it wouldn't last long in your tank as it currently is. The standard recommendation is to only put an anemone in a tank that has been setup for 9-12 months.
 
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I think it would kill algae spores; the lights themselves can burn your eyeballs if you look at them. I can't imagine that any plant spore passing through would survive and they are heavily marketed in the pond industry.

I think most people look down on UV lamps because they kill pods and other beneficial flora/fauna in the aquarium, outweighing any benefits they may have. A lot of people have reported crystal clear water using them, which, while pretty, is probably not the best thing for a tank.

UV certainly wouldn't solve an ich problem, (every single bug in the tank would have to pass through it), but to say they wouldn't do anything at all goes against reports of those who use them. If I were running a fish only tank I would use one, personally, but for corals I would pass.

Your best bang for the buck is an algae scrubber, reef. You can find a thread in the user article and DIY sections of this board. If you get the flow and light wattage correct, they're supposed to be the best type of filtration you can get on a tank. They require some experimentation to work though.
 
Zissou said:
I think it would kill algae spores; the lights themselves can burn your eyeballs if you look at them. I can't imagine that any plant spore passing through would survive and they are heavily marketed in the pond industry.

I think most people look down on UV lamps because they kill pods and other beneficial flora/fauna in the aquarium, outweighing any benefits they may have. A lot of people have reported crystal clear water using them, which, while pretty, is probably not the best thing for a tank.

UV certainly wouldn't solve an ich problem, (every single bug in the tank would have to pass through it), but to say they wouldn't do anything at all goes against reports of those who use them. If I were running a fish only tank I would use one, personally, but for corals I would pass.

Your best bang for the buck is an algae scrubber, reef. You can find a thread in the user article and DIY sections of this board. If you get the flow and light wattage correct, they're supposed to be the best type of filtration you can get on a tank. They require some experimentation to work though.
Click to expand...
That's y i can't believe it wouldn't work, iv read review after review on how awesome the water is like 2 days later. As for pods nothing eats them but the tang I'm taking to the store when they open. I put my main pod rocks in the horse tank they love it(although it's causing them to turn dark) and il look up the algae scrubber.
 

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