The Cause of my problems?

[MSB123]

I have to clean my glass on my tank twice a day. Otherwise it gets very covered in film algae and I cant see in by day 2 of not cleaning. I also have Cyano problems and GHA problems. I have dealt with the cyano with chemiclean, and the gha with a lawnmower Benny, and I have a very large and diverse CUC.
I think I may know the problem.

The room that my tank is in has windows all along the top of the left wall. They never get direct sun, but I suspect that they get very powerful indirect sunlight 6-8 hours a day.
Could this be the root of my issues? Would adding curtains help?

 

[EmdeReef]

It’s not unusual to have to clean glass every 2 days. I managed to prolong that by adding oxydators but still have to clean At least once a week and sometimes more often - my tank gets some direct sunlight.

it might be the room light though usually you’d need direct sunlight.

 

[MSB123]

It’s not unusual to have to clean glass every 2 days. I managed to prolong that by adding oxydators but still have to clean At least once a week and sometimes more often - my tank gets some direct sunlight.

it might be the room light though usually you’d need direct sunlight.

Sorry- it was confusing.
I have two clean twice a day otherwise after 2 days I cant see into my tank. It is visibly obstructing my view of the tank after about 6 hours.

 

[Ron Reefman]

The room that my tank is in has windows all along the top of the left wall. They never get direct sun, but I suspect that they get very powerful indirect sunlight 6-8 hours a day. Could this be the root of my issues?
It could be, and if not the root, at least a contributor. You say you have hairy algae issues as well bur a lawnmower Blenny takes care of that. That suggests to me that you have issues with nitrates, phosphates and possibly even ammonia, but they don't show up in parameter tests because the algae and diatoms have already taken them out of the water.

Would adding curtains help?
It could. I'd use ones that REALLY block the light. You could also try dark tint on the windows. My tank is along a north wall (no direct sunlight) with 3 big sliding doors. They are tinted, but no curtains and I have very little algae or diatom issues.

Hopefully others will add their ideas and thoughts.

Good luck.

 

[Oldreefer44]

Agree that the light is a contributor but not the main issue. If it was the sole source then the oceans would be full of algae. What are the po4/no3 measurements? Most likely high and the source of the problem.

 

[MSB123]

Agree that the light is a contributor but not the main issue. If it was the sole source then the oceans would be full of algae. What are the po4/no3 measurements? Most likely high and the source of the problem.

Not super high. I will test when I get home. My issue is I have 28 clownfish and they need to eat 8 Times a day (2 oz of pellets a week)

 

[Hemmdog]

Do you have any pics of what it looks like right after you do the glass, 6 hours after, 2 days after? I had a similar question last night about the tank receiving sunlight outside of the tanks lights photoperiod and it’s effect on corals.

 

[MSB123]

Do you have any pics of what it looks like right after you do the glass, 6 hours after, 2 days after? I had a similar question last night about the tank receiving sunlight outside of the tanks lights photoperiod and it’s effect on corals.

Not right now, But in 2 days I will. I will post pictures when I get home ( it will be about 6 hours since i cleaned my glass, and then I will not clean the left half of my tank for 2 days.

 

[happyhourhero]

I would say overfeeding and inadequate nutrient export is the root of your issue. Do you use rodi source water?

 

[MSB123]

I would say overfeeding and inadequate nutrient export is the root of your issue. Do you use rodi source water?

Yes. RODI 5 stage, 4 TDS after RO, 0 after DI.
I also change 3 gallons a day (1.5%) in AWC.

 

[madweazl]

The sunlight isn't doing anything the lights above your tank aren't.

 

[Hemmdog]

Yes. RODI 5 stage, 4 TDS after RO, 0 after DI.
I also change 3 gallons a day (1.5%) in AWC.

Yea your on top of that tank, curious to see what is going on with it.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The bio filter is probably not very mature and you could use more rock.
Or a Refugium.

 

[MSB123]

Yea your on top of that tank, curious to see what is going on with it.

Yeah. I used to be more loose with my tanks, (Just RO, infrequent water changes), but Now I am skimming a ton, doing a 20% WC every 2 weeks on top of 1.5% a day, and using RODI

 

[MSB123]

The bio filter is probably not very mature and you could use more rock.
Or a Refugium.

I have 150 lbs of rock, and 2 8x8x4” blocks of marine pure
I am also running a 15 gallon fuge with a Kessil H380 12 hours a day, reverse photoperiod.
I am really at a loss as to what I am missing.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I have 150 lbs of rock, and 2 8x8x4” blocks of marine pure
I am also running a 15 gallon fuge with a Kessil H380 12 hours a day, reverse photoperiod.
I am really at a loss as to what I am missing.

How old?

 

[MSB123]

I really dont see what I could be doing that could help this. I almost feel like starting over (Not quitting, just starting completely over with completely new livestock and a new tank.)

 

[MSB123]

How old?

The tank?
Or the rock?
The tank has been set up for 2.5 years now, and the rock is about 3 years old (I cured it/cycled it for 6 months before adding it to the tank)

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The tank?
Or the rock?
The tank has been set up for 2.5 years now, and the rock is about 3 years old (I cured it/cycled it for 6 months before adding it to the tank)

Interesting. You don’t seem to have a lot of corraline either.

 

[MSB123]

Interesting. You don’t seem to have a lot of corraline either.

Yeah- that picture is about 2 months old (I just couldn’t find any good ones from recently)
I suspect that is because for a while I didn’t do water changes very often and didn’t dose at all. (I have started dosing two part in the last few months)