Staring over for the last time

LoneStar45 · 02/04/2006, 11:07 AM

I'm going to first descibe my current setup. I have a 150 oceanic
with a Aqua-C1800 skimmer. My old wet/dry is converted to a sump/refugium with about 2" of aragonite substrate and live rock with some new cheato to hopefully drag the nutrients as I have been fighting Algae from day two. I keep a compact florescent on the macro algae in reverse photo periods. I have about 200 lbs of LR and have about 1 1/2 to 2" of aragonite sand. I have 6 maxi-jet 1200 powerheads, a chiller/heater, 3- 250w MH retro with actinics/whites and moonlights.

2 days ago, I had a serious meltdown. I purchased some fish from Saltwater.com that came in rancid water, half of them werte dead and one bag had no water in it. I told them about it and they couldnt have cared less. (Just plugging this company where credit is due.) Anyway, this turned out to be the least of my problems as all of them have developed "Velvet". (See pics of my now dead Imperator Angel in the disease forum). It doesnt look like it has spread to my other fish bought from a different reatiler...yet.
I had to rush out and get a 20 gallon sick tank and start dropping fish in as I tore my aquarium down and have sealed the rock in a trashcan with circulating water to help clean it up.

To make a long story short, since I have about 3 fish and my corals (at this point, only some leathers and a couple LPS's in the display tank.
I am going to set this back up one more time before I throw in the towel. I am going to do all sps corals on my next tank.
A couple of questions. I am using ro/di water yet my algae kept blooming about twice a month.
Did I have too much LR in the tank?
Should I keep the sand bed or go bare bottom?
The water looks fine as I have now strained out the detritus and the parameters are good so I would like to keep the water and avoid a complete teardown.
I have ordered two Tunze 6100 powerheads and a controller to replace the Maxijets that will be here next week.
How would you suggest I start over to avoid these problems?
Thanks

Anemonebuff · 02/04/2006, 11:18 AM

Your algae problem can be caused by a few things in combination. Phospahtes+light+inadequate waterflow+inadequate skimming=algae.

Are you cooking the rocks now?

Did you start the tank with tap water?
I made that mistake once and the algae was a problem for a long time. It takes a lot of skimming and water changes to get all the tap nasties out.

I have a sand bed without those problems, since I upgraded skimmers and added the tunze stream. My bed depth varies throughout the tank from 2"-4"(DSB....kinda sorta).

Does your RO/DI need replacing?

Do you have a TDS meter?

LoneStar45 · 02/04/2006, 11:31 AM

LOL, I made that same mistake starting out. I had to scrap that setup and wisely bought a ro/di system. Filters are new. I upgraded the skimmer to this new Aqau c and its is doing a great job. Im thinking the amount of LR was just held too much nutirents. I have about a month ahead of me so the rocks are curently cooking. Cant waint for the Tunzes. Phospates have always been 0 and I check my water parameters daily.

Anemonebuff · 02/04/2006, 11:44 AM

Unfortunately, phos test kits cannot be relied on. They will show zero, however, the phos is not suspeded but being used up by the algae, so the test shows nothing.

I think that after all these things fall into place, your tank will thrive.

Lobster · 02/04/2006, 11:45 AM

If your refugium is for chaeto export, you may want to pull all the live rock and the 2" of sand out of that sump. It doesnt do much except form a detritus trap.

Your sand bed is shallow, which can cause problems because it will trap detritus, but is not deep enough to break down nutrients the way a deep sand bed would.

Quote:

Originally posted by LoneStar45
Did I have too much LR in the tank?
Should I keep the sand bed or go bare bottom?

You only have too much live rock if it is blocking water flow in the tank, which can cause stale pockets to form where nutrients collect.

You can succeed with or without sand, the trick is to know the proper setup and husbandry for each system. Personally, I would not keep a shallow sand bed if I were planning to keep SPS, but if I were, I would treat it like a BB tank... heavy skimming, heavy flow, probably even vaccuming the sand to remove detritus.

Great water flow is important in any tank, so the tunze's you ordered should probably help.

About your fish order, that's terrible. I would call them and tell them you have decided to dispute the charges with your credit card company. If they do not refund you, then go ahead and do it. Your card company will reverse the charges and they will incur a chargeback fine (usually ~$30).

SeanT · 02/04/2006, 02:20 PM

In your situation I am glad to see you are "cooking" your live rock.
You sound like you want to be in this hobby but are getting so frustrated it is taking all the fun out of it.
You will be amazed at how differently you will view the hobby once the green plague is gone.

If you need help/advice on "cooking" them let me know.

Sean

02/04/2006, 11:07 AM	#1
LoneStar45 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Lake Jackson, Texas Posts: 154	Staring over for the last time I'm going to first descibe my current setup. I have a 150 oceanic with a Aqua-C1800 skimmer. My old wet/dry is converted to a sump/refugium with about 2" of aragonite substrate and live rock with some new cheato to hopefully drag the nutrients as I have been fighting Algae from day two. I keep a compact florescent on the macro algae in reverse photo periods. I have about 200 lbs of LR and have about 1 1/2 to 2" of aragonite sand. I have 6 maxi-jet 1200 powerheads, a chiller/heater, 3- 250w MH retro with actinics/whites and moonlights. 2 days ago, I had a serious meltdown. I purchased some fish from Saltwater.com that came in rancid water, half of them werte dead and one bag had no water in it. I told them about it and they couldnt have cared less. (Just plugging this company where credit is due.) Anyway, this turned out to be the least of my problems as all of them have developed "Velvet". (See pics of my now dead Imperator Angel in the disease forum). It doesnt look like it has spread to my other fish bought from a different reatiler...yet. I had to rush out and get a 20 gallon sick tank and start dropping fish in as I tore my aquarium down and have sealed the rock in a trashcan with circulating water to help clean it up. To make a long story short, since I have about 3 fish and my corals (at this point, only some leathers and a couple LPS's in the display tank. I am going to set this back up one more time before I throw in the towel. I am going to do all sps corals on my next tank. A couple of questions. I am using ro/di water yet my algae kept blooming about twice a month. Did I have too much LR in the tank? Should I keep the sand bed or go bare bottom? The water looks fine as I have now strained out the detritus and the parameters are good so I would like to keep the water and avoid a complete teardown. I have ordered two Tunze 6100 powerheads and a controller to replace the Maxijets that will be here next week. How would you suggest I start over to avoid these problems? Thanks __________________ In the beginning there was nothing.... which exploded. Current Tank Info: 150 gal. oceanic

02/04/2006, 11:31 AM	#3
LoneStar45 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Lake Jackson, Texas Posts: 154	LOL, I made that same mistake starting out. I had to scrap that setup and wisely bought a ro/di system. Filters are new. I upgraded the skimmer to this new Aqau c and its is doing a great job. Im thinking the amount of LR was just held too much nutirents. I have about a month ahead of me so the rocks are curently cooking. Cant waint for the Tunzes. Phospates have always been 0 and I check my water parameters daily. __________________ In the beginning there was nothing.... which exploded. Current Tank Info: 150 gal. oceanic

02/04/2006, 02:20 PM	#6
SeanT Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wilmington, North Carolina Posts: 13,860	In your situation I am glad to see you are "cooking" your live rock. You sound like you want to be in this hobby but are getting so frustrated it is taking all the fun out of it. You will be amazed at how differently you will view the hobby once the green plague is gone. If you need help/advice on "cooking" them let me know. Sean __________________ My tank was cool. Current Tank Info: Barebottom (the tank not me...at least not at the moment).

02/04/2006, 11:18 AM	#2
Anemonebuff Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: LI,NY Posts: 3,877	Your algae problem can be caused by a few things in combination. Phospahtes+light+inadequate waterflow+inadequate skimming=algae. Are you cooking the rocks now? Did you start the tank with tap water? I made that mistake once and the algae was a problem for a long time. It takes a lot of skimming and water changes to get all the tap nasties out. I have a sand bed without those problems, since I upgraded skimmers and added the tunze stream. My bed depth varies throughout the tank from 2"-4"(DSB....kinda sorta). Does your RO/DI need replacing? Do you have a TDS meter?

02/04/2006, 11:44 AM	#4
Anemonebuff Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: LI,NY Posts: 3,877	Unfortunately, phos test kits cannot be relied on. They will show zero, however, the phos is not suspeded but being used up by the algae, so the test shows nothing. I think that after all these things fall into place, your tank will thrive.