Frustrations

[LadyMac]

I’m fixing to just drain this thing and quit. I set up a 40 hex last year. Moved everything to a breeder around September. Everything has been decent except hair algae. Water source was the bottles of purified drinking water from Walmart. Supposedly RO. Then someone mentioned that no, that could be the issue with the algae to use the distilled. So I did. I got six gallons of it. Did anpartial waterchange with that. Using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. Well, once I added that, the next day I awoke to cloudy water. So two days later my RO buddie got here. So I stayed up for some time mixing fifteen gallons of it, next morning did an 85% change, throughout the day mixing the salt and RODI water. The water I pulled had a brown tinge. The next Mornin again, cloudy. This is a week in and due for another water change but again, a brown tinge to the water. There’s a very “green” smell. I’m at a loss as to what thisnis and how to fix it. I would think bacterial but I’ve tested the parameters and they are as follows:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-0
Ph-8.2
Sg-1.022
Mg-1120
Ca-400

The only change I made for this system was the distilled and then RODI water. It has about 60lbs love rock, 40 lbs live sand. I have broad leaf calurpa on one of the rocks, six hermit crabs and two clownfish. There is one snail, I forget what kind. He stays under the sub unless I feed and then he comes out. I feed sparingly, every other day a diet of frozen food.

I was building a sump. Have my overflow but now the pump quit and I’m out of cash for the time being. There is a skimmer in there, the hydro slim skim. Flow is two 400 gph powerheads and now a small surface skimmer cause there has always been a slight film on the surface.

Quite honestly this tank is an eyesore and it’s really discouraging throwing money at it and it turning into such an ugly thing.

 

[bean2986]

What’s your alk? Could be precipitate with that much Reef Crystals and the calcium still being 400. Also either instant ocean needs to mix for quite awhile or it can be pretty cloudy.

 

[brandon429]

you have a very easy situation to fix don't quit yet. you are about to get fifty offers on how to fix it, select one, don't mix them, and drain that person dry for their technique before moving to the next, that's how you handle the influx of ideas coming. since your tank isn't packed with coral, we'd have it ready to be done so by tomorrow in the sandbed rinse thread that's for sure. the way you approach algae is off. you never directly killed it, so easily. I recommend don't blend fix ideas, pick one you want and research it then apply that system solely and completely before trying another, don't mix options. have a clear path to retry.

in our system, you would change all the water to new, kill the algae off the rocks but keep them alive/filtration still set, rinse the sandbed so it cannot cloud and be fixed by dinnertime tonite. your long term prevention solutions range bigtime, from simple to complex. getting the tank re ready is totally easy. we would redo your water prep system as well.

 

[LadyMac]

What’s your alk? Could be precipitate with that much Reef Crystals and the calcium still being 400. Also either instant ocean needs to mix for quite awhile or it can be pretty cloudy.

Sorry I guess I forgot to add that. It’s 10 this morning.

 

[PmCarbrey]

Just to add something, if your tank is directly in front of the window, which it looks to be, sunlight often causes large amounts of algae growth

Edit:

What lights are you using? I noticed in your build thread you mentioned using a freshwater LED, which also could contribute to this. There are a large number of freshwater lights on the market that are tuned to grown plants

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The new water will tank some time for you to see some effect in the tank.

Are you running granular activated carbon?

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

What is the source of your live rock? Was it dry? If so, did you do any sort of acid or bleach curing process? Dry rock is loaded with dead stuff that will pollute your water for some time. One or two water changes won't do it. Some people who don't treat live rock have nutrient problems for a year or two after setting up the tank (I know, I've been fighting with nutrient issues for the past 2 years from my dry rock).

It also doesn't help that the water you started with was not confirmed to be pure. That always could have got the ball rolling on your algae issues.

You mention you're using an RO Buddie water purifier? What is the purity of the water the filter produces? How do you measure the TDS/conductivity?

Being in front of a window is probably not helping, nor is the freshwater light (if you are in fact using a freshwater light).

This is a solvable problem and once you work it out, your tank won't need a ton of maintenance to be perfect. You just need to work through these issues.

 

[LadyMac]

Just to add something, if your tank is directly in front of the window, which it looks to be, sunlight often causes large amounts of algae growth

Edit:

What lights are you using? I noticed in your build thread you mentioned using a freshwater LED, which also could contribute to this. There are a large number of freshwater lights on the market that are tuned to grown plants

it is but we don’t get much sun there. There’s a massive tree that shades it. The light I am now using is a Current USA orbit Marine. Not the PRO. It’s not enough light for much but the zoa seems happy.

 

[LadyMac]

What is the source of your live rock? Was it dry? If so, did you do any sort of acid or bleach curing process? Dry rock is loaded with dead stuff that will pollute your water for some time. One or two water changes won't do it. Some people who don't treat live rock have nutrient problems for a year or two after setting up the tank (I know, I've been fighting with nutrient issues for the past 2 years from my dry rock).

It also doesn't help that the water you started with was not confirmed to be pure. That always could have got the ball rolling on your algae issues.

You mention you're using an RO Buddie water purifier? What is the purity of the water the filter produces? How do you measure the TDS/conductivity?

Being in front of a window is probably not helping, nor is the freshwater light (if you are in fact using a freshwater light).

This is a solvable problem and once you work it out, your tank won't need a ton of maintenance to be perfect. You just need to work through these issues.

The rock was dry. I had poured boiling water over it before adding to the tank, and scrubbed the dust off with some vinegar and a scrub brush.

The RO buddie is the four stage. I don’t have a TDS meter, however my source water is not so bad with TDS as it is, 64 was confirmed by another fish keeper with the same source water. So I am confident it removes everything. I will see if he would do a sample test though, supposed to meet Saturday.

The window is pretty shaded, light is Current USA orbit marine.

Thanks for the encouraging words. Someone mentioned a possible bacterial bloom or even the sand stirring. I guess either is possible?