Ready to give up--please help

[LizardLou]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

You're going a little fast on the corals. They don't like phosphate and you've got it---fueling the algae. Never mind getting a phosphate test: if you've algae, that's a given. Run Phosgard, Phosban or NPX. The stuff may be coming from your rock and sand---not at all uncommon, and my new tank is going through the same thing. One, get a TDS meter. They're fairly cheap. That will assure that the water you're putting in is not phosphate-heavy. If it is, you know one source. Do some water changes. And don't replace these corals until you've battled phosphates to a standstill, because without a phosphate load, these pest algaes really don't grow. The good news is, coral doesn't like phosphate either, so curing that problem will help both the appearance and coral health. If you have a place where you can give an urchin a new home, like a fish store that will take a donation, you might try a plain collector urchin, which will clean rocks. The bad news is they shove corals and rock, and puttying-down your corals and your rocks is a must when you have one of these guys loose; the good news is that they may run over a coral now and again but do no damage I've ever detected, even with more delicate corals. More bad news: they start small at an inch or so, but make it to 5 inches and grow fast. And the good news: they reach that size while eating algae.
If you do get one, you need a phosphate-uptaker like Phosban, so that as the phosphate is freed-up by being pooed into the water column by the urchin, there's some chemical process to absorb it before it grows more algae. Water changes weekly will help: I'd go 20% a week with certifiably good water until you get this solved. Bear up---it's a common problem, and there is a fix: it just takes time.

Thanks for chiming in Sk8r! I have a hitchhiker urchin that started out the size of a pencil eraser and now it's easily the size of a clementine (in just 6 months). It seems to clear rock wherever it is, but it likes to be on the glass.

I probably did move too quickly on corals--it's just very exciting adding to a collection. They all looked so beautiful and healthy for at least a few months. Is this a part of the maturing of the tank and I just didn't have the means to combat it? Did I possibly introduce it with one of my corals? Just wondering why my tank went from almost perfect to overgrown with algae. I'm guessing there's many factors involved.

Like I said, I got the BRS dual reactors on the way and I'll also buy a TDS test so I can find a good water source. I'll also be more aggressive with water changes for now.

[LizardLou]

Here's my urchin and blenny decided to get in the shot, but he's a good size indicator.



And here's the floating muck that stinks and I've been skimming out (it sticks to my glove pretty well so I just scoop it out with my hand).

[Jerzey]

No filter sock required in your media reactor just make sure you add the recommended amount of gfo for your tank size .... I Don't know if you ever used gfo before but there is a right way and allot of wrong ways when it comes to the right amount of flow in your gfo reactor.... You want to adjust the flow until the surface looks like its bubbling/tumbling slightly

[Cowdogz]

Originally Posted by LizardLou

I guess 1" qualifies as a deep sand bed? I didn't realize. The sand came from TBS. I said above that I just ordered a gazillion snails, many of them being diggers. Maybe I can just let the vac suck up some sand while doing water changes until it's thinned out?

One inch is not a DSB, 4 or more inches is a DSB. Unless I'm seeing it wrong, it looks like you've got more than an inch, and the grain size is pretty big.

I'm sorry, but I don't know what TBS is. When you said "it came from the ocean" I thought maybe you got it at the beach. If it's actually a commercial product, you can usually go to the manufacturer's site and get the specs.

You want less than 1" of substrate, or more than 4". If you go the deep route, you want sand that is .5-1.5mm grains.

Buying more equipment is only addressing your symptoms. You want to isolate the cause of your excess nutrients first.

[Spyderturbo007]

Originally Posted by Cowdogz

I'm sorry, but I don't know what TBS is. When you said "it came from the ocean" I thought maybe you got it at the beach.

I suspect the reference is to Tampa Bay Saltwater.

[Jerzey]

Dam! Thats definitely Dino.... There are allot of forums on the web about battling Dino...

[LizardLou]

Originally Posted by Jerzey

No filter sock required in your media reactor just make sure you add the recommended amount of gfo for your tank size .... I Don't know if you ever used gfo before but there is a right way and allot of wrong ways when it comes to the right amount of flow in your gfo reactor.... You want to adjust the flow until the surface looks like its bubbling/tumbling slightly

Thank you, this is very helpful--first time with a reactor.

[LizardLou]

Originally Posted by Cowdogz

One inch is not a DSB, 4 or more inches is a DSB. Unless I'm seeing it wrong, it looks like you've got more than an inch, and the grain size is pretty big.

I'm sorry, but I don't know what TBS is. When you said "it came from the ocean" I thought maybe you got it at the beach. If it's actually a commercial product, you can usually go to the manufacturer's site and get the specs.

You want less than 1" of substrate, or more than 4". If you go the deep route, you want sand that is .5-1.5mm grains.

Buying more equipment is only addressing your symptoms. You want to isolate the cause of your excess nutrients first.

I'd say it's an inch. Blenny happened to have a pile in that corner when I took the photo. The sand is from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Richard is very knowledgeable so I trust my sand is probably ok. I understand treating the symptoms vs. the cause. Thanks for your info. I'll scale back the sand a bit so it's definitely under an inch.

[LizardLou]

Originally Posted by Jerzey

Dam! Thats definitely Dino.... There are allot of forums on the web about battling Dino...

Dino coming out of hair algae? There's hair algae growing behind that galaxea coral and then dinos reaching toward the top of the tank, I guess.