Help me please... can’t stand my tank looking like this!!

[Jay Hall]

I just don’t know what to do anymore... I cleaned it genuine like a week and half ago goes on holiday comes back to this.. it is a new setup.. say tank been running since end of March.. Please can someone help me what to do!!!

 

[SPR1968]

After a week of no cleaning the glass it will look like that so its not unusual to be honest, mine does.

Maybe clean the glass and then post another picture and see what it looks like ?

It would also be helpful if we could have a set of water parameters including nitrate and phosphate if its still not looking clean when you cleaned the glass

And welcome to R2R as well Jay!

 

[Waters]

As stated, unless you are running a low nutrient system, it doesn't take long for the glass to look like that. Most clean their glass every few days. Have you done any testing to see where your nitrate and phosphate levels are at?

 

[RobW]

I clean my glass everyday! You said the tank is new? Probably still going through the uglies after the initial cycle. Also what is that in your tank under the rock? I can make it out in the picture. Get yourself some microbacter7 and some microbacter clean. Follow the instructions on the bottle. Stuff works. You might want to invest in a bit of a cleanup crew as well. Trochus snails, turbo snails, hermit crabs, etc. Get a good copepod population going and that will start to help maintain the tank a little better.

 

[RobW]

How long do you keep the lights on per day?

 

[HB AL]

Tank is new so pretty normal for a little ugliness. I don’t see any fish or any cuc, looks like just rock and water. I would get a cuc in there asap. Also what are you using for water, if your using tap water stop and use rodi. Also with nothing really in there as far as corals go I would cut down the time your lights are on.

 

[Doctorgori]

after a while you will notice the type of algae that coats your glass changes as the tank matures ... the green stuff is a lil concerning but as things progress the algae will go from a soft olive type to coraline et

It would also be helpful if we could have a set of water parameters including nitrate and phosphate if its still not looking clean when you cleaned the glass

Was thinking the same

 

[Jay Hall]

Hi Rob W, my lights are on timers, 8 hours a day, and I only have a fish only setup.. with a V Lion fish.. so can’t really have a clean up crew as they would just get eaten (SO IVE BEEN TOLD) I haven’t tested the water recently.. and yeah few mates have said it could still be going through the set up stage.. but it just looks ugly!!

 

[Jay Hall]

This was a week/2 weeks ago before my holiday!!!

 

[lapin]

Its never gonna look like new. You add water, food, light and stuff is going to grow. Its a good thing. If it stayed pristine white then I would really be worried. You could replace the rock and sand every week or 2 but i cant see that as being a lot of fun. It will pass with time. I would start with adding some pods and snails and see what will live with your fish.

 

[Waters]

Hi Rob W, my lights are on timers, 8 hours a day, and I only have a fish only setup.. with a V Lion fish.. so can’t really have a clean up crew as they would just get eaten (SO IVE BEEN TOLD) I haven’t tested the water recently.. and yeah few mates have said it could still be going through the set up stage.. but it just looks ugly!!

You would be fine with some snails/urchins....the lion won't touch those.

 

[BeejReef]

also notice your only water circulation seems to be your return pump/overflow. I understand you're FOWLR, but a little more flow can go a long way in keeping the algae from settling in quite as hard.

 

[Dom]

Reef tanks are not something that is "set it and forget it". Rolling up your sleeves and diving in for a manual weekly cleaning is part of my husbandry regiment.

What you are experiencing is the tank age (a new tank) more than anything else. Keep up with manual removal and allow the tank to age. With age comes stability.

Mostly, I would encourage you NOT to run to the LFS and buy some solution in a bottle. It is too soon for that.

A complete set of testing results would be helpful, particularly Nitrates (NO3) and Phosphates (PO4).