desperate..tank going down, all corals dying/not growing

[Chepre01]

Hello guys, i m really desperate and i dont know what to do. for some time now nothing is doing well in my tank.

Short history: like 2,5 months ago I "rebuilt" my 200 gallons tank with a professional service guy. Emptying it completly, restructuring stones and so on, so far so good. Knowing this is a massive influence on a tank and takes some time to regenerate.

Spending a lot of time with cleaning the tank, taking all kind of measurements (which ALL SEEM IN RANGE!!!)


Ca: 420, Mg: 1200, Alk: 8, Salinity: 35, temp. 24 celsius
Phosphat: 0 Nitrit: < 0,01 Nitrat: 0,2 Ammonia: < 0,05 O2: 10, Copper: 0 ph: 8,2

edit: could my tank be overcycled? (skimmer, phosphat, carbon, vleece filter, and so on)

1. Since then I have permanently - i guess - diatoms. I stir the sandbed frequently with a stick, but 1 day later it is up on the sandbed again. I noticed this algae is NOT existing unter the big stones where no light is coming through!!!
2. I also notice some thin brownish layer of whatever on my rocks, can blow them easily off. But no idea what it is.
3. Dont have that many corals for now since i ve restartet the tank, you can see them all on pics.
4. my anemonia looked some days ago "normal" now it seems just dying (foto)
5. All other corals you can see on pics are decreasing in size quiet a lot.
6. Fish seem to be good

just know what to do, i just want to have a working tank, not more Also willing to pay for some expert with guidance/advice

 

[Timfish]

Sorry to hear your problems!

Your PO4 needs to be higher. I'd suggest keeping it between .03 mg/l and .5mg/l. For the nuisance algae on the sand you might try siphoning it out and using H2O2 to kill what's on the sand then dry it and return it (I also sometimes rinse it weel in saltwater then return it immediatle just to remove the loose algae but not kill beneficial stuff). If you can do water changes with water from a "healthy" reef system that should help improve the microbiomes.

 

[Timfish]

Also, if you're carbon dosing stop. Labile DOC, aka carbon dosing, can have very bad effects on corals and has the potential to kill them directly or inderectly. In a healthy reef ecosystem (cryptic) sponges help remove DOC but with a disrupted system like you have it's anybody's guess what DOC would promote.

 

[Chepre01]

Can this state of my tank be caused by such low PO4, nitrit and so on?

• how to measure PO4 accurate? I have JBL tests, and actually feels sometimes dificult to find the right colour scheme
• how to increase PO4 effective?
• forgot to mention that all sand in the tank was new when i restartet it 2,5 months ago. so you mean i should siphon sand out, wash it with h2o2 and then put it back in the tank?

Thx for your answers so far!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello guys, i m really desperate and i dont know what to do. for some time now nothing is doing well in my tank.

Short history: like 2,5 months ago I "rebuilt" my 200 gallons tank with a professional service guy. Emptying it completly, restructuring stones and so on, so far so good. Knowing this is a massive influence on a tank and takes some time to regenerate.

Spending a lot of time with cleaning the tank, taking all kind of measurements (which ALL SEEM IN RANGE!!!)


Ca: 420, Mg: 1200, Alk: 8, Salinity: 35, temp. 24 celsius
Phosphat: 0 Nitrit: < 0,01 Nitrat: 0,2 Ammonia: < 0,05 O2: 10, Copper: 0 ph: 8,2

edit: could my tank be overcycled? (skimmer, phosphat, carbon, vleece filter, and so on)

1. Since then I have permanently - i guess - diatoms. I stir the sandbed frequently with a stick, but 1 day later it is up on the sandbed again. I noticed this algae is NOT existing unter the big stones where no light is coming through!!!
2. I also notice some thin brownish layer of whatever on my rocks, can blow them easily off. But no idea what it is.
3. Dont have that many corals for now since i ve restartet the tank, you can see them all on pics.
4. my anemonia looked some days ago "normal" now it seems just dying (foto)
5. All other corals you can see on pics are decreasing in size quiet a lot.
6. Fish seem to be good

just know what to do, i just want to have a working tank, not more Also willing to pay for some expert with guidance/advice

Mag is a little low but should not be causing this impact. (mag 1300-1350)
New sand- you have a few zeros- what kits are you testing with?
II agree nitrate needs to increase <15-20 and Phosphate. . . . .04-.08 up to .1

Notable is what looks cyano bacteria which levels would be much higher than your readings. Can you provide a couple of pics under white lighting ?

 

[The_Paradox]

Low N/P and what looks like dinos not diatoms. Maybe it’s just the photos but looks snotty/stringy to me. If it is dinos that would explain your issues. Just a wild butt guess though.

 

[Timfish]

I use Elos and Nyos for testing PO4, but whatever you find easy to use is probably best. FOr eaising PO4 I just feed my fish more but there are products available fo rraising it. You don't want to remove all the sand, just the very top layer that might get siphoned off with the algae. I almost always just poor abottle of H2O2 into the bucket once I'v edrained off the saltwater but as your microbial stuff in your system seems to be pretty disrupted it might be better to just rinse off teh loose algae with saltwater then return it so you're not killing beneficial stuff. Once you've siphoned off just the surface stuff swirl the sand around and pour off the water, add enough saltwater to cover the sand an inch or two and swirl the sand and pour off the saltwater and repeat until the water poured off is mostly clean. (I like to use aquarium water fo rthis but new saltwater that's been sitting a little bit is ok.)

For siphoning this technique with steel straws might help minimize the sand being removed. This technique with paper towels might help with the algae on the glass if it is redepositing quickly after cleaning.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Looks like Dinos to me as well.

 

[Chepre01]

New sand- you have a few zeros- what kits are you testing with?
II agree nitrate needs to increase <15-20 and Phosphate. . . . .04-.08 up to .1

Actually I have JBL test kits, phosphat and nitrat i dual check with red sea.
Trying to add more pics under white light when i m home!

• can somebody provide me please with products to increase phosphat and nitrat? or any known tank brand okish for this?

You don't want to remove all the sand, just the very top layer that might get siphoned off with the algae. it might be better to just rinse off teh loose algae with saltwater then return it so you're not killing beneficial stuff. Once you've siphoned off just the surface stuff swirl the sand around and pour off the water, add enough saltwater to cover the sand an inch or two and swirl the sand and pour off the saltwater and repeat until the water poured off is mostly clean. (I like to use aquarium water fo rthis but new saltwater that's been sitting a little bit is ok.)

I apologize, english isnt my native language, i woudl like to repeat it with my own words, just want to do it correct and not harm my tank anymore.
Siphoning the algae/sand surface into a bucket. Swirling around in the bucket, empty the dirty water after swirling. Adding new rodi saltwater which was sitting a little bit and repeat swirling and empty water in the bucket til it is clean.
letting it dry and than put it back in the tank. Did i understand this correct?

If yes, why not siphoning off the surface, throwing it away and adding a layer of completly new sand into the tank?

 

[Chepre01]

So if it is Dinos, they could be the reason they steal all minimal nutrients I have in my tank which corals would need? Just wondering why I have Dinos everywhere except unter the live rocks where no lights comes through?

So what I ve read Dinos mostly break out with ultra low nutrients, meaning i have to increase them.
Also ve read, UV can be something to fight them. So does it makes sense to just increase the UV spectrum of my lightning? (hydra64 hd)

 

[The_Paradox]

If your main lights were able to put out enough UV-C to effect dinos you would wipe your tank... and yourself in the process. Not saying it's dinos, but if it is, you usually see the highest concentrations on rough surfaces and in high flow depending on the type. Several ways to confirm if they are UV sensitive dinos, but down and dirty way is to see if they are there when the lights first come on in the morning. From there you can try putting a paper towel or piece of filter cloth on the glass opposite a power head and leaving it for an hour or so. You can hold it in place with a magnetic cleaner, nori clip, whatever. If the paper towel/filter is rust brown after an hour thats a pretty good indicator. If in doubt sniff it after you pull it out. you will know LOL. If they are bad enough you can probably just sniff the tank. It will have an oder to it if you have dinos. Aside from the aforementioned, not much more you can do unless you have a confocal microscope.

 

[Aaron75]

To raise nitrates, I use Neonitro. To raise phosphates, I use Reef Roids.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Actually I have JBL test kits, phosphat and nitrat i dual check with red sea.
Trying to add more pics under white light when i m home!

• can somebody provide me please with products to increase phosphat and nitrat? or any known tank brand okish for this?

I apologize, english isnt my native language, i woudl like to repeat it with my own words, just want to do it correct and not harm my tank anymore.
Siphoning the algae/sand surface into a bucket. Swirling around in the bucket, empty the dirty water after swirling. Adding new rodi saltwater which was sitting a little bit and repeat swirling and empty water in the bucket til it is clean.
letting it dry and than put it back in the tank. Did i understand this correct?

If yes, why not siphoning off the surface, throwing it away and adding a layer of completly new sand into the tank?

Best way to increase Phos and nitrate is to feed more (not overfeed) and stretch out siphoning- If weekly, go bi-weekly

 

[The_Paradox]

So if it is Dinos, they could be the reason they steal all minimal nutrients I have in my tank which corals would need? Just wondering why I have Dinos everywhere except unter the live rocks where no lights comes through?

Dinos will deplete a lot of nutrients but also depending on the type they could be toxic. Safe bet would be to throw a bag of carbon in once you confirm what they are.

 

[Chepre01]

a bag of carbon once i confirm what it is? what then should happen or should i notice?

Thx for all answers so far, my plan for now is going to be:

• increase phosphat and nitrat levels by more feeding, removing carbon dosing and phosphat blocker
• rinse off sand top sand

 

[The_Paradox]

a bag of carbon once i confirm what it is? what then should happen or should i notice?

Thx for all answers so far, my plan for now is going to be:

• increase phosphat and nitrat levels by more feeding, removing carbon dosing and phosphat blocker
• rinse off sand top sand

Hard to say what’s going to fix it fast without knowing exactly what it is. Fix the nutrient levels and it should fix itself with enough time.

 

[Timfish]

Actually I have JBL test kits, phosphat and nitrat i dual check with red sea.
Trying to add more pics under white light when i m home!

• can somebody provide me please with products to increase phosphat and nitrat? or any known tank brand okish for this?

I apologize, english isnt my native language, i woudl like to repeat it with my own words, just want to do it correct and not harm my tank anymore.
Siphoning the algae/sand surface into a bucket. Swirling around in the bucket, empty the dirty water after swirling. Adding new rodi saltwater which was sitting a little bit and repeat swirling and empty water in the bucket til it is clean.
letting it dry and than put it back in the tank. Did i understand this correct?

If yes, why not siphoning off the surface, throwing it away and adding a layer of completly new sand into the tank?

No worries.

There's lots of beneficial microbial stuff in the sand. Depending on overall conditions sometimes I try to save as much as I can and sometimes I just toss it.

If you rinse with H2O2 it will kill all the beneficial stuff as well as the bad algae. I would then rinse wthe sand well and I always then let the sand dry.

But to save the beneficial stuff that's growing on and in the sand then rinse with saltwater as described and return to the tank without drying it which would kill any beneficial stuff.

I've often just tossed sand when I siphon off the top layer and added new sand. In this situationwith your tank I would be trying to save as much of the beneficial microbial stuff as possible. You can certainly just toss the old sand and add new sand if that works better for you.