DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 Algae.............š I hope these snails start working. I'm at a loss with why I'm getting it again. I have no sand, I suck out shit every week, I change the floss ever other day, I definitely don't feed heavy. Nitrates are at about 10 phosphate is .1.....I have no idea what else is causing it. I figured going bare bottom I'd be able to clean better. Is it lack of a cuc? I just go a brand new shipment from reef cleaners on Friday so I'll see what happens in a week. Who cleans up algae better snails or hermits? Should I place a large order for hermits? Ā I just don't get it. The last tank was the layout of the rocks and not being able to clean it well enough. This tank I designed for maximum flow and ease of cleaning, so I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm starting to think I suck at having a reef š. Ā I wonder if me taking a toothbrush and scrubbing the rocks is what my problem is? I do it on water change day so I can suck out the algae. 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 5 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: Algae.............š I hope these snails start working. I'm at a lose with why I'm getting it again. I have no sand, I suck out shit every week, I change the floss ever other day, I definitely don't feed heavy. Nitrates are at about 10 phosphate is .1.....I have no idea what else is causing it. I figured going bare bottom I'd be able to clean better. Is it lack of a cuc? I just go a brand new shipment from reef cleaners on Friday so I'll see what happens in a week. Who cleans up algae better snails or hermits? Should I place a large order for hermits? Ā I just don't get it. The last tank was the layout of the rocks and not being able to clean it well enough. This tank I designed for maximum flow and ease of cleaning, so I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm starting to think I suck at having a reef š. Ā I wonder if me taking a toothbrush and scrubbing the rocks is what my problem is? I do it on water change day so I can suck out the algae. Remind me again what food you are using? Ā Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 4 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: Remind me again what food you are using? Ā I feed lrs nano. It's easy to not over feed. I take a small piece and the clown comes up and eats out of my hand. Do you think not having sand is what's doing it? Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 I just looked at my notes and I'm doing a water change every 4-6 days. Granted, I know algae is part of it, but this shit is crazy. I have one fish... 1 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 4 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: Ā Do you think not having sand is what's doing it? No because you had the same problem before.Ā Ā 1 minute ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: I just looked at my notes and I'm doing a water change every 4-6 days. Granted, I know algae is part of it, but this shit is crazy. I have one fish... Seems like a lot.Ā Quote Link to comment
FISHnChix Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 36 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: Algae.............š I hope these snails start working. I'm at a loss with why I'm getting it again. I have no sand, I suck out shit every week, I change the floss ever other day, I definitely don't feed heavy. Nitrates are at about 10 phosphate is .1.....I have no idea what else is causing it. I figured going bare bottom I'd be able to clean better. Is it lack of a cuc? I just go a brand new shipment from reef cleaners on Friday so I'll see what happens in a week. Who cleans up algae better snails or hermits? Should I place a large order for hermits? Ā I just don't get it. The last tank was the layout of the rocks and not being able to clean it well enough. This tank I designed for maximum flow and ease of cleaning, so I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm starting to think I suck at having a reef š. Ā I wonder if me taking a toothbrush and scrubbing the rocks is what my problem is? I do it on water change day so I can suck out the algae. So in my biocube I had purchased some live rock from the lfs.. some of it came from someone's old tank.. anyways I had so much gha alage no matter what I did.. tried everything.. for the whole year I was doing weekly 50 percent wc.Ā Fed a little every 3rd day. Bought snails and hermits for days.. got a lawnmover blenny. Ran a skimmer, cheato, and phosguard. Did a rip clean with peroxide a few times.Ā It would clean it up but be back within a couple weeks.. finally I used reef flux and that would fix it for longer , but it would still be around so I would redose a little.. never figured it out completely,Ā but I figured it was the rock leeching phosphate.. when i set up my reefer i went all dry rock and haven't had a problem š... I doubt its anything your doing wrong and would guess it's that damn rock you have.Ā How to fix it??? Hell I dunno , but let me know if you figure it out!!š¤£ good luck buddyš¤ 2 1 Quote Link to comment
spectra Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 What water are you using ? maybe TDS is high in it ? Ā Also if you want a algae eater get a black long spine urchin.........I had hair algae the tangs, snails and fox face wouldnt touch.........forgot I had this guy in the sump and when I did the tank swap well it went in the rubbermaid with all the rock........they came out spotless after a couple weeks in there. 2 Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 15 minutes ago, FISHnChix said: So in my biocube I had purchased some live rock from the lfs.. some of it came from someone's old tank.. anyways I had so much gha alage no matter what I did.. tried everything.. for the whole year I was doing weekly 50 percent wc.Ā Fed a little every 3rd day. Bought snails and hermits for days.. got a lawnmover blenny. Ran a skimmer, cheato, and phosguard. Did a rip clean with peroxide a few times.Ā It would clean it up but be back within a couple weeks.. finally I used reef flux and that would fix it for longer , but it would still be around so I would redose a little.. never figured it out completely,Ā but I figured it was the rock leeching phosphate.. when i set up my reefer i went all dry rock and haven't had a problem š... I doubt its anything your doing wrong and would guess it's that damn rock you have.Ā How to fix it??? Hell I dunno , but let me know if you figure it out!!š¤£ good luck buddyš¤ So I had to use some of my old rock because I was transferring everything to the new tank and didn't want a cycle. I used some new Carib sea life rock along with the old rock which I cleaned in hydrogen peroxide. A couple of the nems are attached so I couldn't do anything with those rocks. I used the reef flux in the last tank which worked, but the poor rock scape made it all come back. I don't wanna have to use it on this. I'd rather brainstorm and see if I'm doing something wrong. I can't figure it out and it's really bumming me out. Ā 46 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: No because you had the same problem before.Ā Ā Seems like a lot.Ā Hmm good point lol Ā 22 minutes ago, spectra said: What water are you using ? maybe TDS is high in it ? Ā Also if you want a algae eater get a black long spine urchin.........I had hair algae the tangs, snails and fox face wouldnt touch.........forgot I had this guy in the sump and when I did the tank swap well it went in the rubbermaid with all the rock........they came out spotless after a couple weeks in there. So I have my rodi unit and it's coming out at 0 tds. I thought about an urchin, but John at reef cleaners said I should pass on. He said they make hats of the corals and everything else. Am I making the algae worse by scrubbing the rocks with a toothbrush? As for hermits, I've read they do a great job with gha, I know you don't like crabs, but do you think I should place an order for say 10 or 15 more? I'm doing something wrong for sure...I'm almost wondering if it's the old rocks? I think if they were leaching I'd pick it up when testing.... however I know the gha is using it before I can test for it. Sucks, if I want to change out the rock I'll have to pull the whole thing out because it's all epoxy together... Ugh.. 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 2 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: So I had to use some of my old rock because I was transferring everything to the new tank and didn't want a cycle. I used some new Carib sea life rock along with the old rock which I cleaned in hydrogen peroxide. A couple of the nems are attached so I couldn't do anything with those rocks. I used the reef flux in the last tank which worked, but the poor rock scape made it all come back. I don't wanna have to use it on this. I'd rather brainstorm and see if I'm doing something wrong. I can't figure it out and it's really bumming me out. Ā Hmm good point lol Ā So I have my rodi unit and it's coming out at 0 tds. I thought about an urchin, but John at reef cleaners said I should pass on. He said they make hats of the corals and everything else. Am I making the algae worse by scrubbing the rocks with a toothbrush? As for hermits, I've read they do a great job with gha, I know you don't like crabs, but do you think I should place an order for say 10 or 15 more? I'm doing something wrong for sure...I'm almost wondering if it's the old rocks? I think if they were leaching I'd pick it up when testing.... however I know the gha is using it before I can test for it. Sucks, if I want to change out the rock I'll have to pull the whole thing out because it's all epoxy together... Ugh.. Letās go down the list:Ā Ā First,Ā Whats your lighting situation and duration? 2 Quote Link to comment
StinkyBunny Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Does he have the Green Stripe hermits? If he does, they're what you want. Those little blue legged pricks do f*ck all to clean a tank. I'll shoot some pics tonight of the way the Hulks clean a rock, they take it ALL off a rock. Ā You have phosphates leaching out of the rock. It's not showing on the tests because the algae is soaking it up right out of the rock. I bet if you took a piece of that old rock out and soaked it for a few days in clean seawater you'd be shocked at the amount of phosphates in there. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 7 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: Letās go down the list:Ā Ā First,Ā Whats your lighting situation and duration? Lighting is 8 hours. 4 peak and 2 ram up and 2 ramp down. Ā 6 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said: Does he have the Green Stripe hermits? If he does, they're what you want. Those little blue legged pricks do f*ck all to clean a tank. I'll shoot some pics tonight of the way the Hulks clean a rock, they take it ALL off a rock. Ā You have phosphates leaching out of the rock. It's not showing on the tests because the algae is soaking it up right out of the rock. I bet if you took a piece of that old rock out and soaked it for a few days in clean seawater you'd be shocked at the amount of phosphates in there. Hmm.... I wonder how long it'll leach if it's leaching. I don't wanna have to rip apart the rock work, but I'm so tired of algae getting out of hand again. How about the Halloween hermits? I know John has them. Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 30 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said: Does he have the Green Stripe hermits? If he does, they're what you want. Those little blue legged pricks do f*ck all to clean a tank. I'll shoot some pics tonight of the way the Hulks clean a rock, they take it ALL off a rock. Ā You have phosphates leaching out of the rock. It's not showing on the tests because the algae is soaking it up right out of the rock. I bet if you took a piece of that old rock out and soaked it for a few days in clean seawater you'd be shocked at the amount of phosphates in there. Hey what if I run a little phosphate remover? Run it for a couple days then take it out see what happens? If the rock is leaching it maybe I can nip it, try and starve out the algae. Just make sure I'm not stripping too much to cause negative affects? Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 21 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: Lighting is 8 hours. 4 peak and 2 ram up and 2 ramp down. Ā Hmm.... I wonder how long it'll leach if it's leaching. I don't wanna have to rip apart the rock work, but I'm so tired of algae getting out of hand again. How about the Halloween hermits? I know John has them. Ā I would focus on stopping the algae not finding things to eat it.Ā Ā Ā 3 Quote Link to comment
StinkyBunny Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 I would run a little Phosguard on the tank if it was me. Like Christy said, you need to treat the cause, not the end product. I wouldn't go over 1/8 cup of Phosguard on a tank that small, I use about 1/2 a cup on my 80g systems and 2c on the 700g coral runs. Start slow and see what happens. The corals might be pissy for a day or 2, but if the PO4 is high, they'll perk right up. 1 Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 2 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said: I would run a little Phosguard on the tank if it was me. Like Christy said, you need to treat the cause, not the end product. I wouldn't go over 1/8 cup of Phosguard on a tank that small, I use about 1/2 a cup on my 80g systems and 2c on the 700g coral runs. Start slow and see what happens. The corals might be pissy for a day or 2, but if the PO4 is high, they'll perk right up. Then I'll give that a try. I use carbon and purigen now...maybe I'll grab a bag of chemipuee and see if that works. Phosphate has got to be my problem. I've been going over all my steps and I think you're spot on stinky... Ā 10 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: Ā I would focus on stopping the algae not finding things to eat it.Ā Ā Ā I definitely agree, gotta find the cause. Hopefully my cuc can take care of some of it while I'm diagnosing the root problem. 1 Quote Link to comment
StinkyBunny Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 I think the Chemipure Elite or Blue has the GFO in it. Save your bags and buy a jar of plain old Phosguard for the next time. One of those 4 litre tubs should last you over a year. I'm not a fan of carbon unless there's something in there that you need to get out. I run a Polyfilter on all of my systems just in case of some sort of heavy metal toxin which happens more than you'd think importing. you could cut one into 4 pieces and be good. 1 Quote Link to comment
FISHnChix Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 I have good luck with red legged hermits, and if you go with the phosguard do not use the prebagged stuff it's way to much .. like stinky said buy it and bag it yourselfĀ 1 Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 Ok I'm good j just grab a jar of that. I have bags since I bag the carbon anyways. I'll kick this in the ass soon enough. Just a PITA 2 Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Ok, so here we go.... Water change done Sucked out shit Sucked out algae Added 1/8th cup of phosguard Added carbon Added purigen Ā I'm gonna watch for a few days and see if anything starts to look like shit. If it does, I'll pull the phosguard. Fingers crossed this works. Ā Thanks for the tips guys š Side note, the snails are working on the glass at the bottom. Plus I'm starting to get Coraline algae on the bottom glass š Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 17 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: Ok, so here we go.... Water change done Sucked out shit Sucked out algae Added 1/8th cup of phosguard Added carbon Added purigen Ā I'm gonna watch for a few days and see if anything starts to look like shit. If it does, I'll pull the phosguard. Fingers crossed this works. Ā Thanks for the tips guys š Side note, the snails are working on the glass at the bottom. Plus I'm starting to get Coraline algae on the bottom glass š I know you just got the clean up crew but what about other micro critters like different types of worms and pods?Ā 2 Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 4 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: I know you just got the clean up crew but what about other micro critters like different types of worms and pods?Ā Very good point. I lost most of the critters when I switched tanks. I haven't seen a single bristle worm or brittle starfish. I seeded with pods from reef cleaners. I was thinking of placing an order with algae barn for some other pods...this think that would help too? I need more diverse species. 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 4 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: Very good point. I lost most of the critters when I switched tanks. I haven't seen a single bristle worm or brittle starfish. I seeded with pods from reef cleaners. I was thinking of placing an order with algae barn for some other pods...this think that would help too? I need more diverse species. Ā You need life in there.......Get some micro fauna going. Bugs, worms, etc.Ā Ā Ā 1 1 Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 3 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: Ā You need life in there.......Get some micro fauna going. Bugs, worms, etc.Ā Ā Ā Where would I buy that? I don't think I've ever seen bristle worms for sale...you have any to send to me?? š 1 Quote Link to comment
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 7 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: Ā You need life in there.......Get some micro fauna going. Bugs, worms, etc.Ā Ā Ā Hmm I wonder if this would be worth a buy 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 4 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said: Hmm I wonder if this would be worth a buy No 3 1 Quote Link to comment
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