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Rocks Leaching or New Tank Problem


itsyahboydanny

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itsyahboydanny

Hey guys, I have a 5 gallon tank that will be 4 months old on feb 1st. Ive been battling green hair algae for about a month now. The hair algae is only on my rocks. Does this mean my rocks are leaching phosphates? I got the dry rock from my questionable LFS. I use API test kits but everything appears to be where it should be. Magnesium is the only thing I haven't tested but I use red sea coral pro salt so Im assuming weekly 20% changes take care of that.

 

I added 4 small mexican turbos but they pooped more then they ate so they got evicted.

 

I tried to pray 3% hydrogen peroxide on a few rocks but just took what color the rocks had off and left the gha alone.

 

A friend is telling me to test then dose magnesium to 1500, I skeptical that this will work.


Another thing Im considering is that Algaefix stuff.

 

Any advice or suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!!!

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it could be the rocks leaching but with API test kits i can be hard to get an accurate reading. you're probably experiencing new tank syndrome, it happens to everyone. if the hair algea doesn't start to die down you can always take it out and either A. peroxide dip the rock (with a stronger solution) or B. make a kalkwasser paste and smear it onto the hair algea

 

 

just keep up with your water changes, the nutrients will die down eventually.

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Just growing pains, don't do anything drastic. A small cleanup crew can help, but almost every new tank gets an algae breakout. Do regular water changes and if possible run some GFO in a reactor (might not be possible with such a small tank).

 

There was a "trick" someone found a few years ago raising magnesium to get rid of algae, but if I remember it only worked with Kent brand magnesium and only helped with certain types of algae.

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Hi Danny. Several things to think about.

 

If your source water is RODI or distilled then that is good, if it is not, your source water could be at fault for having high nutrients.

 

Mexican turbos only poop if they are eating your problem so they were good citizens in my opinion. I couldn't see any pictures of the GHA on your thread but if it is covering your rocks and smothering corals you can try dipping them in 50/50 peroxide and tank water for 3 minutes.

 

RSCP salt is very high in certain elements, for a small tank with a really low bioload I would suggest Instant ocean or reef crystals. RSCP is for SPS dominant tank - and a lot of SPS where dosing to replenish alk and calcium isn't enough.

 

Wherever possible keep parameters as close to NSW levels.

 

You didn't list your test results or even which specific tests you did either or more could be said.

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itsyahboydanny

Ya I use distilled, I don't test very often but last time i did nitrites nitrates and ammonia all read the lowest color which is close to 0, same goes for phosphates. Ph is funny with api test kits and always seems to read around 8 for me. dkh is like 9 usually. Well I have a big bucket of red sea salt that I got on black friday so It'll last a while. I just didn't like how the peroxide bleached my rocks back white again.I bet they did eat a lot but I thought the poop would contribute to the phosphates. I still have 1 mexican turbo and thats it. I think i'll try the magnesium dosing when I get around to testing to see what my magnesium level is. Any experience with Algaefix?

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The API phosphate kit isn't unreliable, it's just a high range kit, so it does us no good. It goes up in 0.25 ppm increments, but the recommended value of phosphate is only 0.03 ppm. So by the time you notice any color change, the value is already 10 times higher than it should be.

Also note, that once an algae bloom starts, the algae is already utilizing the nutrients in the water. And a low range kit may not even indicate a problem (even if nutrients are the cause).

BTW, boosting magnesium to 1500 will do nothing for you.

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itsyahboydanny
The API phosphate kit isn't unreliable, it's just a high range kit, so it does us no good. It goes up in 0.25 ppm increments, but the target value is only 0.03 ppm. So by the time you notice any color change, the value is already 10 times higher than it should be.

 

Also note, that once an algae bloom starts, the algae is already utilizing the nutrients in the water. And even a low range kit may not indicate a problem (even though nutrients are the likely cause).

 

BTW, boosting magnesium to 1500 will do nothing for you.

 

What should I do then? I'm running out of ideas..

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What should I do then? I'm running out of ideas..

Can you please post a picture of the algae so we can see what you are dealing with?

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HecticDialectics

I see you've had algae probs for 2 months since about a month after you had a fish. I'm guessing overfeeding, poor quality source water, and not cycling your dry rock well.

 

I always like to leave dry rock in a bucket for a month or two with a powerhead and a small chunk of live rock. Blow it off every once in a while and after a few months shake it off vigorously in the water and then add to your fresh clean tank. You'll be amazed at the amount of crap left in the bucket. Rock only. Dump the water and use new water

 

And then cycle it another week or two in the tank, blow off more debris, suck it out, and only then do you add washed clean sand to a tank.

 

5g you gotta be on top of your game. Less feeding. Better water.

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itsyahboydanny

I have all zoas and one young maroon clown, i feed pellets my i turn off my pump and make sure to only feed enough so he eats every piece. My distilled water comes from win dixie or walmart. Its true that I didn't pre cycle the rock, I just threw the rock in and let the tank cycle itself before adding any livestock, which took about a month. I change 1 gallon once a week. I did 1 gallon twice a week for a while but it didn't seem to make much difference after 2 weeks so I went back to once a week.

 

Its not a jungle yet but I want to nip it in the bud before things get out of hand here are some pics

http://s50.photobucket.com/user/natalia_lopez3/media/IMG_1734.jpg.html'>IMG_1734.jpg

http://s50.photobucket.com/user/natalia_lopez3/media/IMG_1736.jpg.html'>IMG_1736.jpg

http://s50.photobucket.com/user/natalia_lopez3/media/IMG_1737.jpg.html'>IMG_1737.jpg

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HecticDialectics

How many pellets does the fatty eat? Once the pellet hits the water it's a closed system. Some miniscule amount helps the clown grow, and the rest is turned to fertilizer.

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itsyahboydanny

How many pellets does the fatty eat? Once the pellet hits the water it's a closed system. Some miniscule amount helps the clown grow, and the rest is turned to fertilizer.

they are .5mm pellets but like 12 or so once a day give or take. lol he is a fat boy though forsure

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HecticDialectics

Half that much maybe...like every other day. Maroons are pretty big. I might downgrade the fish size too if I were you. Still looks small for now I reckon.

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Hi Danny.

I think that your Fish is the problem. I think Danny, that the fish is to big for your 5 gallon tank. I don't think you will get your Algea problem fixed without Re-homing the fish. You will need a very small fish, that will not polute the water so quickly. 5 gallons is a very small tank, and water parameters can change very quickly in a tank of that size.

 

Honest opinion, Shane

 

 

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itsyahboydanny
Half that much maybe...like every other day. Maroons are pretty big. I might downgrade the fish size too if I were you. Still looks small for now I reckon.

 

Ya I know I'll have to trade him in eventually, but he's still around an inch now. I don't see the food being the source of algae fuel though, but idk

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HecticDialectics

Definitely the food.

 

Maybe try to swish the rock some in old water to clean out debris, but the food is helping. All that fish crap...

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itsyahboydanny
Hi Danny. I think that your Fish is the problem. I think Danny, that the fish is to big for your 5 gallon tank. I don't think you will get your Algea problem fixed without Re-homing the fish. You will need a very small fish, that will not polute the water so quickly. 5 gallons is a very small tank, and water parameters can change very quickly in a tank of that size. Honest opinion, Shane
:'(

 

Definitely the food.
I feed new life spectrum pellets, what do you feed? I'm scared frozen food won't get eaten and will just rott
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HecticDialectics

I fed the same. My clown got maybe 6 pellets every other day. Or a pe mysis or two if she was good. sometimes cyclopeeze

 

New life spectrum is fine. That's just too much of it.

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itsyahboydanny

I fed the same. My clown got maybe 6 pellets every other day. Or a pe mysis or two if she was good. sometimes cyclopeeze

 

New life spectrum is fine. That's just too much of it.

 

Ok cool, will do

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Thanks for posting the pics. Looks like good old fashioned hair algae. The way it's taking over will make keeping coral difficult. Definitely don't buy anything else until this problem is resolved.

 

Flatten out your hand; that's how large a female Maroon clownfish will get. I'm thinking that (when fully grown), it would even be a little cramped in a 40 breeder. A five gallon tank is arguably too small for even an Ocellaris Clownfish. What's the specific plan for this fish? What's your plan for this tank?

 

That said, I don't feel that the fish is causing the algae at this point. Feeding "might" be. Remember that food introduces phosphate. As far as phosphate is concerned, it doesn't really matter if it's all eaten or if some of it isn't. So it's the total amount of food that's important. Sure, left over food and fish wastes will also increase the nitrate level (another component for algae growth).

 

Plus, your instincts about the rock might be correct. Your tank is a model of what can happen when you use rock that is leaching phosphate. First it's free of hair algae because there are no spores on the dry rock. Then you introduce a coral frag that has a little on it, and bingo... your tank is all fuzzy. Once you get a real phosphate test kit (like a Hanna ULR Phosphorous Checker), you could test one of your rocks to see if it's leaching phosphate.

 

What else can you do? If you don't want to replace your rock, you might use a toothbrush and/or vegetable brush to scrub it off in a five gallon bucket of saltwater (a pair of tweezers might help too). Then rinse it off in another five gallon bucket of saltwater. After you have manually cleaned it off, add some Turbo and/or Trochus snails to eat what you couldn't get.

 

In addition to manual removal and snails, you'll need to remove the snail and fish poop from the tank during water changes. The water changes will also serve to lower the nitrate and phosphate levels in your tank. Also, use a phosphate reducing media like Phosguard (in a media bag) in your filter or sump.

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You've gotten some good advice but I wanted to add a few things as well.

 

First off you indicate the snails pooping more than they ate, which is not possible, and also the snails might be adding to the phosphate issue, also not possible. See what you put into your tank STAYS in the tank until you remove it. Snails are nice because they eat ugly stuff and turn it into something that's easier to remove. No creature will be 100% efficient at turning food into growth, so when you feed the tank most of the food will end up as waste that must be exported.

 

I do not agree with feeding less, fish need fed every day IMO, and feeding less to control an algae problem is not the best way to solve it. For a small tank I would be doing regular water changes, probably something like a gallon a day, in order to keep levels stable and control nutrients. Using a small gravel vac to help remove the waste will go a long way in helping keep extra crap (pun intended) out of the tank.

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The addition of a hermit crab or two can also be helpful. They not only will eat the algae like the snails, but will also scavenge excess food and stir up the gravel helping to keep it clean.

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