Cooking Live Rock with existing rock

[hndakd]

I have been struggling over the past year with huge algea blooms everything from hair algea to cyano(i know its bacteria) I think that im ready to take the next step in curing this and cooking the rock that is in my tank.

With the cooking comes a couple of questions. I have about 20lbs that have sat in the sun for awhile and all of it is obviously dead, can i cook this stuff with rock out of my tank? Also how much can i remove from my tank and not have my tank crash? I have a 90 gallon with a purple tang toby puffer and maroon clown.

Im nervous about removing a large part of this rock and having my tank crash or re-cycle.

Finally is this the only option that i have left? I do water changes every week about 20% run t5 lighting right now 8x54 nova extreme but im going to switch it out for a tek 6 bulb. I also have a aqua euro 250 recirclating skimmer and coral life needle wheel running on it as well. It also has a 30 gallon fuge with cheato in it, which runs on a reverse light cycle. I also run 80 grams of phosban, and a two little fishies filled with carbon.


I am very frustrated and on the verge of dumping the whole tank. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Justin

[demonsp]

This will only cleanup the problem and it will return.You need to find out why you have the trouble and by seeing the results from algea disappearing will only help.

There is a bacis system that if followed then it will seem easy.
I know i went off your main subject but it will do no good in the long run.

My experiance with algea is either flow or source being the main porblem.
But info on tank would help
Tank size and age?
Water source?
Do you have a test kit?
amount of LR and LS?
All equipment used?
Stock?
Wate change amount and how often?

Most of this info can be added in your profile to help reduce repelys.But in many cases theres more then one cause.
YOU can take hold of this and feel more rewarded from the experiance. I promise.

[hndakd]

tank is 90 gallon aga with mega flow
30 gallon refugium with cheato
return is mag 7
skimmer is aqua euro 135 recirculating fed by maxijet 400
two little fishies phosban reactor x2
one has phosban the other has carbon
nova extreme 8x54 light soon to be changed to tek 6 bulb
flow is 6 maxi jet 8 900 4 on current sea 2 behind rocks
2 korallia 3
~180 lbs of live rock
~100 lbs of sand about a 2-3 inch bed
the tank is just over 2 1/2 years old
I have 1 purple tang, 1 maroon clown, and 1 toby puffer

i do water changes every week about 20% or two 5 gallon buckets.

I have been skimming very wet to get all the brown stuff out. Every morning i blow the rocks off with a power head and watch it grow back. It is a light dusting. Most that i have talked to before say that it is because of phospates in the water.

I just did a test with API brand
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 25 ( this one is a little hard to read its either 25 or 0)
ph 8.0-8.2

I only top off with RODI now although the tank was started with tap water. It has been moved twice and the sand has never been replaced
In the past 4 months i have lost most of my soft corals and lps what is left is not looking very good.

I feed brine shrimp and formula 2. Twice a day.

Thanks for the help
Justin

[demonsp]

180 lbs of LR is a little high . You want loose rocky aresa for flow to surround. LR and LS will convert ammonia and nitrate into harmless nitrogen if flow os correct but onlt collect these algea producing readings if flow is low and it takes time from months to yrs and by then its hard to control. I would remove some rock and leave some good open areas for flow.

Im not sure on your powerhead setup but sounds hig which is just as bad as low.To high in free flowing areas and with all that rock cant get in there.

Water readings?
A pic would really help.

[hndakd]

sorry the pics arent the best but i think it gives you an idea the last is thee brown stuff that is every where that pic is from about a month ago it is better but not much.






i dont understand what you are asking for with water tests?

[demonsp]

Rock placement looks great SB dont look to bad but i see very little flow.Not only the powerheads but placement.Its a 90 high right?
You need more CUC and more water flow fast. You want constant good flow around the whl tank. This will take time like weeks but you would see improvement from just 1 extra powerhead. The plus would be that whene algea cuts back your on the right track.
This may help but if you want powerhead placement help then try a new thread on that subject.Please read and research before going to the extreme of a tank redo with little to no results.You can do it.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/1/aafeature/view

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/ar...id=285&aid=243

http://netclub.athiel.com/cyano/cyanos2.htm

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/sta...opmistakes.htm

[hndakd]

I am starting the research on water movement in tanks. Yes it is a 90 48x18x24

I have noticed a drop in the brown stuff in the past weeks but that could be because of the addition of phosban. Nothing else has really changed.

what is CUC?

Thanks for your help

[demonsp]

CUC is cleanup crew,snail Nass snails for SB and crabs and other critters.
If you add 1 good powerhead fast then you wont get worse.
You need a test kit to know where your water readings are at. Dont add any chemicals for water or algea control not needed in your tank.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by hndakd
tank is 90 gallon aga with mega flow
30 gallon refugium with cheato
return is mag 7
skimmer is aqua euro 135 recirculating fed by maxijet 400
two little fishies phosban reactor x2
one has phosban the other has carbon
nova extreme 8x54 light soon to be changed to tek 6 bulb
flow is 6 maxi jet 8 900 4 on current sea 2 behind rocks
2 korallia 3
~180 lbs of live rock
~100 lbs of sand about a 2-3 inch bed
the tank is just over 2 1/2 years old
I have 1 purple tang, 1 maroon clown, and 1 toby puffer

i do water changes every week about 20% or two 5 gallon buckets.

I have been skimming very wet to get all the brown stuff out. Every morning i blow the rocks off with a power head and watch it grow back. It is a light dusting. Most that i have talked to before say that it is because of phospates in the water.

I just did a test with API brand
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 25 ( this one is a little hard to read its either 25 or 0)
ph 8.0-8.2

I only top off with RODI now although the tank was started with tap water. It has been moved twice and the sand has never been replaced
In the past 4 months i have lost most of my soft corals and lps what is left is not looking very good.

I feed brine shrimp and formula 2. Twice a day.

Thanks for the help
Justin

if you have algae then you have phosphates--get rid of the phosphates and you get rid of the algae

One thing I notice is the feeding of the frozen brine twice a day

Are you rinsing it off with r/0 water before using---these cubes can contain phosphates and nitrates from their holding tanks

also cut down on the amount you feed at each feeding

[Aquarist007]

you might also want to invest in these--phosban reactors with phosban and carbon--work great

[demonsp]

Its from the low flow that he ended up here and as i say its hard to control.Adding a reactor may help but not solve.He has low to no stock and needs to learn to acheve proper water condition from the basics before adding another toy that wont solve the problem. Toys are used for eye candy and more control from us.Its not a way out.Learn to control with the basics and your experiance will be much easier all the way through.
Cant make your bed untill you learn to clean the sheets.
Cant ever have control if you never master the basics.

The number one failer of many reef tanks, rushing ,not researching and patiants.

[demonsp]

Im a tard. But prove me wrong.

[Aquarist007]

I beg to differ that a phosban reactor is a toy or just for eye candy

check out last septembers thread of the month of gfo's

[demonsp]

Sorry trying to be kinda funny.I did state that it would help but if its outa control it wont remove and could still cause problems.
If his tank wah 4 yrs only readings always in good areas and he has a constant steady minor reading that doent really harm the tank quality but only his obbsesion then a phosban would be great.

In a new tank setup with no stock and a reefer with no eperiance then saying that a phosbhan reactor will help him take control without worry about the basics then your sertting him up for failer.
If you look at his pic you will see some small under rated powerhead in one corner doing no good.This may not be is only problem but improving this alone will help him understand and take more control without spending unneeded money at this time.

Sorry but from a car jockey here,the best tools are worthless without the knowledge of how to use them correctly.

[goreefer]

What's up with the coralife superskimmer in your pic's?
We thought that you had a "skimmer is aqua euro 135 recirculating fed by maxijet 400" ?

[demonsp]

I was looking at that .It also look as if its in the front of the tank.Though it doesnt matter.

[xenon]

Cooking my Lr was the best thing I ever did! It took me 6weeks before they were perfectly clean.

Before cooking


After cooking

[jthao]

do you have any cuc in there?? when my rocks turn brown, my turbos turn them back to purple.

[hndakd]

the coral life is there only to help me remove the "dust" i blast all the rocks every morning with a powerhead and let the coral life do its job. The aqua euro is down below.

I do have a phosban reactor and carbon reactor, i have been running both of them for months. The phosban reactor has 80 grams in it. The carbon is basically 3/4 full. the last pic that is up is what it looked like `3 months ago.

I like all the ideas so far but its everything i have been doing. I do have a clean up crew, its about 10 turbos and a bunch of elephant nose and nassarius snails. Theres also a couple of hermits in there red and blue leg

I dont rinse the food in ro but i thaw it in a little bit of tank water then dump that down the drain and the food in the tank. I feed barely a tablespoon total a day.

[zotzer]

Do you have any media stashed anywhere? ie: sponge for a qt, filter socks, filter floss, sponge in the overflow to quiet noise, etc....?

Let me help you with the koralias. Put one on each side, midway front-to-back, and more than halfway up bottom-to-top. Then point them up toward the surface so it looks like gently boiling water, and also point them toward the front glass (approximate it so it looks like the flow will meet at the center front glass)

This will help with O2 exchange and provide a nice downward current that will keep your rocks and sand agitated. I don't necessarily think you are lacking flow, you just need to optimize what you have in there.

I also think you are probably overfeeding. Try cutting by at least half. I'd assume you are also putting seaweed in for the tang. Don't let it go uneaten in there for more than an hour.

Cutting back on feeding for a month sure would be easier than pulling rock out and cooking it. I'd for sure try that first!

Also, when did you most recently relocate this tank? Diatoms (which is what this looks like) are typical in new, or moved, or rearranged tanks. It may just need some time to settle...ie: don't fuss with it for a while.

Good luck!
tracy

[hndakd]

the korallias just died this morning, i sent them back i will relocate them when i get them back hopefully this week or early next week.

I will try the feeding thing. I think that i might be underfeeding them anyways only because they eat everything that i put in there and are very aggressive with the food.

The last time the tank was moved was last December.

My tank looked like the last one pictured about 5 months ago. It is on the downward end of the algea i hope. (fingers crossed)

Could this also be a sand issue. I have a bunch of reefers in this area telling me to replace the sand. It is the original stuff that i set the tank up with, and recently i have noticed that there isnt as much stuff crawling around in it.

I appreciate all of the help!!!!!!!!!!! I am frustrated as hell and i am glad that there are people willing to offer some advice and reassurance that this can be resolved.

I want my softies back!!!! Just in the last 4 months i have lost about 8 corals, my leather that i had for over 4 years died and might have been some of the source for all this algea it was over 18inches in diameter.

I do have a filter sock on both of the drain outlets to help collect stuff and i wash them every couple of days. Basically when the bag is brown.

[Aquarist007]

how long has the sand been in there and how deep is it.

Everyone loves to help but you gotta do your part----try the suggestions and get control of the algae then wait a good month with desirable tank parameters before you add your coral back

I don't know if you have been measuring or not--but important for your corals is to keep an alkalinity level between 8 and 10 dKH, calcium over 400 and magnesium at 1300.

[hndakd]

sand is ~2-3" deep been in the tank since I started it up about 2.5 years ago.

I am appreciative of the help, I am tryin the suggestions and I will wait. On the other side of the coin I have been doing the previous suggestions for awhile IE phosban, more water changes, and "basting of the rocks", Im looking for a booster to see what else i can do to help this out.

I noticed today that all of my snails were dead or non existent so i picked up 2 turbos and 3 nasarius to kinda help with this. I also picked up a dragon goby.(I know I know i should wait, but i think this is a step that needed to be taken to help with the clean up)

My calcium is at 350-400
I dont know what the alk is because i dont have a test, same with mag


Is alk the same as ph or is that different?

[zotzer]

Is it actually sand, or crushed coral? And by last december, do you mean two months ago?

Tracy

[hndakd]

arganite sand. not crushed coral.

Geez time flys when your have fun, i mean the december before last, 2006. I must be getting old