Almost giving up

[RozZy]

I've been in this hobby for over two years now, and thats how old my tank is as well.

I've learned from research and mistakes of course. And I feel confident that I know enough to be able to run a successful tank. With that said:

 

My tank was running fine. SPS and LPS corals were growing faster than ever. The tank almost maintained itself and I only needed to do about one water change per month. The success came from starting to dose with Seachem Reef Fusion 1 & 2 + Acropower.

 

But then something happened.

 

My corals started dying, my duncan coral (which has been with me for over a year now) turned white, and the return of my nightmare... Red Slime algae.

most of my SPS are now dead and the LPS are hanging on for dear life.

 

I did what everyone should do. I lifted out every single rock, vacuumed the entire bottom, found the dead black blob which had been stinking up the tank (The entire apartment started smelling when I took it out of the water, i threw away the entire rock it was stuck to). I guessed that this had been the problem all along.

 

I did water changes. About 7-10 in 2 weeks (I seriously lost count, became a thing i did every day/second day.

 

I vacuumed the sump, there was a lot of debris that had built up and I purchased new lights.

 

But even after doing all this, the red slime is still there. and the corals aint happy, I added a new goby to help with the algae problem since I was confident the problem was gone... dead after 2 days.

 

All my readings :

 

Nitrates : 0

Nitrites: 0

Ammonia: 0

Phosphates 0.75-1.5 (Range on the API test is pretty terrible)

 

Here's a video of the problem and tank

 

This is my setup:

 

72 Gallon Bow front with 15 gallon sump.

Aquamaxx EM300 (Giant skimmer, pulls gunk like crazy)

GFO Reactor with Two Little Fishies Phosban (Recently switched from BRS brand)

Biopellet reactor running DrTim's Aquatics 801 NP-Active Pearls for Aquarium (Also switched from BRS)

UV Sterilizer

RO/DI FILTER (0 PPM tested last water change this weekend)

Mixing with Instant Ocean salt

 

Circulation pumps resulting in 4000 GPH flow in the display tank, and one extra circulation pump to keep the water in the sump.

 

Livestock:

Bicolor Angel

Maroon clownfish pair

Flame Angel

Yellow tang

Hippo tang

Chromis

Blue/Yellow Damsel

Radiata Lionfish (50g fish)

Lawnmover Blenny (new fish for the algae)

 

Inverts

Daium Reef Lobster (Eats everything but doesnt touch stuff thats alive unless its a small snail.

2x Giant Mexican Turbo snails (Half a fist size)

1x Long Spine Urchin

1x Tuxedo Urchin

1x Banded Coral Shrimp

40 Hermit crabs

 

 

I've had the same inhabitants for the past 6 months (The problem started about 2 months ago)

 

 

Could it be that I changed brands on the GFO and biopellets? I'm looking in the dark now, I've literally tried everything and I don't know what is spiking the Phosphates.

 

HELP!

[Rural]

Keep hanging in there!

 

Daily water changes for a month or so would be awesome! Worked for me.

 

Did you change salt brands or start a new batch?

[Nano sapiens]

"Big black blob"?

 

Was this a large sponge that died off, perhaps...or something else?

[RozZy]

I think it was one of my firefish that mysteriously dissappeared, I had figured that my lobster had eaten him, but oh I was wrong.

 

I've had the same salt brand for 6 months as well, was going reef crystals before that which didn't work so well.

[tetraodon]

I've been in this hobby for over two years now, and thats how old my tank is as well.

I've learned from research and mistakes of course. And I feel confident that I know enough to be able to run a successful tank. With that said:

 

My tank was running fine. SPS and LPS corals were growing faster than ever. The tank almost maintained itself and I only needed to do about one water change per month. The success came from starting to dose with Seachem Reef Fusion 1 & 2 + Acropower.

 

But then something happened.

 

My corals started dying, my duncan coral (which has been with me for over a year now) turned white, and the return of my nightmare... Red Slime algae.

most of my SPS are now dead and the LPS are hanging on for dear life.

 

I did what everyone should do. I lifted out every single rock, vacuumed the entire bottom, found the dead black blob which had been stinking up the tank (The entire apartment started smelling when I took it out of the water, i threw away the entire rock it was stuck to). I guessed that this had been the problem all along.

 

I did water changes. About 7-10 in 2 weeks (I seriously lost count, became a thing i did every day/second day.

 

I vacuumed the sump, there was a lot of debris that had built up and I purchased new lights.

 

But even after doing all this, the red slime is still there. and the corals aint happy, I added a new goby to help with the algae problem since I was confident the problem was gone... dead after 2 days.

 

All my readings :

 

Nitrates : 0

Nitrites: 0

Ammonia: 0

Phosphates (Not sure, cant read 50 shades of blue, getting the digital test tomorrow)

 

This is my setup:

 

72 Gallon Bow front with 15 gallon sump.

Aquamaxx EM300 (Giant skimmer, pulls gunk like crazy)

GFO Reactor with Two Little Fishies Phosban (Recently switched from BRS brand)

Biopellet reactor running DrTim's Aquatics 801 NP-Active Pearls for Aquarium (Also switched from BRS)

UV Sterilizer

RO/DI FILTER (0 PPM tested last water change this weekend)

Mixing with Instant Ocean salt

 

Circulation pumps resulting in 4000 GPH flow in the display tank, and one extra circulation pump to keep the water in the sump.

 

Livestock:

Bicolor Angel

Maroon clownfish pair

Flame Angel

Yellow tang

Hippo tang

Chromis

Blue/Yellow Damsel

Radiata Lionfish (50g fish)

Lawnmover Blenny (new fish for the algae)

 

Inverts

Daium Reef Lobster (Eats everything but doesnt touch stuff thats alive unless its a small snail.

2x Giant Mexican Turbo snails (Half a fist size)

1x Long Spine Urchin

1x Tuxedo Urchin

1x Banded Coral Shrimp

40 Hermit crabs

 

 

I've had the same inhabitants for the past 6 months (The problem started about 2 months ago)

 

 

Could it be that I changed brands on the GFO and biopellets? I'm looking in the dark now, I've literally tried everything and I don't know what is spiking the Phosphates.

 

HELP!

is you biopellet reactor plumbed to a skimmer? ive been having a similar issue and i narrowed it down to the reactor spitting our bacteria waste that was feeding the cyano,

[RozZy]

The biopellets are tumbling inside a modified Phosban 150 reactor - After i cleaned the sump yesterday, it had clogged up a bit.

I've been cleaning the phosban 150's (The GFO is in one as well) about every 3-4 weeks.

 

I'll start with the daily water changes again. I stopped and did only twice last week. But I'll pick it up again.

[tetraodon]

The biopellets are tumbling inside a modified Phosban 150 reactor - After i cleaned the sump yesterday, it had clogged up a bit.

I've been cleaning the phosban 150's (The GFO is in one as well) about every 3-4 weeks.

 

I'll start with the daily water changes again. I stopped and did only twice last week. But I'll pick it up again.

where is the output of the reactor? if its not being skimmed it can send a bunch of stuff in your tank that will cause and feed cyano

[RozZy]

It goes straight into the sump. But I always had it that way, and its been working. I'm thinking if its maybe the new brands of GFO or Biopellets? I'm gonna try by buying the BRS brand again.

[tetraodon]

It goes straight into the sump. But I always had it that way, and its been working. I'm thinking if its maybe the new brands of GFO or Biopellets? I'm gonna try by buying the BRS brand again.

i have a reactor that was plumbed to a skimmer and was fine for 4-6 months, then i started getting bad algae growth, cyano, and had several corals including a couple clams die. honestly after reading a lot from people who have success with pellets, they all have them plumbed, or filtered in some way. since i hooked up my reactor to a larger skimmer and made sure the waste water went into the skimmer my cyano has started to die off and algae growth has slowed.

[RozZy]

My sump has 2 sections. The first section is the smallest which contains the skimmer, and the larger section has the return and rest of the equipment.

 

Do you think it'll help if I move the biopellet reactor to the first section with the skimmer temporarily until I can figure out a skimmer mod?

[tetraodon]

My sump has 2 sections. The first section is the smallest which contains the skimmer, and the larger section has the return and rest of the equipment.

 

Do you think it'll help if I move the biopellet reactor to the first section with the skimmer temporarily until I can figure out a skimmer mod?

it wouldnt hurt, what i did was take a PVC tee and a barb for the tube from the reactor. fit the tee over the venturi and mount the pipe from the reactor to the barb on the tee. its kinda ghetto but it works. i can get a picture later of my set up

http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/1612-Biopellets-Skimmer-modification-complete

 

this is pretty much what mine looks like, just make sure the water is still being pulled in from the open end to ensure the water from the reactor isnt escaping.

[metrokat]

post your phosphate test result.

[RozZy]

I'm gonna give that a try this weekend and change GFO and BIOPELLET brands back to BRS.

post your phosphate test result.

Will do as soon as I'll get the digital tester!

[xiaoxiy]

Out of curiosity, when did you swap biopellet brands and did you seed the Dr. Tim's biopellets with your pellets?

 

I ask because if you remove all the old biopellets during the swap and don't seed the new biopellets, it's like starting anew again. If that's the case, then it'll take the biopellets a while to kick back in.

[HarryPotter]

Maybe going bare bottom would help with the old sand and excess nutrients fueling the cyano?

 

You could increase flow that way too

[Hig789]

So the bio pellets were draining into the second chamber and going to the display before hitting the skimmer? From what I have read like, tetradon was saying, bio pellets should be fed directly to a skimmer. You think that the display just built up a excess of bacteria before it was getting skimmed out? Possibly xiaociy was saying that it takes a while for new bio pellets to start working and they aren't pulling nutrients out of the water yet.

[olemanwinter]

I know this is really basic, but make sure all your pumps and powerheads are all working properly. Reduced flow can really cause a Cyano outbreak ime.

[wow.such.chris]

Keep up on the water changes. Whats your nitrate test kit? Black blobs take a good amount of effort to recover from, keep up on it and you will be rewarded in time. Don't give up yet, you'll look back in a few months and be proud of how much progress you've made. I'm just getting over a cyano bloom now, trust me!

[brandon429]

musings from the good pics above

 

 

Do not change or alter your nutrient schedule, its not even possible to see the algae you are referring to but I know that reefers know the nuances of the tank, I thought I was not going to open up a pic of totally coralline covered live rock and no visible algae. we still can fix the algae you have though as miniscule as it may be

 

your algae came about from upwellings/business work, same as the ocean, its not a nutrient causation from bad rock this is id # 13,412 from the same issues.

 

the corals are on the verge of death most likely from too high up light bleaching, not being fed enough in attempts to use nutrients to beat all algae invasions when in fact that comprises prob 40% of them. we always claim that the 2nd most adapted organisms to living in our tanks (behind bacteria) are results of a problem. No, they show up in fine tanks we have the threads to show. tanks with fifty gadgets for nutrient chasing still need detailing

 

If you attack nutrients further in a tank that does not require it then more bleaching will result. this is a tank where you just simply cheat graze and kill the algae, feed better not less as spot feeds, take them out of the beam path of those powerful leds, make sure your alk is not on the high side, and check back in 4 mos.

[Mojado]

where is the output of the reactor? if its not being skimmed it can send a bunch of stuff in your tank that will cause and feed cyano

As long as the whole water column is circulating, then it is getting skimmed . . .regardless of where the reactor is with respect to the skimmer. A skimmer doesn't pull 100% of crap in a single pass.

[markalot]

I've been in this hobby for over two years now, and thats how old my tank is as well.

I've learned from research and mistakes of course. And I feel confident that I know enough to be able to run a successful tank. With that said:

 

My tank was running fine. SPS and LPS corals were growing faster than ever. The tank almost maintained itself and I only needed to do about one water change per month. The success came from starting to dose with Seachem Reef Fusion 1 & 2 + Acropower.

 

But then something happened.

 

My corals started dying, my duncan coral (which has been with me for over a year now) turned white, and the return of my nightmare... Red Slime algae.

most of my SPS are now dead and the LPS are hanging on for dear life.

 

I did what everyone should do. I lifted out every single rock, vacuumed the entire bottom, found the dead black blob which had been stinking up the tank (The entire apartment started smelling when I took it out of the water, i threw away the entire rock it was stuck to). I guessed that this had been the problem all along.

 

I did water changes. About 7-10 in 2 weeks (I seriously lost count, became a thing i did every day/second day.

 

I vacuumed the sump, there was a lot of debris that had built up and I purchased new lights.

 

But even after doing all this, the red slime is still there. and the corals aint happy, I added a new goby to help with the algae problem since I was confident the problem was gone... dead after 2 days.

 

All my readings :

 

Nitrates : 0

Nitrites: 0

Ammonia: 0

Phosphates (Not sure, cant read 50 shades of blue, getting the digital test tomorrow)

 

 

 

You have both biopellets and GFO running, if you are successful in bringing Nitrates and PO4 to 0 then everything will die, especially if there is something else in the tank, like algae or cyano, to help absorb any excess. Way way too clean.

 

High phosphates don't kill corals, GFO kills corals. GFO can be very effective if used correctly but I could never r manage so instead I removed GFO, stuck with biopellets, and dose Nitrates (CaNO3 pellets) to help the pellets reduce PO4 as well. This has the added benefit of keeping nitrates elevated and many of the corals color up a lot better with some nitrates in the water.

 

Dosing Nitrates worked so well I started dosing in my 29 (now 40) gallon as well with no pellets, just a skimmer, and the colors exploded ... as well as the algae. Works much better when you have tangs to clean up the algae.

 

So, IMO, you starved the tank to death.

[metrokat]

 

 

You have both biopellets and GFO running, if you are successful in bringing Nitrates and PO4 to 0 then everything will die, especially if there is something else in the tank, like algae or cyano, to help absorb any excess. Way way too clean.

 

High phosphates don't kill corals, GFO kills corals. GFO can be very effective if used correctly but I could never r manage so instead I removed GFO, stuck with biopellets, and dose Nitrates (CaNO3 pellets) to help the pellets reduce PO4 as well. This has the added benefit of keeping nitrates elevated and many of the corals color up a lot better with some nitrates in the water.

 

Dosing Nitrates worked so well I started dosing in my 29 (now 40) gallon as well with no pellets, just a skimmer, and the colors exploded ... as well as the algae. Works much better when you have tangs to clean up the algae.

 

So, IMO, you starved the tank to death.

I was hoping you would find this thread. And +1

[RozZy]

Alright I'm unplugging the GFO now!

 

 

 

You have both biopellets and GFO running, if you are successful in bringing Nitrates and PO4 to 0 then everything will die, especially if there is something else in the tank, like algae or cyano, to help absorb any excess. Way way too clean.

 

High phosphates don't kill corals, GFO kills corals. GFO can be very effective if used correctly but I could never r manage so instead I removed GFO, stuck with biopellets, and dose Nitrates (CaNO3 pellets) to help the pellets reduce PO4 as well. This has the added benefit of keeping nitrates elevated and many of the corals color up a lot better with some nitrates in the water.

 

Dosing Nitrates worked so well I started dosing in my 29 (now 40) gallon as well with no pellets, just a skimmer, and the colors exploded ... as well as the algae. Works much better when you have tangs to clean up the algae.

 

So, IMO, you starved the tank to death.

 

 

Alright Markalot! I'm turning off the GFO reactor, wish me luck!

[markalot]

Alright I'm unplugging the GFO now!

 

 

 

Alright Markalot! I'm turning off the GFO reactor, wish me luck!

 

Good luck!

[Anden]

Yes that Sound like a plan.

turning off the GFO reactor and do the water changes.

 

I hope to see good stuff happening soon.