Thinking about throwing in the towel

hawk82 · Feb 12, 2020

I think im about to give up. It seems Ive had problems from the start. I used to keep african cichlids for over 6 years and never has one issue. First thing that happened was my sixline wrasse ended up in my filter, and died. I got another one, and he died within 2 days for no reason. So waited awhile, got a melanurus and a bicolor blenny. Blenny didnt make it, but the melanurus is doing great, and I was enjoying watching him. But now my tank is UGLY, first i had dinos, and I got a uv that seemed to clear those up. Well now its like ive got diatoms all over the sand and rocks, pretty sure the dinos didnt come back because this time its just brown with no bubbles in it. I dont understand why diatoms are coming out now the tank has been running for almost 6 months now. And on top of that the tank seems "dusty" like tons of white dust particles all in the water. I really dont know what to do now, so many problems and ive not even got into coral yet. Thinking of just going back to cichlids.

Scwahl44 · Feb 12, 2020

Man stick with it , I have done it all and when I started salt it was super frustrating , it just takes patience man, cichlids are awesome and I still have a small tank of them but they for sure do not beat saltwater

Triggreef · Feb 12, 2020

hawk82 said:
I think im about to give up. It seems Ive had problems from the start. I used to keep african cichlids for over 6 years and never has one issue. First thing that happened was my sixline wrasse ended up in my filter, and died. I got another one, and he died within 2 days for no reason. So waited awhile, got a melanurus and a bicolor blenny. Blenny didnt make it, but the melanurus is doing great, and I was enjoying watching him. But now my tank is UGLY, first i had dinos, and I got a uv that seemed to clear those up. Well now its like ive got diatoms all over the sand and rocks, pretty sure the dinos didnt come back because this time its just brown with no bubbles in it. I dont understand why diatoms are coming out now the tank has been running for almost 6 months now. And on top of that the tank seems "dusty" like tons of white dust particles all in the water. I really dont know what to do now, so many problems and ive not even got into coral yet. Thinking of just going back to cichlids.

It's not for everyone, honestly. If your this frustrated about what you mentioned it may very well not be a hobby for you.

That said, the diatoms you mentioned are a part of normal business with new saltwater tanks. Every single one. You may try lowering your lights to 6 hours or less and that should help with any pest algae/diatom/dino whatever problem you might have.

This hobby is full of pests and nuisances so if your not up to the work and research/learning aspect, then save yourself some coin. Fish come with ich, velvet, uronema marinum, flukes, etc etc on and on. Even more pests for corals, zoa spiders, aptasia, zoa nudibranchs, red bugs, black bugs, acro eating flatworms, red planaria, polyclad worms that eat snails and clams, bristle worms that give you a rash.... And those are only the more common ones!!!

Katrina71 · Feb 13, 2020

Don't give up. It's just a little brown gunk.

reefiniteasy · Feb 13, 2020

I’m no expert but what do have in your CUC?

fcmatt · Feb 13, 2020

Dusty white sounds like a small uv device will take care of that. It happens on new tanks.

6 months is nothing for the time it takes to mature. You need to get to 18 months to make a call on it.

Just do weekly water changes and relax.

vetteguy53081 · Feb 13, 2020

Many contributors.
Very salinity and phosphate as well as what is your tank temperature?
For fish ... how are you introducing the fish(acclimation) ?
What filtration method are you using?

ARE YOU ABLE TO POST A COUPLE OF PICTURES FOR US TO SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Albertan22 · Feb 13, 2020

You’re still in the uglies. A saltwater cycle doesn’t stop with nitrate showing up. You go through dinos, diatoms, and then hair algae and it takes nearly a year. Stick it out and wait while managing your nutrients. A filter sock will help with clear the water column.

hawk82 · Feb 13, 2020

Drip acclimation for fish, filtraton is a reef octopus bh100 hob skimmer, salinity is 1.026, temp is 78, cuc mixture of snails and hermits.

fishguy242 · Feb 13, 2020

hang in there ,the white dust all over is most likely melanarus spitting and digging sand he will settle in ,no worries ,need help we are here 24-7, 6mo you will be telling us what we need to do ,it only gets better,best wishes happy reefing

Soronus · Feb 13, 2020

Sounds like you are going though everything I did and this is my second time around. Keep our head up and keep trying this is not an easy hobby.

dank reefer · Feb 13, 2020

Post some pics of your tank so that we can see your setup.

Sometimes the best thing to do in this hobby when you are feeling frustrated is to take 2 steps back and breath. With what you are describing it sounds like this is a fairly new tank which will go through the stages you are going through right now. More than not, everyone goes through these stages, and half of them are ready to see this stage and let it run its course, while others don't know what to do.

First off - You are in the right place with tons of experienced hobbyist that are willing to help you any way possible.
Second - Breath Padawan
Third - Go back to the basics. test your water and see if you are having elevated ammonia in your tank from all the fish die offs. Water changes are your friend at this point as well.
Forth - GO SLOW.... this is the most important step. We all want to have a thriving reef tank in 1 day, and unfortunately it ain't going to happen.

Don't give up my man/woman. If your old enough, step back and have a beer and ask your reefing fam for help. We are here for you.

destro · Feb 13, 2020

You might not even know it, but you signed up for salt water for the challenge. Focus on one issue at a time. You have plenty of free resource here. Let the community help you get through it. It's one of the toughest hobbies but probably the most rewarding. We live through it, learn, share and help others.

Don't quit.

mcbdz · Feb 13, 2020

You may want to step back on the fish for a few weeks and focus on clean up crew if needed and just let your tank go through this phase. Also check into Quarantining your fish. They can bring diseases into your tank that will not only kill that fish but all and future fish. Did you notice anything on or about the fish that died? Just take it slow and you'll feel different in a few weeks.

hawk82 · Feb 14, 2020

If i were to replace all my rock with real live rock, would that help my tank get though this faze faster? At this point id rather have to deal with some live rock hitch hikers then a ugly tank.

Redleg · Feb 14, 2020

changing your rock won't make the ugly phase go any faster. it just takes time.

Daddy-o · Feb 14, 2020

hawk82 said:
If i were to replace all my rock with real live rock, would that help my tank get though this faze faster? At this point id rather have to deal with some live rock hitch hikers then a ugly tank.

If you are local to me, I would be happy to swing by and help you out! When I first started, I lost some expensive fish. My second reef looked like a brown shag carpet over every surface. 3 years into it and now I have 7 happy reefs. I think a lot of my issues were thinking my nitrates and phosphates had to be zero. Lots of fish, lots of food for those fish, and a lot of skimming.
Cheers! Mark

fishguy242 · Feb 14, 2020

hi i would say yes to adding some not all your choice fully cured live rock and good skimmer old school cycle imo works every time

Roachbeef19 · Feb 14, 2020

Also check on your clean up crew every day. A dead snail rotting in your tank that young will bring on algae problems

Roachbeef19 · Feb 14, 2020

Keep up with small water changes weekly till you get rid of your nuisance algae. Mix the day before in a bucket or trash can with a pump for circulation and a heater. Suck out what algae you can when performing water changes