New Reefer here and need some advice!

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Jacob Bowman said:
To deal with my algae outbreak I added phosphorus removing media, added extra polyester floss and turned up my skimmer. My tank was 100% brown to crystal clear in 2 days
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I added phosguard to my media basket but had not thought to turn up my skimmer good idea I will give that a try!
 
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Droberts0724 said:
I added phosguard to my media basket but had not thought to turn up my skimmer good idea I will give that a try!
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It worked like a charm for me! I find that too much nutrience in the water causes a huge bloom of algae, but if you can get your skimmer to suck out the nutrience the algae will die off quick. It is a more wet skim so your cup will fill faster and you will lose some salt with it but after the bloom is gone adjust your skimmer down to get a more dry skim
 
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If you try to convince yourself that it is lots of fun to scrape brown diatoms off of everything every morning, this will go much smoother. Keep doing your 10% water changes -- it gradually improves.
Algae Monster.gif
 
My two words of advice, rocks aren't ever going to look pretty by themselves, which is something I didn't quite understand when starting out.
What that means, is you'll need to add corals no matter what. Corals will help soak up nutrients that will help balance out algae. Corals are what "really" look pretty (read: not-ugly).

My second word of advice, just be patient. What you see now may not be as bad as you think. If you can get some live rock from a trusted source, I would go that route as well to help introduce microfauna and flora to the tank.
 
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Salty Lemon said:
If you try to convince yourself that it is lots of fun to scrape brown diatoms off of everything every morning, this will go much smoother. Keep doing your 10% water changes -- it gradually improves.
Algae Monster.gif
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my magnet is definitely getting a workout these days
 
I'm right there with you. I am fighting diatoms in my 2 month old tank. I have been adding RODI WATER and have been using imagitarium boxed filtered salt water for changes The diatoms were really bad but now there is a reduction in them. I have 7 turbo snails a emerald crab and 2 davinci clowns in a 55 gallon. Doing 10 gal weekly h20 changes vacuuming the sand. I found out from other aquarists at the pet store my area has a high amount of silicates in the water so I forked out the $$$ for a RODI filter for drinking water and use it for top offs right now. I dont have to buy bottled water anymore as well on a plus side and filter changes on the system about every 6 months.
 
Dub_G said:
Welcome to the addiction. As others have stated - just stay the course and this phase will pass. Good luck and post again for any other questions
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So funny you refer to it as an addiction my kids keep telling me I'm obsessed with my tank! I keep telling them anything you pay this much money for you better be invested I keep telling myself it gets better and easier...lets hope that's true
 
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dennism said:
I'm right there with you. I am fighting diatoms in my 2 month old tank. I have been adding RODI WATER and have been using imagitarium boxed filtered salt water for changes The diatoms were really bad but now there is a reduction in them. I have 7 turbo snails a emerald crab and 2 davinci clowns in a 55 gallon. Doing 10 gal weekly h20 changes vacuuming the sand. I found out from other aquarists at the pet store my area has a high amount of silicates in the water so I forked out the $$$ for a RODI filter for drinking water and use it for top offs right now. I dont have to buy bottled water anymore as well on a plus side and filter changes on the system about every 6 months.
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I feel your pain!!! I use distilled only because its easier access to top off and water changes. I have my back up bucket with heater and filtered water ready for my water changes. My numbers have been relatively good and I'm ok with the diatoms but the cyno will snuff out my corals so I'm all over that. I know it's a work in progress and will eventually level out and all will die off....it's just convincing myself to be patient and good things will come soon enough. I'm discovering that reefin ain't easy
 
NotASpammerDude said:
My two words of advice, rocks aren't ever going to look pretty by themselves, which is something I didn't quite understand when starting out.
What that means, is you'll need to add corals no matter what. Corals will help soak up nutrients that will help balance out algae. Corals are what "really" look pretty (read: not-ugly).

My second word of advice, just be patient. What you see now may not be as bad as you think. If you can get some live rock from a trusted source, I would go that route as well to help introduce microfauna and flora to the tank.
Click to expand...
Yes I plan out stocking my tank with plenty of beautiful corals!
 
Droberts0724 said:
I feel your pain!!! I use distilled only because its easier access to top off and water changes. I have my back up bucket with heater and filtered water ready for my water changes. My numbers have been relatively good and I'm ok with the diatoms but the cyno will snuff out my corals so I'm all over that. I know it's a work in progress and will eventually level out and all will die off....it's just convincing myself to be patient and good things will come soon enough. I'm discovering that reefin ain't easy
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I havent put any corals in yet. Once the diatoms are under control then I'll add probably a hammerhead and probably a small zoa colony. Working from there. Everything I have researched says start slow and have patience, like I learned in clearing rooms in the army. Slow is smooth smooth is fast. Thank God I have patience.
20190521_215711.jpeg
 
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