Not new… Need sanity check

[debiescholz]

Hi,
I have had a 135g mt for 3 years … fish mostly live … our regular fish person went out of business and well been learning most of what we were taught was wrong …. Don’t get me started on the nightmare that is my frustration right now. That being said … starting to research and actually learn vs listening to the expert. … we have a trigger 34 sump, current orbit ic dual led lights and pump hooked up to the Bluetooth controller (which I hate), we are waiting on a protein skimmer that is actually sized for our tank to show up and I opted to purchase the hydros controller system. Our current situation is a slew of cyano ( of the green kind) and hair algae out the wazoo….we have spent the last three weeks dropping the phosphate .5 to .03 with GFO and attempting to pull the algae off the rocks without disrupting the tank too much we have a tiny golf ball sized chaeto that for some reason wont grow even though we have a kessil light on it … did I mention my frustration …. ok rant over… just hoping to find someone to say its ok your tank will be pretty again.

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R! It's okay your tank will be pretty again.

It actually will be also . We all go through various blooms in our tanks. The "solutions" may vary by the nature of the bloom but in general it sounds like you are going the right direction. Take it slow and don't give up. It gets better. Ask specific questions about your issues and provide "white light" photos where you can.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Hi,
I have had a 135g mt for 3 years … fish mostly live … our regular fish person went out of business and well been learning most of what we were taught was wrong …. Don’t get me started on the nightmare that is my frustration right now. That being said … starting to research and actually learn vs listening to the expert. … we have a trigger 34 sump, current orbit ic dual led lights and pump hooked up to the Bluetooth controller (which I hate), we are waiting on a protein skimmer that is actually sized for our tank to show up and I opted to purchase the hydros controller system. Our current situation is a slew of cyano ( of the green kind) and hair algae out the wazoo….we have spent the last three weeks dropping the phosphate .5 to .03 with GFO and attempting to pull the algae off the rocks without disrupting the tank too much we have a tiny golf ball sized chaeto that for some reason wont grow even though we have a kessil light on it … did I mention my frustration …. ok rant over… just hoping to find someone to say its ok your tank will be pretty again.

I had a similar situation. What i found out is that my clean up crew was underpowered. Try going to reefcleaners.org, grab a bunch of turbos, Astreas and Hermits. I was clean in two weeks.

Oops. There there. your tank is pretty. All tanks are pretty. You just have to look inside!!

 

[tharbin]

+1 on reefcleaners.org.

 

[PeterC99]

Welcome to R2R!

Great information on this site to help you figure things out!

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome, its ok it your tank will be pretty again. Sounds like your doing what you should remediating. As far as Chateo, it's a tricky thing to catch on IMO. Once it starts working it then requires a maintenance in itself. Like all the other living things in the tank it consumes many things which yet again cause your parameters to shift.

 

[Jeffcb]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[Schraufabagel]

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R. It’s ok. Your tank will be pretty again soon. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to R2R where nightmare LFS stories go to die.
The information here is solid and most of your problems can be addressed.

My GHA ended when I did a two prong attack, hammer and anvil style.
I dosed Vibrant once a week for 7 weeks and dosed hydrogen peroxide 10ml daily during that time.

After a few weeks GHA started turning gray and then I vacuumed it daily until it was all gone.

GHA isn't the end of things, but watch those nitrates as well.

Good luck

 

[Adrift]

Welcome to R2R glad you joined us.

 

[Kiwi reefer]

Welcome to R2R

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[chipchipbro]

Hi and welcome to R2R.
If its not getting better @brandon429 might be able to help you with a rip-clean.

 

[brandon429]

lets see a full tank picture to get an idea. its rare for people to agree to deep clean a 130 gallon setup but we have a few resolved individuals who really did take apart big tanks as a reference if Debbie is ready to get caught up.

the tank will be clean when you force it to comply. it may also comply by luck and coaxing and adjustment based on what someone else did, but that's open-ended wait.

 

[Manny’s Reef]

Good thing you asked right? Look at all of these responses already.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi,
I have had a 135g mt for 3 years … fish mostly live … our regular fish person went out of business and well been learning most of what we were taught was wrong …. Don’t get me started on the nightmare that is my frustration right now. That being said … starting to research and actually learn vs listening to the expert. … we have a trigger 34 sump, current orbit ic dual led lights and pump hooked up to the Bluetooth controller (which I hate), we are waiting on a protein skimmer that is actually sized for our tank to show up and I opted to purchase the hydros controller system. Our current situation is a slew of cyano ( of the green kind) and hair algae out the wazoo….we have spent the last three weeks dropping the phosphate .5 to .03 with GFO and attempting to pull the algae off the rocks without disrupting the tank too much we have a tiny golf ball sized chaeto that for some reason wont grow even though we have a kessil light on it … did I mention my frustration …. ok rant over… just hoping to find someone to say its ok your tank will be pretty again.

Welcome! Glad you joined. Hang in there - yes, your tank will be pretty again. We've been battling green hair algae - just wrapping up WWII ... the first war was bad enough, but apparently we didn't get it all OR more snuck in but just hang in there and keep at it. We eliminated our white light and I finally gave in and agreed to (closed) installation of wide slat mini blinds on our southern facing wall of windows - that white light and sunlight was extra fuel for our algae problem. Hate we keep most of the the blinds closed in this formally bright room, but the tank is doing a lot better. Like you, we get in there each week and pull (and scrub) out what we can. Ours is returning to pretty, and so will yours. Just keep at it.

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[maceto]

Welcome!!!