New reef JBJ CF nano

[Mrc8858]

the gray/lumpy stuff has long hairs in it now and i take it out every day but it comes back the next day. i tested the tank last night: ammonia, nitrites, nitrates all 0, phosphates 2.5. can't get better than that. decided my next step is measuring tds. anyone go along with this idea and have a suggestion for a good tds monitor, easy to use and won't break the bank?

What's your phosphates? That is probably the cause to the algae. It doesn't take much to fuel algae growth (less then what most tests can accurately read).

 

[AquaTricia]

Phosphates are 2.5

 

[Mrc8858]

That's is VERY high. Reef tanks should be as close to 0 as possible.

 

[AquaTricia]

According to what I have read 2.5 is about as low as it can get. I have a phosphate sponge in the trickle filter as well as Seachem's phosphate removal beads.

 

[Mrc8858]

What brand of test are you using? Really, to get the readings as accurate and low as you need digital testers are the only way to go like the Hannah checker

 

[AquaTricia]

Using Salifert kits. I've been looking at Hanna testers. There are several. Trying to decide what to get. I forgot whether Hanna has a tds meter. Have to look that up. Where would the cheapest of these be?

 

[danbstrong]

Using Salifert kits. I've been looking at Hanna testers. There are several. Trying to decide what to get. I forgot whether Hanna has a tds meter. Have to look that up. Where would the cheapest of these be?

Under .5 or lower 2.5 on phosphates is extremely high

 

[AquaTricia]

ok. so, how do i get the phosphate reading down. i already have the sponge and the beads. they were just put in the middle of last week and i clean the tank every week. this week, it was tuesday and i took the readings 12 hours later. i figure it must be the water i get from the lfs. i get sw and top off from them. therefore, i'm guessing it's not me, it's the water. i need to figure out what to do.

 

[Mrc8858]

Could be what you feed or how much. Also I've heard of some water storage containers leaching phosphates. It could also be leaching from your sand/rocks.. so many possiblities right now :x

 

[AquaTricia]

Great! So what do I do? I have to clean up the hairy stuff again tomorrow and by Monday it will be a mess again. I fed Cyclop-eeze yesterday and flake food this morning so maybe I am feeding too much. The tank seems to do so much better when I feed something different daily or every other day....except this algae problem.

 

[Grizz]

Test the water your getting from the LFS Try topping off with distilled water

 

[Phranque]

Do you buy premixed salt water, or RODI & mix your own? If you are buying just RODI, get one of these & check it prior to mixing. Good little meter for the money.... it's what I use to double-check my BRS in-line meters on my RODI system.

Amazon.com: HM Digital TDS-EZ TDS Water Quality Tester with Auto-off Function TDS-EZ: Home Improvement

If it's reading greater than 2TDS, I would say something to your LFS. It should be 0, but I'd allow for a little, especially if you mix your saltwater in the same buckets.

I feed my fish every other to every third day. I'll put a little on the sand in front of the nassarius snails when they come cruising out, and I feed my active-eating corals once a week. I do a four gallon water change (15%) twice a week, and my phosphates stay at 0.04 or below. I'm thinking it's either overfeeding or the water, or a combination of both, but you need to figure out where it's coming from or you will be fighting a neverending battle.

 

[danbstrong]

Do you buy premixed salt water, or RODI & mix your own? If you are buying just RODI, get one of these & check it prior to mixing. Good little meter for the money.... it's what I use to double-check my BRS in-line meters on my RODI system.

Amazon.com: HM Digital TDS-EZ TDS Water Quality Tester with Auto-off Function TDS-EZ: Home Improvement

If it's reading greater than 2TDS, I would say something to your LFS. It should be 0, but I'd allow for a little, especially if you mix your saltwater in the same buckets.

I feed my fish every other to every third day. I'll put a little on the sand in front of the nassarius snails when they come cruising out, and I feed my active-eating corals once a week. I do a four gallon water change (15%) twice a week, and my phosphates stay at 0.04 or below. I'm thinking it's either overfeeding or the water, or a combination of both, but you need to figure out where it's coming from or you will be fighting a neverending battle.

My guess is the flake food i feed rods frozen i highly reccommend this food to everyone its rinsed and packaged in ro water since switching to this i have had 0 algae issues

 

[AquaTricia]

ok guys. let's see if i can answer everything. i top off with ro/di from the lfs. i also get premixed sw from them as well. i will look into that unit as well as the Hanna which has also been recommended to me. i feed mostly frozen but didn't know about rinsing. i will do so henceforth and feed very little flakes or pellets for the shrimps. i will stop feeding daily and will feed less. it's a mess this morning to i will dip it out by hand and not feed again until Monday, right before i do my weekly cleaning.

 

[AquaTricia]

hand cleaned the gray, hairy stuff by dipping out with my hands on friday. i spend every weekend with my parents, so i expected a disaster sunday night when i got home. not so bad though. monday, i vacuumed out the sump then sucked up the gray stuff in the tank, changed carbon sheets and poly-filter nitrate and phosphate sheets. rinsed the seachem beads and chemi-pure in the old tank water then replaced everything and put the trickle filter back in the tank. i thoroughly rinsed the simmer and cleaned the cup. then i added 7 gallons of pre-mixed sw from the lfs. stirred the sand gently. scraped the algae off the glass with a razor blade. i think that's it. how does it sound and any suggestions?

 

[Phranque]

i feed mostly frozen but didn't know about rinsing. i will do so henceforth and feed very little flakes or pellets for the shrimps. i will stop feeding daily and will feed less.

These items alone are going to help you out tremendously..... Keep at it.

 

[AquaTricia]

Thanks, Phranque. I really worked hard on that tank yesterday. And readings today were all zeros except for nitrates .5 and phosphates also .5. Will test again later in the week. Bought some aragonite sand in a 5 gallon bag to add to what I keep removing. I don't like it, because it will cover my pretty, white sugar sand, but I won't be having such bad sandstorms and it will fill the void created by sucking out the gray stuff. I wonder if I will still get the cyano once I mix this in?

 

[Phranque]

0.5 isn't too bad for nitrates, but 0.5 for phosphates is still way high.... I freak if mine gets above 0.04.
I would hold off feeding anything for 3 days (they'll be OK, that's how often I feed anyway) and keep at the vacuuming & pwc's. Sounds like you've got a lot of rotting food laying around from overfeeding that's just pumping nutrients into the tank. It needs to be gotten rid of, but it's not going to happen overnight.
As far as the red cyano.... it loves low flow areas where detritus & food collect, like back corners of tanks where there can be less circulation. I had some pop up so I vacuumed it, readjusted my powerhead flow, and it was gone in two days.
Gonna be a bit of a battle, but you're learning (just like we all have )

EDIT: Forgot to add.... before each vacuuming, use a turkey baster to gently blow off the rocks..... let that settle, then vacuum.

 

[AquaTricia]

ok. i haven't been feeding but once every 3 days as you guys suggested. i immediately remove any cyano as soon as i see it. and i always use the turkey baster. do you think the aragonite sand covering or mixing what i have will do anything for the cyano, nitrates or phosphates?

 

[AquaTricia]

Well, it's been a couple of weeks. Readings are 0 for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate. I have still been hand removing that hairy, gray stuff. It is mostly located in the front and slightly around both sides, not in the back. I have a Koralia 240 blowing in the front, but I still have the mess. I have been feeding flake or pellets every third day. Frozen once a week. I blow off everything with the turkey baster before I vacuum every Monday when I clean the tank and change 3-4 gallons of water, more if I vacuum the sump. Don't know what else there is to do. And the walls stay green. Every morning when the lights come on, I can see little snail "footprints". Is it supposed to be that green every day? Any other suggestions? I'm doing everything you're telling me to do.