The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread - Page 25

Wolfgang · 04-11-2010, 01:46 PM

Got back from the LFS. I swapped some frags with a friend, then I bought myself a Green slimer acro.

Everything is looking happy.

shilala · 04-13-2010, 09:11 AM

Here's a question you guys may be able to help me with...
I'm having another brown algae bloom. Along with that is lots of green hair algae.
I understand it's from phosphorus spiking. My lights are good and they are on a timer and all that good stuff.
Since I've set up this new tank it went from good, to real bad, then back to crystal clear with no algae, and now it's back again.
Something could have very well died in there, I have no way of knowing. It could have been a shrimp or one of any number of snails, or just some other die-back I can't think of. I run two protein skimmers and both have been pulling stuff out doubletime even though I've taken feeding to almost nothing.

Okay, so here is my question...
I usually just let this stuff go. I clean the glass and prefilters regularly, and I run my diatom filter a lot to pull the junk out of the water.
My thinking is that if I let the algae grow, it will pull the phosphate and nitrogen and fertilizers out of the water and fix it in itself. When I clean, I use the diaton filter to pull that organic matter out of the water.
How long should I let things go before I scrub the rocks and stuff?
I've noticed in the past that when the algae starves out it sluffs off in big chunks. Should I just wait till it starts peeling off itself, and how long does that take?
I know it's an odd question, I hope someone can help.

Thanks!!!

Wolfgang · 04-13-2010, 09:39 AM

Scrubbing the rocks will not likley prevent the algae from coming back. I was in the same situation as you a while ago. My solution was taking the rocks out and blowtorching them untill I was sure every bit of algae root was gone. This is an extreme measure.

The algae will pull nitrates and Po4 out of the water but it will not fix the main source for the Po4. It will keep growing and growing leaving you an unhappy camper. My suggestion would be to pick up a phosphate reactor. Like the MR1 made by nextreef. And run some neozeo media. This will cut out Po4 as well as Nitrates. In my case eliminating the need for water changes for almost a year now.

Next Reef MR1

NeoZeo

04-13-2010, 10:09 AM

I scrubbed with a brush and used a net to scoop out the debris. Eventually these blooms seemed to run their course. The tiny snail and tiny star blooms were interesting. I wonder if your diatom filter is contributing. I use only a mat filter on the overflow and the skimmer. No fine filtering at all.

shilala · 04-14-2010, 07:28 AM

Thanks for the replies, guys.
I cleaned the tank really good yesterday and it looks spectacular this morning. Even the algae among the substrate cleared up. I added some sand and shells from Siesta Key that I had in a big jar, and now my Sargeant major damsel is making a great big nest. He's fanning out the hole and carrying rocks away and dropping them at the rate of about 5 or ten trips a minute. Fun to watch.

Lance, I had thought the diatom filter might be adding to the phosphates. It doesn't jive though.
Mark, I have tons of phosphate sponge in my Fluval sump filter, or whatever it's called. I think it's a cannister filter. That initially helped.
With clean water and a clean light and clean glass tops, there's a lot more light. It may just be that my light was so low it caused the bloom. I'd been pretty lazy about taking care of cleaning, so I'm likely the cause.
I'll just keep after it for the next week and see if the algae blooms subside.
Thanks for the help!!!

OLS · 04-15-2010, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shilala

more light. It may just be that my light was so low it caused the bloom.

Those lamps lose spectrum after 6-8 months, too, and not only do you get an immediate reaction then,
but you get an adverse reaction when you put in the new lamps. I think that's why people
replace perfectly good lamps before their time. Me personally, I'll chance it.

Wolfgang · 04-14-2010, 08:09 AM

Phosphate pads are only good for a week or so. After that they become nitrate factories by trapping deterius then it decays. Canister filters *usually* are linked with nitrate and phosphate issues. I think Carlos would know more. He was in the aquarium trade for quite a while.

shilala · 04-15-2010, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfgang

Phosphate pads are only good for a week or so. After that they become nitrate factories by trapping deterius then it decays. Canister filters *usually* are linked with nitrate and phosphate issues. I think Carlos would know more. He was in the aquarium trade for quite a while.

I haven't cleaned that thing out for awhile, either. I should do that today. I can see where the filtered chunkies would rot and cause trouble. The bioballs should have plenty of nitrifying bacteria, as well as my substrate. It wouldn't hurt to get that crap out of it, though. Hopefully I'll quit feeling like crap and I'll get to it today.
Very little green algae is growing, that's a good sign. It's how I guage how fertile the tank is. I'll keep cleaning and hope the bioload goes down. I should do a massive water change but I'm not up to it.
I managed to clean it into "okay for now" mode. I'll put some more time into it as soon as I can.

04-15-2010, 10:40 AM

My tank exists in perpetual "OK for now" mode.

poker · 04-15-2010, 11:24 AM

Anyone looking for MH lighting? I may have quite a bit of it available shortly.

Wolfgang · 04-15-2010, 11:28 AM

maybe what are the specs and bulb spectrum?

poker · 04-15-2010, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfgang

maybe what are the specs and bulb spectrum?

I have to check when I get home. I know I have the bulbs/ballasts/sockets/and maybe reflectors. It was off my 150g reef a few years ago.

sikk50 · 04-15-2010, 12:41 PM

You need to replace them every 6 months. If you don't your tank starts deteriorating, corals will be less happy and you'll start seeing more algea. Took me a long time to learn that one

Wolfgang · 04-15-2010, 01:15 PM

My tank has decided to spring a leak. YAY!

shilala · 04-15-2010, 04:00 PM

My lamps aren't even close to six months, so I'm good there. A guy can buy a lumen meter and save a fortune on bulbs, I really should get one.

Sorry about the leak, Mark. I just did that not long ago. Sprung a leak three times before I gave up on that tank altogether. The last one was a monster. Water was shooting ten feet across the room.

Wolfgang · 04-16-2010, 08:53 PM

everything will be moving into a 50 gallon tomorrow. Pictures during the process

shilala · 04-17-2010, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfgang

everything will be moving into a 50 gallon tomorrow. Pictures during the process

I sure don't envy you the chore. I have a great big red plastic stock tank that I can move all my stuff into now. It's a lot easier, for sure.

Wolfgang · 04-16-2010, 10:12 PM

Wolfgang · 04-17-2010, 12:10 PM

got the light on top.

Wolfgang · 04-17-2010, 03:28 PM

four hours later and im done.

I also moved my little maroon clown into this tank. My larger maroon clown was beating him up.

04-11-2010, 01:46 PM	#1
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread Got back from the LFS. I swapped some frags with a friend, then I bought myself a Green slimer acro. Everything is looking happy. __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.

04-13-2010, 09:11 AM	#2
shilala Dear Lord, Thank You. Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Scott Posts: 13,721 Trading: (252)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread Here's a question you guys may be able to help me with... I'm having another brown algae bloom. Along with that is lots of green hair algae. I understand it's from phosphorus spiking. My lights are good and they are on a timer and all that good stuff. Since I've set up this new tank it went from good, to real bad, then back to crystal clear with no algae, and now it's back again. Something could have very well died in there, I have no way of knowing. It could have been a shrimp or one of any number of snails, or just some other die-back I can't think of. I run two protein skimmers and both have been pulling stuff out doubletime even though I've taken feeding to almost nothing. Okay, so here is my question... I usually just let this stuff go. I clean the glass and prefilters regularly, and I run my diatom filter a lot to pull the junk out of the water. My thinking is that if I let the algae grow, it will pull the phosphate and nitrogen and fertilizers out of the water and fix it in itself. When I clean, I use the diaton filter to pull that organic matter out of the water. How long should I let things go before I scrub the rocks and stuff? I've noticed in the past that when the algae starves out it sluffs off in big chunks. Should I just wait till it starts peeling off itself, and how long does that take? I know it's an odd question, I hope someone can help. Thanks!!! __________________

04-13-2010, 09:39 AM	#3
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread Scrubbing the rocks will not likley prevent the algae from coming back. I was in the same situation as you a while ago. My solution was taking the rocks out and blowtorching them untill I was sure every bit of algae root was gone. This is an extreme measure. The algae will pull nitrates and Po4 out of the water but it will not fix the main source for the Po4. It will keep growing and growing leaving you an unhappy camper. My suggestion would be to pick up a phosphate reactor. Like the MR1 made by nextreef. And run some neozeo media. This will cut out Po4 as well as Nitrates. In my case eliminating the need for water changes for almost a year now. Next Reef MR1 NeoZeo __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.

04-13-2010, 10:09 AM	#4
BC-Axeman Guest Posts: n/a	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread I scrubbed with a brush and used a net to scoop out the debris. Eventually these blooms seemed to run their course. The tiny snail and tiny star blooms were interesting. I wonder if your diatom filter is contributing. I use only a mat filter on the overflow and the skimmer. No fine filtering at all.

04-14-2010, 07:28 AM	#5
shilala Dear Lord, Thank You. Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Scott Posts: 13,721 Trading: (252)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread Thanks for the replies, guys. I cleaned the tank really good yesterday and it looks spectacular this morning. Even the algae among the substrate cleared up. I added some sand and shells from Siesta Key that I had in a big jar, and now my Sargeant major damsel is making a great big nest. He's fanning out the hole and carrying rocks away and dropping them at the rate of about 5 or ten trips a minute. Fun to watch. Lance, I had thought the diatom filter might be adding to the phosphates. It doesn't jive though. Mark, I have tons of phosphate sponge in my Fluval sump filter, or whatever it's called. I think it's a cannister filter. That initially helped. With clean water and a clean light and clean glass tops, there's a lot more light. It may just be that my light was so low it caused the bloom. I'd been pretty lazy about taking care of cleaning, so I'm likely the cause. I'll just keep after it for the next week and see if the algae blooms subside. Thanks for the help!!! __________________

04-14-2010, 08:09 AM	#7
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread Phosphate pads are only good for a week or so. After that they become nitrate factories by trapping deterius then it decays. Canister filters usually are linked with nitrate and phosphate issues. I think Carlos would know more. He was in the aquarium trade for quite a while. __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.

04-15-2010, 10:40 AM	#9
BC-Axeman Guest Posts: n/a	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread My tank exists in perpetual "OK for now" mode.

04-15-2010, 11:24 AM	#10
poker 1:11 Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Kelly Location: SoCal Posts: 5,280 Trading: (7)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread Anyone looking for MH lighting? I may have quite a bit of it available shortly. __________________ Cigar Asylum: A cigar board birthed without agendas, without profiting, and without advertisements. Amor puro Character is what you do when no one is watching

04-15-2010, 11:28 AM	#11
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread maybe what are the specs and bulb spectrum? __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.

04-15-2010, 12:41 PM	#13
sikk50 Just Bored Really... Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Andrew Location: The Jefferson State Posts: 2,084 Trading: (13)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread You need to replace them every 6 months. If you don't your tank starts deteriorating, corals will be less happy and you'll start seeing more algea. Took me a long time to learn that one __________________ "Not a Headache in a Hogshead"

04-15-2010, 01:15 PM	#14
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread My tank has decided to spring a leak. YAY! __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.

04-15-2010, 04:00 PM	#15
shilala Dear Lord, Thank You. Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Scott Posts: 13,721 Trading: (252)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread My lamps aren't even close to six months, so I'm good there. A guy can buy a lumen meter and save a fortune on bulbs, I really should get one. Sorry about the leak, Mark. I just did that not long ago. Sprung a leak three times before I gave up on that tank altogether. The last one was a monster. Water was shooting ten feet across the room. __________________

04-16-2010, 08:53 PM	#16
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread everything will be moving into a 50 gallon tomorrow. Pictures during the process __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.

04-16-2010, 10:12 PM	#18
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.

04-17-2010, 12:10 PM	#19
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread got the light on top. __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.

04-17-2010, 03:28 PM	#20
Wolfgang Back from the dead Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 2,541 Trading: (14)	Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread four hours later and im done. I also moved my little maroon clown into this tank. My larger maroon clown was beating him up. __________________ You probably wont remember that test you failed, but you'll never forget the girl you were with the night before, when you decided not to study.