new to the hobby and need help please

[sgerwin]

hey guys im pretty new to the salt water tank keeping hobby i am soon learning it is nothing like keeping large freshwater tanks. my 30gallon biocube has been running fine for about 8 months everything was clean and health but since i have started working two jobs and school i neglected my aquarium for about two weeks..... silly of me i know... i did a water change and two weeks ago and after that i noticed everything plummeted,, my clownfish died, my zoas are closed and i have brown hair alge growing everywere, ther is like a layer of it on my sand... please help me i dont know what to do, i also have these wierd slugs or snails that have apeared out of no were please help it would be appreciated, the guy at the fishstore said my salt was high and i fixed that last week, and same with my phosphates wich i have fixed as well but the alge is getting worse and so are my zoas

[oscarinw]

The best way to get some opinions here would be to provide all your water parameters:
Salinity
Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphates
Nitrate
Temperature

From what you are describing, your situation appears to be related to water quality but beyond that, it is hard to say.
Algae better ally is lighting, so reducing your photoperiod might help but maintaining water quality is also important. One or two big water changes might be appropriate.
Good luck with things

[dclownd]

Clean the glass with your mag float and clean the rocks with a toothbrush. Stir your sand up a bit. If you got room get a sand sifting goby. As for the snail it looks harmless it looks like one of those hitchiker stormatella get a shot of the shell just in case. When your doing water changes try to "blow off your zoas" or use a baster to kick the sand off em. Hope this helps.

[sgerwin]

Hey Guys thanks for the quick replies
I will try to post my water perimeters tomorrow
There isn't ever any sand on my zoas the just seem to be closed more often and the green ones used to have 20+ heads now ther is 4 and the orange zoas by the red Alger are constantly closed I don't want them to start dying. As for stiring up the sand I do that when I do water cvhanges buy the ages grows right back

[sgerwin]

here is a pciture of the snails shell,

Clean the glass with your mag float and clean the rocks with a toothbrush. Stir your sand up a bit. If you got room get a sand sifting goby. As for the snail it looks harmless it looks like one of those hitchiker stormatella get a shot of the shell just in case. When your doing water changes try to "blow off your zoas" or use a baster to kick the sand off em. Hope this helps.

as far as using a mag float the algea grows back so fast is that normal?

[dclownd]

You could decrease light a bit. I changed my spectrums a bit and decreased full day light time and now it does not grow as fast. Ya still looks like a stormatella.
Do a slightly larger weekly water change for awhile 2.

[sgerwin]

What are your light cycles ? Do you think a goby would hel me with the sand turning ?

[sgerwin]

An you guys can't tell why my zoas are disapearing? Do you think buying a new light would help any because I'm not realy sure how old mine is

[Calappidae]

Originally Posted by sgerwin

An you guys can't tell why my zoas are disapearing? Do you think buying a new light would help any because I'm not realy sure how old mine is

Do you check magnessium, calcium, iodine, and other trace elements?

[Calappidae]

Originally Posted by sgerwin

hey guys im pretty new to the salt water tank keeping hobby i am soon learning it is nothing like keeping large freshwater tanks. my 30gallon biocube has been running fine for about 8 months everything was clean and health but since i have started working two jobs and school i neglected my aquarium for about two weeks..... silly of me i know... i did a water change and two weeks ago and after that i noticed everything plummeted,, my clownfish died, my zoas are closed and i have brown hair alge growing everywere, ther is like a layer of it on my sand... please help me i dont know what to do, i also have these wierd slugs or snails that have apeared out of no were please help it would be appreciated, the guy at the fishstore said my salt was high and i fixed that last week, and same with my phosphates wich i have fixed as well but the alge is getting worse and so are my zoas

The bigger the tank.. the easier it is. If you had a 75 gallon or larger you could've gotten away with leaving it alone.. but a 30 gallon.. its hard to walk away! Salt levels spikes from evaporation, under higher lighting more water will evaporate and the salt will shoot up.

[sgerwin]

I have reef salt so my calcium is fine I've never checked magnesium or iodine should I buy test kits for those? Ya my salt did spike briefly do up think that's what upset my tank

[Calappidae]

Originally Posted by sgerwin

I have reef salt so my calcium is fine I've never checked magnesium or iodine should I buy test kits for those? Ya my salt did spike briefly do up think that's what upset my tank

Without a doubt in my mind.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Originally Posted by sgerwin

here is a pciture of the snails shell,

That's a stomatella - harmless.

Are you using RODI water? Are you topping off daily with fresh water?

[sgerwin]

yes i am topping off with fresh water now that i know that only fresh water evaporates and leaves the rest of the minerals and salt behind. i am not using RODI water but i am using filtered water. i was told the water in my area is very good and i wouldnt need rodi but i am beginning to think that is false

[sgerwin]

when i blasted all of my rocks and sand with the turkey baser the algea came off in big chunks and i tried to collect most of it with a net i can see it is starting to grow back as of yesterday

[chicagoreefer20]

That sounds like cyno

[rlm2005]

Originally Posted by sgerwin

What are your light cycles ? Do you think a goby would hel me with the sand turning ?

Don't add anything to the tank until you have your parameters under control. Cleaning up the tank and water changes for now. You do need to post your test numbers including calcium, salt mix varies from brand to brand and between batches, especially if you are using it from a bucket.

[Calappidae]

Originally Posted by sgerwin

yes i am topping off with fresh water now that i know that only fresh water evaporates and leaves the rest of the minerals and salt behind. i am not using RODI water but i am using filtered water. i was told the water in my area is very good and i wouldnt need rodi but i am beginning to think that is false

Local water being pure enough for aquarium use is only in your dreams...
RO.. or distilled water should be used ONLY.. not only because it is pure, but because there is less phosphates and other crap in the tap water not being filtered out.

[sgerwin]

So I will start using distilled water immediately and that should help? The cyno and hair algae are by products of unwanted nutrients in the water I'm using?

[sgerwin]

It's funny that tap water is the stuff we use to cook and drink but it's not good for aquariums..... It says a lot about what we put... Or should put in our bodies

[Calappidae]

You'll go broke buying distilled water, getting an RO unit will pay for itself in no time.

[MondoBongo]

Originally Posted by sgerwin

It's funny that tap water is the stuff we use to cook and drink but it's not good for aquariums..... It says a lot about what we put... Or should put in our bodies

well you actually shouldn't drink RODI water or similarly purified waters. since the water is ionically imbalanced after coming out of the filter it can actually strip nutrients from your body tissues.

for example, some ultrapure water used in the manufacture of electronic devices like semiconductors and circuit boards can be down right dangerous if consumed, since it is so pure.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1750612/d...ke-your-iphone

most city water is perfectly fine for drinking, if gross tasting. small levels of phosphates that fuel algae blooms aren't harmful to humans. as far as i know cyano can't grow in our stomachs.

[Calappidae]

Originally Posted by MondoBongo

well you actually shouldn't drink RODI water or similarly purified waters. since the water is ionically imbalanced after coming out of the filter it can actually strip nutrients from your body tissues.

for example, some ultrapure water used in the manufacture of electronic devices like semiconductors and circuit boards can be down right dangerous if consumed, since it is so pure.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1750612/d...ke-your-iphone

most city water is perfectly fine for drinking, if gross tasting. small levels of phosphates that fuel algae blooms aren't harmful to humans. as far as i know cyano can't grow in our stomachs.

I use a water filter to drink my water but I won't drink RO or distilled for any reason.

[sgerwin]

Ya I was referring to the chlorine and othe chemicals in the tap water that isn't fine to drink but I've also read that some people say that distilled water will upset my tank as well would it be worh it to buy an ro unit ? Any recommendations on brand names ?

[Calappidae]

Originally Posted by sgerwin

Ya I was referring to the chlorine and othe chemicals in the tap water that isn't fine to drink but I've also read that some people say that distilled water will upset my tank as well would it be worh it to buy an ro unit ? Any recommendations on brand names ?

Yes an RO is worth it. I use a whirlpool brand 3 stage filter RO I got from lowes.. it has a 2 gallon storage unit so there is always 2 gallons of water prefiltered and ready for use instead of waiting over night to fill a bucket.