Bringing this back as I need some more advice. I've been fighting this now since the tank was setup and just not winning. Algae still remains uncontrollable and well past what should have been "the ugly phase". ATM it's GHA but I see bubble is starting to get a foothold as well.
Water parameters have been stable: DKH target is 9.0. I only need to dose a small amount of Ca and Mag but I keep Ca around 420 and Mag around 1350. I don't have lots of SPS (killed a nice crop of Acro by unintentionally overdosing Chemiclean to get rid of cyano) so I'm not consuming large amounts of DKH or Ca/Mag.
Water Changes: I change 16 gallons out every week. I pull it from the sump. I have not been stirring the sand or vacuuming the sand as I don't have alot of free surface area down there with various rocks with coral on them so moving them and/or vacuuming around them. I only have a few spots where I can really get a vacuum in and get much from the sand. The rest is hidden under plating coral or just too small an area to get the vaccum into. Water is RO/DI that I check with a handheld TDS meter before using. I'm on a regular schedule of replacing the membrane and filters anyway just to make sure they are always in good shape
POSSIBLE ISSUE: My Ato...it's a glass ATO that has been sitting next to my aquarium. it's the innovative marine 15 gallon that is NOT sealed. I notice that it has developed a slime on it from time to time...I try to empty it on occasion and wash it with vinegar. I'm wondering if...because it is exposed to the air...it's getting gunk in it that's "growing" and that is not helping my issue. I recently put the whole ATO under a cover to stop it from getting any light...once it's near empty (it's a real PITA to empty) I'll clean and put it back under the tent to avoid sunlight. My plan going forward would be to only keep it partially filled and perhaps add it to a rotation of cleanly every other week...or perhaps once a month. Also saw some people mention putting vinegar into ATO water....
N & P. Recently got a Trident NP and it's been taking measurements for about three weeks now. I do not do any broadcast coral feeds and I only feed the fish once per day. (Rotation of TDO Chroma, Frozen, and PE Flake). I can does some sodium nitrate to bring the N up around 6.0 and it will slowly fall over the course of a few days. P does the same thing. I can dose some NeoPhos and note the change on the next test....and then it slowly decays over the next few days. I've cross checked the NP with my Hanna's and they are all in the ballpark so I "trust" them all. N has not gone over 7.0 or below 2.5 since the NP started daily testing. P has been as high as 0.05 to a low around 0.03.
I've got a good size ball of Chaeto growing in the sump on a eight hour cycle using a Kessill H80 set to Grow. Chaeto isn't growing like some have mentioned. I rarely harvest half of it and reduce it down to a couple of softballs worth....maybe 6 months ago. Algae grows on most surffaces in the sump that are getting hit by the H80. I've got it positioned as close to the chaeto as I can get to avoid any spillover into other areas...but some light shines to the "left" of the refigium near my protein skimmer which gets some algae. To the right is the return chamber and it too grows some algae and coralline...on the pump.
Speaking of coralline. my rockscape does not have much coralline...best places for growth seem to be the seams of the aquarium (Grrrrr) and the pump down in the return chamber of the sump (Double Grrrr).
Filter roller and protein skimmer going 24/7. UV on as well with about 550 Gph going through it.
At first I thought it might have been due to too much ambient light in the room. As you can see from my previous post...I put a screen up to block some light. 18 months haven't made any difference on that front. So...about a month ago I just put a tent up around the whole tank. so...it's only getting light from my 2 x AP9X's during their cycle. No noticeable change...algae continues to grow.
Reef Flux has knocked it down...but not out. it just comes back. Cyano seems to follow but I am now monitoring that more closely with the NP so I'm planning to keep it from bottoming out. I just don't think dosing more stuff or more bacteria is going to solve what seems to be some fundamental issue.
CuC: tired all kinds of snails and crabs. they all seem to die off over time. Turbo's don't seem to last long so not going that route again. I'll likely place another order to reefcleaners here shortly and focus on nassarius for the sand...and florida cerinth for algae. all other types of snails with the exception of nerites just seem to fall over and I don't see them before it's too late. I've had astrea as well..but they fall off the glass and make quite a chore of finding them before they die. or...when I used to have hermits...them getting picked off by the little buggers.
Pods: In the past I've added a couple of gallons of various pods from Dinkins. Can't say I see them anymore.
Flow. Return pump is about 550gph. 2 x MP 40's on opposite ends of the tank. one behind the rock structure...the other in front. Both are set to Reef crest and report about 1800gph each.
So. Clearly I'm doing something that's causing the algae to continue to florish. I'm looking for advice or something that I'm missing here. Frustrated as I've proven I can keep corals alive...when they aren't getting choked out by the dang algae.
