On a Quest for Information

Noah's Shark · Mar 21, 2020

Good evening,
I am fairly new to this wonderful hobby so I would like to begin by apologizing for any lack in terminology or equipment that may be considered commonplace in more advanced tanks. To make a rather long story short, I have been locked in combat with a mass of algae that was forced upon me (with good intentions). I received a 55 gallon established tank as a surprise around two months ago that came with a type of clown fish (possibly a caramel clown?), two four-stripe damsels, a golden damsel, along with a very blue fish and two black bodied/yellow tailed fish I have yet to identify. It also came with a pencil urchin and a massive algae issue. This tank was an upgrade from my 29 gallon nano cube which I had running for quite some time, so I figured I would transfer the rock from my nano cube to the new tank as well. This only created a mix of the new tank's green hair algae and my minor (but controlled) issue with red slime algae. Over the last two months the green hair algae has been beaten back moderately well, and the slime algae has been limited to only a few rocks, but the glass is being overtaken and it seems there must be a better way than scraping it all off twice a day. I have ordered an API Reef Test kit to test for Phosphates, Alkalinity, Calcium, and Nitrates and it should be arriving soon along with salt to mix my own water. I also have made a copepod breeding tank for the mandarin dragonet that also calls the tank home. The aquascaping was very poorly done ( I take full responsibility) and the previous owners had used some sort of gravel rather than a sand or substrate bottom. So my questions are as follows:
1.) How to I correct my algae problem?
2.) Is it too late to correct my poor aquascaping job in order to promote better flow and coral growth?
3.) Is this gravel suitable for the tank and should/can it be replaced over time?
4.) The sump came with bio balls, a filter pad, and pretty much nothing else. How can I better upgrade my filtration and could I possibly make a refugium?
I am open to all suggestions, and am rather apt at researching and building things. I would appreciate any wisdom you all would pass on to me.

Jseimo · Mar 21, 2020

1 - is find the source of the outbreak. Over feeding, light cycle/type of lights (color spectrum), water source are you using rodi water or distilled water

2 - not to late to change aquascape, many people do it

3 - It’s usually not recommended to reuse any substrate unless it’s be thoroughly cleaned. Either way aquarium gravel is frowned upon unless it’s crushed corals. You could take it out and run a bear bottom or switch to a reef sand made from aragonite By using a tube to add it to the bottom

4 - ditch the bio balls and sponges and look into a good in sump skimmer. As for a refugium I’d look into a diy algae reactor or a algae turf scrubber

Noah's Shark · Mar 21, 2020

Jseimo said:
3 - It’s usually not recommended to reuse any substrate unless it’s be thoroughly cleaned. Either way aquarium gravel is frowned upon unless it’s crushed corals. You could take it out and run a bear bottom or switch to a reef sand made from aragonite By using a tube to add it to the bottom

Would this spike the levels in the tank by doing this? Should it be a gradual process? As for the water, I am using distilled because my RO/DI place is under quarantine. Does anyone have any suggestions for a reliable place to get some smaller dry rock I could clean and place in the tank? The tank only came with rather uniform sizes and weights.

Jseimo · Mar 21, 2020

Noah's Shark said:
Would this spike the levels in the tank by doing this? Should it be a gradual process? As for the water, I am using distilled because my RO/DI place is under quarantine. Does anyone have any suggestions for a reliable place to get some smaller dry rock I could clean and place in the tank? The tank only came with rather uniform sizes and weights.

yes, gradual is best. Stirring up a sand bed could release a whole bunch of nasty stuff. As for dry rock Amazon sometimes has it for a good price, bulk reef supply, marine depot, saltwater aquariums.com or premium aquatics for dry rock

brandon429 · Mar 21, 2020

this will fix your sand issues and all cyano issues

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

and this one will fix all algae issues, by direct kill method, while your tank is taken apart getting the sandbed cleaned.

Reef2Reef Pest algae challenge thread hydrogen peroxide

What you are really in for: Hand cleaning, hard work siphon and rasp-removing of accumulations and invasions outside the tank and doing massive water changes is 90% of this thread, peroxide is 10%. We almost never dose peroxide into the tank water, this is a you-work-physically-hard as catch-up...

www.reef2reef.com

it takes about 2 hrs to read that info, but patterns come to life when doing so. that is tank after tank after tank getting worked in the way you want. we do not use brevity in my threads; it is loathed. before/during/after analysis is all we care about. establishing patterns by linking tanks together using the same approach is a work thread, its the best proofing in reefing yep.

Noah's Shark · Mar 21, 2020

Thank you both for the information and suggestions. I'm struggling to decide on the order of things however.
Brandon, your links were very helpful and, while I didn't read through every link, I did find plenty of good advice. However, I fear I am too young and inexperienced to fully understand the terminology.The pattern I was finding was to transfer corals and inverts to a separate tank that has recently been established. I still have my nano cube that I have yet to sell, but there is no water in it. I could mix some water, but I don't have that much RO/DI available for some time. Not to mention the algae scrubber and/or reactor. I have also looked into a DIY protein skimmer. So my question now is:
What order should I be doing all of these things? To what extent can I restart? The previous owners allowed this tank to run rather unchecked for several years they tell me. I beginning to think a completely new tank may be the best way to go. Larger, better filtration, and good maintenance from the start.
As for the sand issue, should I purchase new sand or can I use this crushed coral that I have on hand? What are the upsides/downsides to either one?

Here is what the tank looked like when I first set it up at my house vs what it looks like around 7 weeks later.

brandon429 · Mar 21, 2020

hey based on pics thats an easy job. here's one more thread with the steps listed for disassembly cleaning it will apply here for sure/save a retype. its only 1 post so it doesnt require pages of info to extract! good tank, with a minor gardening run it will pep back up: post #5

Big Algae Problem

Hi, I’ve been having some trouble with algae lately in my ten-gallon. It’s starting to mess with the growth of my favia, which has turned a cloudy white on the encrusting parts. I tested phosphates and nitrates today, and they were hardly negligible (Salifert for both). I have a mini protein...

www.reef2reef.com

Noah's Shark · Mar 21, 2020

Brandon, you truly are a wealth of knowledge. I have ordered the salt needed to conduct this rip clean (and then some) and will most likely proceed when it arrives.
Also, what about the sand vs crushed coral? Any thoughts on that?
Last but not least, your "Reefbowl" might just be the coolest thing I have ever seen. I really appreciate all the support and guidance.

brandon429 · Mar 21, 2020

hey thanks tons for considering do take us good pics we want to use your work example to show others reliability/execution/outcome.

that little reefbowl is a funny oracle lol I use its biology to control every offer I make on the web for large tanks, its a quick mini model of events. the large tanks take months to manifest what the little bubbler shows in three days, after action X etc.

a typical dynamic we see in small grain sand /superfine grain is it blows around hassle style in high flow tanks, but it rejects detritus incursion and forms brown layers on top and in the corners of the tank vs taking in the waste to the very bottom of the bed. topical cleaning is easy, not much deep cleaning required since detritus sits on top.

larger grain sands up to and including crushed coral dont move around but they have large pocketing which grabs and locks in detritus, you'll have to intermittently clean that type with a siphon or just occasionally rip clean, your choice.

be sure and take the new sand you buy and rinse it in tap until 1000% clear, not a shred of cloud, before use. Make its final rinse in RO water or saltwater so that no tap goes into the tank, although that wouldnt be harmful (its so diluted upon refill)

* dont let future rip cleans get put off just due to making so much water. after your upcoming rip clean which is a 100% new water refill upon setup, when you want to rip clean again just siphon that good water off the tank, down to the sand, into a brute. work the rinsing / rocks are detailed with saltwater and peroxide spray if needed/and refill using the drawn off water, back over clean sand.

You can reset your tank over and over into infinity and it will live forever, we show lol. Its definitely a cheat to normal reefing lol and we love it.

Noah's Shark · Mar 21, 2020

I would be honored to offer my work for the benefit of others. I think I will invest in purchasing some of the finer grain sand. Any suggestions for specific brands and what to look for?
Earlier in the discussion I was advised to "ditch the bio balls and sponges" and look into a skimmer and algae reactor/scrubber. I've also been looking into the possibility of DIYing a refugium to replace the current sump. Do you have any advice as far as filtration goes?

brandon429 · Mar 21, 2020

Anything beyond live rock and live sand is in the realm of acceptable experimentation so I advocate any of those arrangements you want to try

Any reef will run solely on LR/LS so things beyond that are for the fun of experimentation and maybe they’ll allow you to back off on water changes for intervals, no way to be certain which have positive or neutral impacts. The most common sand everyone likes is ocean direct from caribsea.

fiji pink from caribsea is second most common

people aren’t liking the black volcanic sand, lots of negatives on that sand we read. Ocean direct has no negatives, other than one dude said he found a fish hook in it lol/ it said direct !