Running on a treadmill, nothing is working! Aglae, cyano?

[SaltLifeMom]

Hello!

I'm frustrated and I feel like an idiot, so I'm hoping someone can help.

Weeks ago, my sand starting getting covered with a green/brown stringy whispy substance. It could be easily picked off in clumps. Ordered more CUC, they don't touch it. Lawnmower blenny doesn't either. It fades a bit at night and comes back with a vengeance hours after being removed.

Started to get long algae on rocks.

I did a ton of ready and send a sample to a friend to scope. Was told no dinos no diatoms. Most recent water test on 6/1 was as follows:

Salinity 1.024
Alk ppm 151
Alk dkh 8.456
Ph 8
Phosphate 0.2
Calcium 371
Mag 1184
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 29

Did a 50% water change last night, added cleaned sand, cleaned all the pumps, hoses, chambers, etc. Siphoned all that stuff out. Left the rocks alone, hoping that once I got nitrates down, that algae (hair algae?) Would die off.

Today I tested:
Phosphate: 0.04
Nitrate 21
Alk 7.5
Ph 7.6

The growth on the sand is already coming back.

I feel like I don't know what I'm fighting, so im just hoping something works. But I'm making no progress.

I have a waterbox 25 penninsula. I have 2 wavemakers placed opposite of each other but I feel my flow on substrate is lower maybe than it should be bc my octo and hammer don't like it higher. Pics included.

Thank you so much♡♡♡

 

[SaltLifeMom]

Hi! I did a 4 days blackout twice when I had diatoms/cyano blooms in the past and they backed off. Hope it helps.

Edit: I covered the tank with a blanket so no ambient light could enter and only took it off for a few minutes to feed the fishes.

Thanks! I assume you turned all lighting totally off? You covered the top of the tank too?

 

[brandon429]

you might like to see this example, it's different from the current options

notice this thread: it's what works in other people's tanks, that's key. it's not that what worked for someone at their house can't work for you, it's that unspoken variables that occur at the home interact with the planned action and alter the results when other people try it

but this method is opposite: the actions are distilled down to a set order of ops that already account for unspoken variables home to home, that's why we have such a high rate of compliance

and your tank is a nano, it's perfect for this method

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

notice another detail: let's say a given hands off method instantly kills all that target in your sand/rocks

where does it go? further down into the bed, to fuel the next succession of invasion a few months later. look at our ending pics across these seven tanks, notice how all that happens in one day? your tank will do the same

if you want that type of fix I can customize some things unique to your setup to make it hold as long as possible. #1 is your light intensity for the tank, we'd lower that and sustain it two months and it'll still grow corals just with less par and more feed to balance coral health with your invasion control attempts. many of the other methods employ options that are opposite of what corals want (being in the dark, though it's not harmful for a few days, they're photosynthetic animals who like light) contrast to that method: one day surgical runs on reef tanks where light and feed really aren't robbed, the invader is directly ushered out.

note the entries where their example thread says "about to quit reefing" then we fixed it, and they did not quit...in one day.

 

[brandon429]

post a standing back full tank shot of your reef tank so we can see all the details, that'll factor into the final preps if you want to surgically correct that tank in one day. you'd go from invaded, to not invaded, in about 6 hours.

your tank won't recycle

we don't do parameter testing

you buy no reef additives for the job, it's all tap water work and clean saltwater you put back into the reef...a 100% water change at the end.

 

[Digger76]

Thanks! I assume you turned all lighting totally off? You covered the top of the tank too?

Yes, total darkness. I did it twice 4 days a week just to be sure. No issues with corals.

 

[SaltLifeMom]

you might like to see this example, it's different from the current options

notice this thread: it's what works in other people's tanks, that's key. it's not that what worked for someone at their house can't work for you, it's that unspoken variables that occur at the home interact with the planned action and alter the results when other people try it

but this method is opposite: the actions are distilled down to a set order of ops that already account for unspoken variables home to home, that's why we have such a high rate of compliance

and your tank is a nano, it's perfect for this method

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

notice another detail: let's say a given hands off method instantly kills all that target in your sand/rocks

where does it go? further down into the bed, to fuel the next succession of invasion a few months later. look at our ending pics across these seven tanks, notice how all that happens in one day? your tank will do the same

if you want that type of fix I can customize some things unique to your setup to make it hold as long as possible. #1 is your light intensity for the tank, we'd lower that and sustain it two months and it'll still grow corals just with less par and more feed to balance coral health with your invasion control attempts. many of the other methods employ options that are opposite of what corals want (being in the dark, though it's not harmful for a few days, they're photosynthetic animals who like light) contrast to that method: one day surgical runs on reef tanks where light and feed really aren't robbed, the invader is directly ushered out.

note the entries where their example thread says "about to quit reefing" then we fixed it, and they did not quit...in one day.

Brandon, thank you! When I get back home I'll pour over this extensively!!

 

[SaltLifeMom]

post a standing back full tank shot of your reef tank so we can see all the details, that'll factor into the final preps if you want to surgically correct that tank in one day. you'd go from invaded, to not invaded, in about 6 hours.

your tank won't recycle

we don't do parameter testing

you buy no reef additives for the job, it's all tap water work and clean saltwater you put back into the reef...a 100% water change at the end.

Here's my tank. Waterbox 25 penninsula. I have 2 powerheads in the back, I think flow in the back of the tank is an issue, but my octo and frogspawn have bailed when I increase flow.

 

[brandon429]

That doesn't look bad at all. The rip clean you can see per examples is simply taking a reef fully apart down to empty glass, cleaning it in a special way/ order of ops/ then when you put it back together it doesn't recycle or do anything bad. It just looks shiny like a gem so nanos are perfect for the system because they're small and easy to work. It's about a 4 hour job once you have all the new water made and heated/ ready for the final assembly

 

[SGV - Bluestar]

Have you tried reef safe starfish? I would also get fritz algae clean out, work like charmed.