I need serious help!

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jgarced1

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
9
First off, hello everyone. I am new to this site and this hobby as well.. I started by trying to do as much research as I could. Looking at YouTube videos. etc... below is my info

56gal tank
40lbs live sand
70lbs live rock
1 clown
1 dotty
1 cardinal
1 damsel
1 hammer
1 torch
1 green star
1 zoan
1 banded coral shrimp
3 turbo snails
1 starfish
3 power heads
1 UV sterilizer

So I have attached 3 pictures of the problem that I am currently having. It has taken over my tank and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get rid of it. It is getting so bad that it is taking over my coral as well. I do a once a day feeding just enough, never over feed. I do a 50% water change every two weeks. Below are my current readings:
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Phosphate - 1 ppm
Calcium - 375ppm
Ammonia - 0
pH - 8.2

image1.jpg

image2.jpg

image3.jpg
 
First, don't panic. It's a very common problem. It looks to me like you are having a Cyanobacteria breakout. This is temporary if you do the following: it's a bacteria, not a algae, that loves phosphates. You need to be below .1ppm to keep down this growth. Try some phosphate binders like GFO to absorb the phosphate before the cyano gets it. Raising flow will also help a lot as it has to settle in place to grow well. It's why it's not on or near your power heads. You may still be feeding a bit too much and not have enough filtration to fully strip the water of all nuisance nutrients.

I personally think chemical treatments and total blackout only provides a temporary solution, it's best to go to the cause of the problem.

Alkalinity? Calcium could be a bit higher. Also get your Mg checked. Hope that helps.


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there are a few things you can do to get rid of it , looks like cayno
first feed every other day l also lighten up with the food . if its frozen rinse it before feeding
second do several big water changes and make sure you have enough flow over the rocks
third kill the lights for a few days
this should help get you back on track

and yes I agree with Greg chemicals just mask the issue
 
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thanks for that! I think that the lights my be it now that I continue to read more and more. I leave on the the day lights for about 8 hours and the night lights for 2.. is there a specific schedule i should follow?
 
I don't think it has anything to do with the lighting schedule. It may be related to spectrum, how old are your lights? It's flow and water quality that also contributes. A blackout will break the cycle but depending on the root of the problem it will just return. JMO.

Freshwater gets the blue green version and saltwater gets the red slime, or feathery versions. One of the oldest if not oldest organisms on earth.

https://pethelpful.com/fish-aquariums/Blue-Green-Algae-and-Red-Slime


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thank you for that link! i bought my lights in Jan of this year. I am going to do another 50% water change and leave the lights off. I am going to change my power heads and direct them more towards the rocks and see what this does. Do you recommend me scrubbing it off the rocks before i do my water change?
 
As mentioned prior about the rocks maybe not able to keep up with the feeding left overs.

"Live Rock" can be a sham kinda from the stores because they put dry rock with no bacteria today in the tank that says Live rock and tomorrow you arrive and buy it as Live Rock but it doesn't have much going on for BB. I have seen this happen during the same day hour I was at the store they put a bunch of rock from the bin into the water tank and within the hour, someone had come in and picked out a whole bunch. Not implying that happens every where but it could be a factor.
 
so i did a 50% water change and syphoned the sand and gunk i brushed off the rocks. I left my lights off for two days.. hopefully when i get home today the tank will still be cleared.. I am also purchasing a few hermit crabs, cerith snails, and 2 emerald crabs. hopefully these guys help me out a little more.
 
As mention cut your feedings to every 2 or three days. You might need some more flow in the tank.
 
So far its day three and no sign of it.. lets hope it stays like that.. thanks everyone for they're input
 
Keep your feedings low or it could come back. I have found out that low feedings and more flow really help out.
 
I tend to agree, but fish health is also important. I suggest adding filtration to the point it allows you to do a small feeding daily.


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