Need Some Help!

[mbu man]

right,ive been posring a few things on here alot recently.
ive also gathered information from various fish shops and friends.
From the start then!!
i have a 300 litre tank
about 2 to 2 and half inch dsb (been told to reduce this by half)
2 external filters (inside them are,carbon,live rock rubble,silicate remover,phosphate remover,roaphos)
2 blue moon t5s
2 aqua blue t5s
2 white t5s,blue moons come on at 1pm,go off at 10.30pm,other 4 t5s come on at 3pm and go off at 10.15pm.
i have a v2 600 skimmer that i clean out at least once a week
a small in tank uv light (cant remember the name of it)
4 power heads in tank,all at different heights and at the front and back of tank.
fish in the tank,7 chromis,blenny,2 clowns,cleaner wrass,3 yellow tangs
2 fire shrimps,boxing shrimp,about 20 hermit crabs,1 sand sifting star fish
2 leathers,3 nems,torch coral,bush coral.
water paramater as of 5 mins ago are
nitrite 0 ppm
nitrate between o and 5.0ppm
ammonoia 0ppm
phosphat between 0.5 and 1.0 mg\l
tank has been running for nearly 3 years.

ok,i usr ro watetr and tropic marine salt.
since day dot i had been doing 25 litres a week water change,but started to cut back to everyother week
i feed fish one a day or everyother day,just a small frozen cube and some seaweed for rhe tangs,nothing goes to waste.
up till last november,everything was fine in tank.
almost over night this brown algae appered from nowhere,so common sense told me to do more frequent water changes,so i did and this algae still held on.
i moved house this year,so had to break down tanks to take it with me,thought that that might do some good,nope.
spoke to my lfs,they said not to do ne water changes till the algae goes???
hmmm,that seamed odd to me,so i did what they said,my nitrate went through the roof,so ive gone back to doing weekley water changes,and nitrate has come down alot,algae still their.
when my lights first come on in the day the algae is not their but within 30 mins or so,you can see it starting to grow,and within 2 to 3 hours it looks crap!!
been doing some serious gravel cleaning with my water changes,lets up for the 1st day afer a gravel clean but the day after its just as if i didnt do one!!
im at my whits end with it to be honest. apart from putting a hammer throughh it and starting again,i dont know what to do and my lfs dont either.
i could really do with some help on this one,
cheers

 

[rabbut]

The fact that it lets off after a water change and sand vac would suggest a detritus build-up in the sand bed. You need to get something to eat the detritus, or cut the bed depth if this is the case... What turn-over rate do you have? There are two things blairing at me, Phosphate and Nitrate. Ideally, both want to be zero, but that Phosphate reading is far higher than it should be, infact to a point where many would argue it reduces coral growth. I'd get the phosphate remover and Rowaphos changed, and use twice as much as the manufacturer says you need. Once Phosphate hits zero again, change them again and use the recommended amount this time Keep up with frequent gravel cleans until the growth slows or stops

HTH
Rabbut

 

[mbu man]

The fact that it lets off after a water change and sand vac would suggest a detritus build-up in the sand bed. You need to get something to eat the detritus, or cut the bed depth if this is the case... What turn-over rate do you have? There are two things blairing at me, Phosphate and Nitrate. Ideally, both want to be zero, but that Phosphate reading is far higher than it should be, infact to a point where many would argue it reduces coral growth. I'd get the phosphate remover and Rowaphos changed, and use twice as much as the manufacturer says you need. Once Phosphate hits zero again, change them again and use the recommended amount this time Keep up with frequent gravel cleans until the growth slows or stops

HTH
Rabbut

both my filters are 1200 lph 2x3200 lph power heads and 2x1500 lph
phosphate remover has only been in for a week.
with regards to water changes my lfs told me to stop all water changes till the algae goes, cause this is feeding the algae, this is also why my nitrate is on the high side at the mo!
also the brown is not just on the gravel but on some of the rocks aswell but not all of them!

 

[rabbut]

You've got the turn-over you need, so unless you have dead zones (areas of slow flow) that isn't the issue.

What source water are you using for your water changes? If it's tap water, switch to RO, as that could be bringing in Phosphate and Nitrate. If it's RO, assuming you are using a good salt brand, you will lower the Phosphate and Nitrate with water changes, as it should have zero's for both when freshly mixed, hence reducing the two main things that feed most pest algae

 

[mbu man]

You've got the turn-over you need, so unless you have dead zones (areas of slow flow) that isn't the issue.

What source water are you using for your water changes? If it's tap water, switch to RO, as that could be bringing in Phosphate and Nitrate. If it's RO, assuming you are using a good salt brand, you will lower the Phosphate and Nitrate with water changes, as it should have zero's for both when freshly mixed, hence reducing the two main things that feed most pest algae

i used to make my own ro water with a converter that i bought,but it seams that the algae started at the same time so ive stopped using that and i buy my ro water from swallow aquatics.
how big of a water change should i do,and how often??
25liitres every 2 days till levels start to go down??

 

[seffieuk]

Have you tested the water you are getting from Swallows?

Seffie x

 

[mbu man]

Have you tested the water you are getting from Swallows?

Seffie x

no,didnt think to really. would of thought that it would of been fine though,swallows at raleigh is a big fish place,as im sure that you know,but now youve mentioned it,i shall test their water.

 

[rabbut]

Most LFS water is less than ideal quality... I'd have stuck to making my own if it were possible...

For water changes, about 10-20%, as often as you can manage, assuming their water is up to scratch

 

[Trod]

I used to buy my water from Swallows. Its not the greatest to be honest, ok in an emergency, they have quite high nitrate and TDS is high too, thats the main reason I bought my own RO unit.

 

[rabbut]

^^ Well, Mbu Man, if this is still the case, you likely have your algae source Water supplier...

 

[mbu man]

^^ Well, Mbu Man, if this is still the case, you likely have your algae source Water supplier...

i dont have a tds reader. but i will very soon,if i test my water and its high im going to complain like hell to swallows!!!

 

[seffieuk]

Have you tested the water you are getting from Swallows?

Seffie x

no,didnt think to really. would of thought that it would of been fine though,swallows at raleigh is a big fish place,as im sure that you know,but now youve mentioned it,i shall test their water.

Yes, I do know - maybe will see you down there sometime, test their water, you may be surprised - i only ever buy dry goods from there now though

Seffie x



ps if you are close to Trod and I, we could give you some water until you sort your RO unit out - oh no, I can't at the moment - have got to sort out a wee problem I have with it - Trod would probably help you out though if you have containers

 

[mbu man]

Have you tested the water you are getting from Swallows?

Seffie x

no,didnt think to really. would of thought that it would of been fine though,swallows at raleigh is a big fish place,as im sure that you know,but now youve mentioned it,i shall test their water.

Yes, I do know - maybe will see you down there sometime, test their water, you may be surprised - i only ever buy dry goods from there now though

Seffie x



ps if you are close to Trod and I, we could give you some water until you sort your RO unit out - oh no, I can't at the moment - have got to sort out a wee problem I have with it - Trod would probably help you out though if you have containers

ha ha lol,ok i might see you their,lol. i shall come and stroke you if i see ya,as your a cat!!
right ive been doing water changes more often and their is a slight difference in the algae,not alot but a bit.
my phosphates are atill a bit high.
so will doing water changes lower the phosphate or do i have to get some more phosphate remover and keep changing it??

 

[rabbut]

Is there a Phosphate reading in the water you are using for water changes? If so, the Phosphate reading in the tank cannot get lower than the replacement water's reading though water changes. If you have a Phosphate reading, check the fresh RO's reading to see if it's the salt or the RO source that's causing it

If the Phosphate in the tank is consistently higher in the tank while the replacement water going in, but near zero or low, you'll probably want to replace the Phosphate remover. You cannot expect the Phosphate remover to remove a very large quantity of Phosphate for you, but it will help a lot if it's a relatively low reading in the tank

All the best
Rabbut