Not having success

[Llorgon]

I actually hadn't tested nitrates or phosphates in awhile. I just left things as they were. Did testing today and nitrates are 0.50ppm and phosphates are 0.107ppm. So it looks like I might need to dose some nitrates so they aren't so low.

 

I actually tried spot treating with some boil RO/DI water. Turns the gha white and the hermits love it. But I see your point. Better to just keep doing what I have been doing as it actually seems to be working.

 

I do need to add more snails. From the looks of it I am down to 1 hermit and 1 turbo 😞

 

I did pickup some new corals for the first time in forever. Nothing special, just some cheap acans and trying my hand at a lobo. Acans seem to be the one thing I can keep alive so I figured it was a safe bet. A not so safe addition was a mystic monti. The jedi mind trick is doing well so I am hoping it will do well as well. They came today so still a little closed up, but nothing DOA which is good.

[Llorgon]

Here are some photos of what the tank is looking like today. Still places with gha, but not near as bad as it was.

[mcarroll]

On 1/13/2021 at 6:14 PM, Llorgon said:

I actually hadn't tested nitrates or phosphates in awhile. I just left things as they were. Did testing today and nitrates are 0.50ppm and phosphates are 0.107ppm. So it looks like I might need to dose some nitrates so they aren't so low.

Make sure you've stopped removing nutrints any way you can stop before you start dosing them.  But if there's nothing you can stop doing (ie filtration or maintenance items), then you're right it might be time for a little dosing to help things along.  (Your corals aren't gong to be too bothered by low nitrates, but other critters you want to favor might be restrained....so it's worth boosting at least in the short term.)

 

On 1/13/2021 at 6:14 PM, Llorgon said:

I actually tried spot treating with some boil RO/DI water. Turns the gha white and the hermits love it. But I see your point. Better to just keep doing what I have been doing as it actually seems to be working.

Definitely not the worst thing you could do (not by far), but I still agree that staying the course is the best.  👍

 

On 1/13/2021 at 6:14 PM, Llorgon said:

I do need to add more snails. From the looks of it I am down to 1 hermit and 1 turbo 😞

IMO that's actually a good sign...if things aren't getting worse (or at least not fast) then that one snail is really close to holding down the whole fort, so to speak.  If turbos are all you have available, try adding one more and see how it goes for a few more weeks with you in the tank hand-pulling as frequently as you can.  (Daily is best.)  If a month goes by and you still see algae growing where you've cleaned it before, or if re-growth in general is still fast, then add another turbo.  Could require up to 2 turbos per gallon...but obviously you create a whole new problem if you over-shoot the amount of snails you need.  So go slow.  👍 

 

On 1/13/2021 at 6:18 PM, Llorgon said:

Here are some photos of what the tank is looking like today. Still places with gha, but not near as bad as it was.

I think it looks really nice right now – like it's starting to come into its own.  Keep doing what you're doing!

[Llorgon]

18 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Make sure you've stopped removing nutrints any way you can stop before you start dosing them.  But if there's nothing you can stop doing (ie filtration or maintenance items), then you're right it might be time for a little dosing to help things along.  (Your corals aren't gong to be too bothered by low nitrates, but other critters you want to favor might be restrained....so it's worth boosting at least in the short term.)

All I have been doing is weekly water change+sand vacuuming. I have a skimmer going, should I turn that off or just skip the sand vacuuming for a week?

 

18 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Definitely not the worst thing you could do (not by far), but I still agree that staying the course is the best.  👍

You're right. I will continue with manual removal. Leave any sort of spot treating for another time.

 

18 hours ago, mcarroll said:

IMO that's actually a good sign...if things aren't getting worse (or at least not fast) then that one snail is really close to holding down the whole fort, so to speak.  If turbos are all you have available, try adding one more and see how it goes for a few more weeks with you in the tank hand-pulling as frequently as you can.  (Daily is best.)  If a month goes by and you still see algae growing where you've cleaned it before, or if re-growth in general is still fast, then add another turbo.  Could require up to 2 turbos per gallon...but obviously you create a whole new problem if you over-shoot the amount of snails you need.  So go slow.  👍 

There are spots that get worse. Mostly the back wall and the rock on the right. I seem to have to scrub the one rock on the right once a month now. Can't seem to keep up with manual removal on it. Might try twice a day removal and see how that goes.

 

I will try and see what is available for snails on the weekend. I definitely clean the rock on the right and it just grows back, just slower now.

18 hours ago, mcarroll said:

I think it looks really nice right now – like it's starting to come into its own.  Keep doing what you're doing!

Thanks! It's finally starting to look like a reef tank and not an algae growout tank!

 

I have noticed an increase in cyano in parts of the tank the last few weeks. Might need to up flow?

[mcarroll]

On 1/15/2021 at 8:16 PM, Llorgon said:

I seem to have to scrub the one rock on the right once a month now. Can't seem to keep up with manual removal on it. Might try twice a day removal and see how that goes.

Scrubbing can make things worse, if you were being literal. You should be using your fingers like tweezers to remove it.  Ideally you want to remove whole plants at a time...pull each pinch up by its rootlets.  Not always possible, but more often than not.  Pinching smaller amounts per pinch helps a lot.  (Work in small areas....like 1 or 2 inches square.  This way your efforts are focused and you can see actual progress.)

 

Definitely seems like you could use one or more new snails. 

[mcarroll]

On 1/15/2021 at 8:16 PM, Llorgon said:

I have noticed an increase in cyano in parts of the tank the last few weeks. Might need to up flow?

Only if you think flow is low.  Low flow doesn't really cause cyano....if anything it just creates a settling zone for waste.  A waste zone *might* cause cyano due to the organics released during breakdown.

 

Are you using a protein skimmer?  I forget if this was already covered...

[Llorgon]

21 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Scrubbing can make things worse, if you were being literal. You should be using your fingers like tweezers to remove it.  Ideally you want to remove whole plants at a time...pull each pinch up by its rootlets.  Not always possible, but more often than not.  Pinching smaller amounts per pinch helps a lot.  (Work in small areas....like 1 or 2 inches square.  This way your efforts are focused and you can see actual progress.)

 

Definitely seems like you could use one or more new snails. 

I take the rock out, scrub it in a bucket of tank water, rinse it in another and put it back in the tank. It helps to get off the pieces in the cracks and crevices that I can't get to with my fingers.

21 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Only if you think flow is low.  Low flow doesn't really cause cyano....if anything it just creates a settling zone for waste.  A waste zone *might* cause cyano due to the organics released during breakdown.

 

Are you using a protein skimmer?  I forget if this was already covered...

Ya, I have one of those ghost protein skimmers. Not the greatest, but I think I am limited for options on the small tank.

 

The cyano is on one part of the newer live rock I got. Just started about 2 weeks ago.

 

Did my water change on the weekend, but didn't vacuum the sand. I will see what nutrients are like in a day or so. Also picked up 2 cerith snails. So I will keep an eye on the algae levels before picking up more.

 

I did notice some bubble algae on the newer rock. It's only in one spot right now. Any tips on how to remove that without causing it to spread?