Seriously in need of HELP/ADVICE

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sheldon1451

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Ok...I have a 34 or 35 gal Solana tank. Apparently, I got ahold of some "bad" sand a few months back when I set it up. I had alot of dirt in the tank water. I removed all of the rock and sand, and returned the rock. NOW, it appears that a whole lot of dirt and phosphates and nitrates (I assume) are in all of that rock, although my corals are doing well (go figure). I'm experiencing a huge algae bloom for the past few months now. I was hoping that frequent water changes would cure that, but it hasn't. Frustration has set in! I don't want to replace all of the rock, so...I'm thinking of removing the corals, scrubbing the rock and wash the rock in a tub of new saltwater to remove the dirt. And then return the rock and keep my fingers crossed! Any ideas/suggestions? My chemical parameters are decent and I'm certain that this is an issue with the rock....
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:squigglemouth: thanks in advance....
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
Could be phosphates leaching from the rock, in which case just scrubbing it wouldn't help you. You need to run GFO or a Lanthanum product to keep the leaaching to a minimum.
Do you have enough of a CUC to handle some of that HA?
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
sheldon1451 said:
Ok...I have a 34 or 35 gal Solana tank. Apparently, I got ahold of some "bad" sand a few months back when I set it up. I had alot of dirt in the tank water. I removed all of the rock and sand, and returned the rock. NOW, it appears that a whole lot of dirt and phosphates and nitrates (I assume) are in all of that rock, although my corals are doing well (go figure). I'm experiencing a huge algae bloom for the past few months now. I was hoping that frequent water changes would cure that, but it hasn't. Frustration has set in! I don't want to replace all of the rock, so...I'm thinking of removing the corals, scrubbing the rock and wash the rock in a tub of new saltwater to remove the dirt. And then return the rock and keep my fingers crossed! Any ideas/suggestions? My chemical parameters are decent and I'm certain that this is an issue with the rock.... 20140530_124329.jpg 20140616_170723.jpg 20140609_211122.jpg :squigglemouth: thanks in advance....
Click to expand...
Id run gfo in a reactor to get your phosphates down and if you need a little help getting your nitrates down just throw a sack of denitrate stones (seachem) in your sump and let your beneficial bacteria colonize them. my nitrate and phosphates are zero after those adjustments and I'm algae free
 
I've been thinking of running gfo as suggested. and I have the denitrate stones too. I guess I should have posted that it's really a two part problem:
First: the algae issue...and...
second: the dirt issue.
I know I can't scrub out the phosphates, but I haven't come up with anything else other than scrubbing and rinsing the rock in a tub of saltwater to get all the dirt out. There's an incredible amount of it and I seem unable to just siphon it out with water changes.....
As for the phosphate and nitrate, my phosphates read as .04 and my nitrates as 0!
Thanks for the input....
 
Cuc clean up crew hermits and snails hermit crabs will love all your algea . And if u can a lawn mower bleeny will also be in hevean
 
Nutramar Foods
But as your pic shows you do have a lot if u can get a lot out manually a good cuc crew will do wonders as will a gfo
 
of course!! CUC!...I have quite a few snails already...in fact, some of the snails now have algae growing on their shells!!!!! I had a lawnmower blenny, but he either jumped out or was thrown out by my clowns....I can always add more snails, but the rate of growth of the algae is almost scary!!
 
Using a Lanthanum product you can rid your system of phosphates quickly, over a few days time frame, then add GFO to continue maintenance on the removal.
Sea Hares along with the mentioned Snails, I'd steer clear of hermits though as they can get hungry and mow down the corals.
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
which lanthanum product? carbonate? and at what rate of dosing? is there a lanthanum product out there specifically aimed at reef maintenance? thanks in advance..
 
I used SeaKlear phosphate remover on mine, still use it today instead of GFO. You can dial in how much to dose daily to keep the phosphates where you want them, instead of having to watch gfo exhaust and replace all the time. Just don't remove it all in one day, that could shock your system.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
I've never had dirty live rock so I'm not sure how to handle that. I'm sure shaking your rocks in a bucket of saltwater wouldn't hurt if its bothering you and your system. i bought a ton of red legged hermits to go town on my BAD hair algae problem i had and they did a great job. once the algae was gone i waited til the lights went out so they'd all come out and i plucked them out of the tank and gave them to my local fish store for credit. they quadrupled in size since i got them due to a hefty food suply. also, one spot fox faces LOVE algae and ripped at it all day long but i think your tank it too small for them. i just used gfo and de-nitrate rocks to maintain the low nutrient levels that my SPS seem to enjoy.
 
scoobysnack77 said:
I've never had dirty live rock so I'm not sure how to handle that. I'm sure shaking your rocks in a bucket of saltwater wouldn't hurt if its bothering you and your system. i bought a ton of red legged hermits to go town on my BAD hair algae problem i had and they did a great job. once the algae was gone i waited til the lights went out so they'd all come out and i plucked them out of the tank and gave them to my local fish store for credit. they quadrupled in size since i got them due to a hefty food suply. also, one spot fox faces LOVE algae and ripped at it all day long but i think your tank it too small for them. i just used gfo and de-nitrate rocks to maintain the low nutrient levels that my SPS seem to enjoy.
Click to expand...

Yesterday I bought 10 hermits and a starry blenny. I'm going to run rowaphos for awhile and see how that does (and the additions to the tank).
Thanks again for your input
 
AS
Needless to say, you have a dose of it. The best way to clear up an algae infestation, is to cut off the algae's food source. I would suggest adding an algae scrubber to your tank. You'll grow algae, though it will be confined to one space. Algae in the scrubber should eventually compete with the algae growing all over your aquarium. Getting a clean-up crew will help, but the algae will grow faster than the animals can clear it. As suggested, a GFO reactor could help, but will take some time to absorb phosphates. I would recommend Brightwell Aquatics Phophate E liquid. It binds phosphate up, allowing your skimmer to easily remove it. Install a GFO reactor, but use the Phosphate E to bring values down. Remember, you don't want to drop them too quickly, as that can shock corals. My assumption, is that the algae you have is eating up all your phosphate anyhow, so there probably isn't many free nutrients in the water. In time, the scrubber and GFO should keep phosphates and nitrate down in your tank. Feed lightly, once per day and back off any nutrient based reef additives, until the algae is clear and nitrates and phosphate remain nearly undetectable.
 
reeffirstaid said:
Needless to say, you have a dose of it. The best way to clear up an algae infestation, is to cut off the algae's food source. I would suggest adding an algae scrubber to your tank. You'll grow algae, though it will be confined to one space. Algae in the scrubber should eventually compete with the algae growing all over your aquarium. Getting a clean-up crew will help, but the algae will grow faster than the animals can clear it. As suggested, a GFO reactor could help, but will take some time to absorb phosphates. I would recommend Brightwell Aquatics Phophate E liquid. It binds phosphate up, allowing your skimmer to easily remove it. Install a GFO reactor, but use the Phosphate E to bring values down. Remember, you don't want to drop them too quickly, as that can shock corals. My assumption, is that the algae you have is eating up all your phosphate anyhow, so there probably isn't many free nutrients in the water. In time, the scrubber and GFO should keep phosphates and nitrate down in your tank. Feed lightly, once per day and back off any nutrient based reef additives, until the algae is clear and nitrates and phosphate remain nearly undetectable.
Click to expand...

Thank you Jeremy. Will you please elaborate on "adding an algae scrubber". I'm not certain what you mean by that. I'll try the Brightwell you suggest and run the rowa. Nice web site btw.
 
Tidal Gardens
The links Reefing Madness pointed you toward will help. An algae scrubber simply combines air, light and water, in a manner conducive to algae growth. Since you clean these units regularly, there is constantly algae growing and assimilating nutrients within the water. The algae literally scrubs the water of nitrate and phosphate, and also absorbs CO2 and converts it into oxygen. They've been around for quite some time, and are still a good choice for keeping nutrient levels low in the aquarium. Another option to remove nitrate and phosphate, inhibiting algae growth, would be a zeovit or biopellet reactor, but at this stage in the game, I'd go with an algae scrubber instead. They don't require the maintenance that reactors do, and also don't require a soluble carbon to spur bacteria growth.
 
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