Help!

[Kayjay]

Ok...I just figured this hair algae was ok, didn't know it would go crazy, here are some pic. of my tank & I would like to ask u what you would do :question: I went to my local Aquarium store that just deals in saltwater (nice selection of sw fish), I think the owner is very knowledgeable, I went in with pics of my tank & told him I wanted to get something that would control the algae & get rid of the domino damsel. I already have about 10 red legged hermit crabs & about the same amount of snails. he told the kid working there to get me more snails & some blue legged hermit crabs & Algaefix. He said go home & turn your tank off for 2-3 days and then do a 20% water change...save the water, take all your rock out & scrub it, then you can catch the fish you wanna take out. He said that algae would kill my rock. Ok, I put the new guys in, tested my water which was ph 8.4, Ammonia 0, Nitrite2 0, & Nitrate3 0. I live in fl and have well water and been mixing my own water, got new upgraded lights about 2-3 months ago. I was also told my water may be doing it too. I have had my water checked by USF and they said it was good & I have a freshwater tank that has been up & running for 2 years...very healthy....after i checked my water I put the Algaefix in & turned the light off...today a couple hours ago I couldn't stand it I had to turn the light back on, i have a few coral that came on my live rock, a anemone, & no one seems to like the dark except the brittle star & shrimp. I hate to take all that rock out, its 60-70 lbs and things are living in & on it. What do I do????

 

[Bifferwine]

I think you received some poor advice. I would never recommend using something like AlgaeFix to deal with algae -- you are not addressing the root of your problem (high nutrient levels in your water), and the algae will just come back. Not to mention, that additive is not always reef safe. And algae will not kill live rock.

It doesn't sound like your tank is overstocked (although the naso tang is too large for a 55 gallon, but that's a different topic).

Your water could very well be contributing to the problem. I would recommend only using RODI or distilled water. You can buy your own RODI unit to make it at home, or you can buy it at any grocery store or Walmart. Your well water may contain high phosphates, nitrates or metals, which can fuel algae.

Your nitrates are high at 30. That level is high enough to be harmful to inverts and corals. And it's definitely high enough to cause algae problems.

What do you feed your tank, and how often? Overfeeding is a very common cause of algae.

Do you have bioballs in your wet/dry? If so, how often do you clean them? If neglected, bioballs can cause algae problems as well.

You should remove as much of that algae by hand as you can. Your LFS had a good idea to take the rocks out and scrub them in a bucket of saltwater with a brush. Any algae that dies in the tank will just be re-releasing its nutrients back into the water, so you want to physically remove it from the system before it dies off.

 

[Ogaawd]

good lord! its only HA Kill the tank over a bit of algae is not knowledgeable at all, algae is normal and natural and totally controllable, its only there because you have excessive nutrient plain and simple, Purigen is excellent for lowering nitrate, water changes are also your best friend, here's a simple thing to remember... test kit results are only good when everything is perfect, they will show you when it starts to slide, but do very little good in the crisis stage.
If you need a walk through for this just say the word lol (I have survived the algae wars lol)

 

[Kayjay]

thanks for replying so fast! i bought the aquarium last July used with rock & set up, I have never cleaned the balls :( I was told you don't. I am attaching a pic of my system. I feed them a small amount of flakes in the morning & pm I rotate with a cube of frozen mysis shrimp then the next day frozen prime reef cube. I thought my numbers where good on my tests, is the ph high? How do I lower it. I will just start buying my water I have the containers. I change my water about every two weeks 12-15 gal. U know I know this is really dumb but I was told my tank is bigger than a 55?? don't know. I plan on getting a big tank if I can conquer this, when my Naso (Lilly) gets too big for it we are upgrading ;) I'm having problems applying pic if it doesn't owrk its a wet/dry with black & blue balls :( lol

 

[Bifferwine]

A pH of 8.4 is just fine -- don't worry about adjusting that.

Try cutting out the flake foods -- flakes and pellets can sometimes contain preservatives that can lead to algae problems. Stick with frozen foods only.

I think you are overfeeding. Cut back to one cube once a day, then after a week or so, cut back to 1/2 a cube once a day. Be sure you are providing dried algae sheets for the tang every day. It needs a lot of vegetable matter in its diet to survive.

Try removing the bioballs a few at a time once a day. Gradually replace the bioballs with more live rock.

 

[Ogaawd]

bioballs are good in a fish only tank, they provide surface area for nitrification to take place, in a reef this presents a small problem in it does not allow for denitrification to happen like the inside of live rock, bits of food and waste get stuck there and create more nutrient, so?? you can slowly remove a few of the balls a week as the rock and sand will do a better job, go slow as the bioload is being carried by the balls to some degree but the LR will pick up.
I gave up flake food after leaving a pound of caulerpa sit in an empty pail over a weekend, the water was orange same as the food, the mysis should be thawed and rinsed with ro water as its more than likely packed with a preservative like phosphate.
Ph is fine, lower ph levels can help to grow HA
sigh.. well water, should be awesome but it never is, as its ground water passing through your well its prone to picking up effluent from everything, fertilizers etc, you could use just a di cartridge but that will get expensive quickly, invest in an ro/di its cheaper than buying the water

 

[Kayjay]

ok..so I will remove a few balls at a time till its empty...nothing willend up being in there but water?

 

[Ogaawd]

when you can get a picture up Im sure theres a way to add a fuge to it, throw in some cheato and a twisty bulb, sooo much better than the nasty bio balls, just go slow

 

[Kayjay]

ok here's the pics

 

[Ogaawd]

great! if it was me Id look at removing the bioball compartment, the eggcrate,balls,sponge, dispersal plate and top cover with the hose, I would replace all of this with a 100 micron filter sock in a holder.The improvement would be losing the nitrate generator and detritus trap (balls and sponge) the sock will catch all the larger stuff in the water column and can be removed every three days, this is true exportation of nutrient, when you blow off your live rock all that stuff ends up in the sock then the garbage can, added bonus? it will also keep micro bubbles out of the display, thats what the sponge is doing now,its awesome!
Your seaclone can be upgraded quite easily as well, there is a fairly new skimmer called Bubble Magus mini or BMQQ I believe, this skimmer runs on a standard MJ pump that they have made a needle wheel for, you can buy just the impeller assembly and install it in your pump, I got one for $15 and it makes a major improvement

 

[Kayjay]

I just reread all this again & I noticed you (Buffy) thought but Nitrates were 30 but they were 0. I just typed the test name Nirtate3. Both my Nitrates & Nitrites were 0. This is alot to think about, I am off Thurs. & Friday so I'll do something then :) thank you for your help...anything else? :) Check back later...

 

[Ogaawd]

I just reread all this again & I noticed you (Buffy) thought but Nitrates were 30 but they were 0. I just typed the test name Nirtate3. Both my Nitrates & Nitrites were 0. This is alot to think about, I am off Thurs. & Friday so I'll do something then :) thank you for your help...anything else? :) Check back later...

bare in mind the nitrates are being taken up by the HA as fast as they are made, a reading of 0 nitrates is an impossibility, its always present in one form or another, there is a ratio for nitrate and phosphate within a certain range everything is good, if one goes out of the range trouble starts