Needing guidance

[Paula C Owens]

Ok brew12 and saltyfilmfolks thanks LOL I know Ima newbie and I guess I'm just overreacting cause my tank is so UGLY and it WAS so very pretty when we first put everything back in. I've only ever seen pretty gorgeous tanks so when ours started turning brown and ugly I guess I just panicked. LOL chalk another one up for the newbies ROFL

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Ok brew12 and saltyfilmfolks thanks LOL I know Ima newbie and I guess I'm just overreacting cause my tank is so UGLY and it WAS so very pretty when we first put everything back in. I've only ever seen pretty gorgeous tanks so when ours started turning brown and ugly I guess I just panicked. LOL chalk another one up for the newbies ROFL

you should come see my tanks. Lol.

I know going dark may work and many people recommend it but I think it is a waste of time. Again, that is my personal opinion. Your algae is growing because something is feeding it.

Light is feeding it.
im becoming more and more of the opinion, starve it, no po light etc. then get it out and burn w fire! Or peroxide really.

 

[Brew12]

Ok brew12 and saltyfilmfolks thanks LOL I know Ima newbie and I guess I'm just overreacting cause my tank is so UGLY and it WAS so very pretty when we first put everything back in. I've only ever seen pretty gorgeous tanks so when ours started turning brown and ugly I guess I just panicked. LOL chalk another one up for the newbies ROFL

Want to feel better about your tank? Take a look at this thread.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/vibrant-liquid-aquarium-cleaner-discussion-thread.271428/

You will see tanks by people who have been reefing for years who are fighting horrible algae issues. It's a long thread for as new as it is because so many people are having such a hard time controlling we are desperate to find a solution!

 

[Paula C Owens]

I know going dark may work and many people recommend it but I think it is a waste of time. Again, that is my personal opinion. Your algae is growing because something is feeding it. You can turn off the light and get it to die off, but that doesn't deal with the underlying problem of nutrients. Granted, if you can completely eradicate any trace DNA from the algae it will be gone forever, but something else will just take it's place.
If you have nutrients leaching from your rocks or sand, when the algae consumes it all, the algae will die. The more algae you grow in your tank, the faster it will consume nutrients, and the faster it will die off. The problem is that it looks ugly so no one wants to go this route.
This is why people grow Chaeto in their sumps or build algae scrubbers. The idea behind this is to grow the algae where you want it to consume the nutrients instead of in your DT.

So we need to put Chaeto in our sump? Want to make sure I understood

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Refugium.
or
Turf scrubber

 

[Brew12]

Light is feeding it.
im becoming more and more of the opinion, starve it, no po light etc. then get it out and burn w fire! Or peroxide really.

I know you and I disagree with this

Light is feeding it, but it is not the only thing feeding it. I do agree that if you never turn your lights back on you won't have an algae issue.

If you turn the lights off for a few days, mechanically remove it all, and treat it with H2O2 you can remove all the algae DNA and you may be good. Otherwise, I'm going to go with this being a temporary solution until you can get your other nutrients under control.

 

[Brew12]

So we need to put Chaeto in our sump? Want to make sure I understood

I have Chaeto and Ogo that I grow in my sump using a soft white LED and a Grow LED light. My tangs and foxface love the fresh Ogo as a treat. Algae scrubbers are probably more effective but also a little more work to install.

 

[Paula C Owens]

you should come see my tanks. Lol.


Light is feeding it.
im becoming more and more of the opinion, starve it, no po light etc. then get it out and burn w fire! Or peroxide really.

Ok sorry I'm lost. What is PO light and what am I'm Getting out and burning/peroxiding?? The LR??

 

[Paula C Owens]

Want to feel better about your tank? Take a look at this thread.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/vibrant-liquid-aquarium-cleaner-discussion-thread.271428/

You will see tanks by people who have been reefing for years who are fighting horrible algae issues. It's a long thread for as new as it is because so many people are having such a hard time controlling we are desperate to find a solution!

EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW You were right!!!!!!! I feel MUCH better about my ugly brown rocks so now I'll just sit back at lol At myself with y'all!!!!!! HEHEHE breath , be patient, relax!!!!!!!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Ok sorry I'm lost. What is PO light and what am I'm Getting out and burning/peroxiding?? The LR??

Po phosphates, a nutrient, No Nitrates a nutrient. Light also serves to feed algae and coral in the absence of these.
In most algae removal the reduction of nutrients is oft recommended.
Once sufficiently lowered the algae is best removed manually, or if the roots run deep, you can dip rock in a peroxide solution.
A refugium ot turf scrubber can be used to lower the available nutrients and create competition for those nutrients.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW You were right!!!!!!! I feel MUCH better about my ugly brown rocks so now I'll just sit back at lol At myself with y'all!!!!!! HEHEHE breath , be patient, relax!!!!!!!

lol.

 

[Brew12]

EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW You were right!!!!!!! I feel MUCH better about my ugly brown rocks so now I'll just sit back at lol At myself with y'all!!!!!! HEHEHE breath , be patient, relax!!!!!!!

One warning, you will have to regularly pull out your fake coral pieces and clean them. Unlike real coral, they will get coated by everything just like the rock. Fortunately, vinegar is cheap!

 

[Paula C Owens]

lol.

Beauty takes time!!!!! I'm
Just so nervous and scared I'm messing up and we had previously found a great deal on some coral and ended up
Killing them and I don't want that to happen again with ANYTHING!!!!! That's why we decided to do a FOWLR. ya know get our feet wet, do some more research and gain some experience then maybe try again a year or so Down the road

 

[Paula C Owens]

One warning, you will have to regularly pull out your fake coral pieces and clean them. Unlike real coral, they will get coated by everything just like the rock. Fortunately, vinegar is cheap!

Thanks for the heads up!!! I don't THINK I
have any of the LR except 1 piece resting on one of them so that should be pretty manageable.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Beauty takes time!!!!! I'm
Just so nervous and scared I'm messing up and we had previously found a great deal on some coral and ended up
Killing them and I don't want that to happen again with ANYTHING!!!!! That's why we decided to do a FOWLR. ya know get our feet wet, do some more research and gain some experience then maybe try again a year or so Down the road

Yea, I know the feeling.
Hmm. what else eats No and Po and light and competes with algae for food. Is it Boral?

Are you testing for No & Po? do you have an ato?

 

[Brew12]

Is it Boral?

Zoa's are wonderful!!! And they love dirty water!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Best first Borals are cheap Borals!

 

[Brew12]

Hope this makes you feel better. My tanks ugly stage...

I think I have all the major food groups of ugly covered in this one shot!

 

[Paula C Owens]

Yea, I know the feeling.
Hmm. what else eats No and Po and light and competes with algae for food. Is it Boral?

Are you testing for No & Po? do you have an ato?

Ummmmmmmm idk we r using a tetra brand dipstick tester that our LFS uses to test their tanks and we use this to test our salinity level.

 

[Paula C Owens]

Hope this makes you feel better. My tanks ugly stage...

I think I have all the major food groups of ugly covered in this one shot!

Ummmmmmm ya I don't feel so bad now hehehe thanks!!!! Atleast u got some pretty different colors goin there and it doesn't look like its dying LOL