Suggestions for this BIG problem?

[CBRGuy]

Off of the Algae Topic for just a second. It's not a good idea to pump water out of your tank then pump it back it. The drain should be gravity fed. If one pump breaks or is unpluged you will flood.

But back to the algae. Yes I have never seen anything like that in my life. 8O
I would invest in some www.algone.com but first you have to find the root of your problem. Wich is most likely PO4. But algon or any other good Phosphate sponge will do the trick.

 

[alrmc4]

from what i have read too much light and over feeding are the 2 main causes for that ...it sounds like you are on the right track to getting this problem resolved keep us updated

 

[klam]

Wow that some green waters. Since you have no corals I would not run the lights at all and keep doing water changes because when the the algae dies from having no lights it might cause some spikes. Cut down on the feedings. Have you checked your tap water for po4 after adding the chemical to it?

 

[Atari]

I think it's time to tear the tank down and start over. It will be much easier than trying to fix it. A UV would kill all the algae but then you'll have a huge amount of dead organic matter in your system... it's just not worth it.

 

[nyghtone]

my pumping sump

For the off the topic guy, I appreciate your advice about the sump and pumps, but I have way thought of that, haha.. If you look at the berry green pic you will see that the water level is lower than normal, this is to make up for the water in the sump, so if it ALL ends up getting pumped it still won't overflow, then the other pumps intake only 2" from the top, so it can only pump the sump full then the water level drops below it's intake, I've tested both and have it worked out accordingly. I will be doing the upgrade to the gravity feed in less than a month, and I am going to do a complete photo shoot for it, so check out my website www.nyghtone.com in a month or so and you'll see some cool stuff.

One again, thanks for the concern, I do appreciate it!!!

 

[nyghtone]

my pumping sump

For the off the topic guy, I appreciate your advice about the sump and pumps, but I have way thought of that, haha.. If you look at the berry green pic you will see that the water level is lower than normal, this is to make up for the water in the sump, so if it ALL ends up getting pumped it still won't overflow, then the other pumps intake only 2" from the top, so it can only pump the sump full then the water level drops below it's intake, I've tested both and have it worked out accordingly. I will be doing the upgrade to the gravity feed in less than a month, and I am going to do a complete photo shoot for it, so check out my website www.nyghtone.com in a month or so and you'll see some cool stuff.

One again, thanks for the concern, I do appreciate it!!!

 

[nyghtone]

Aight, so my dad came over for my big day yesterday and threw a fit about my tank, haha. So he went out and bought me a UV sterilizer and we got it all hooked up. 24 hours later it appears to be helping, I can see way better and the green is a lot lighter colored. We also tested the phosphates and they are zero, although my dad seemed to think that the AC I was using was an algae sponge, so it's now removed in waiting for a better brand. I'll take some new pics in a week or so so yall can see sup if you'd like, thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

Like atari said, a uv sterilizer will kill all algae, but will leave you with alot of dead oranics, so be careful

 

[SirPug]

I had the same problem. Its just now starting to clear up. Kent Marine makes a Pro Clear Marine Clarifier Which will make the algea stick together so that it can be filtered out by your filter. Also Added a 9 watt UV clarifier which should take care of the rest. I spent almost 3 weeks trying to clear mine. And yesterday and today is my first sight of my live rock in that time. good luck.

 

[nyghtone]

Yes, I wish I could just start over with fresh water, it turns out that our city water had an alkali problem for awhile that probably ended up in my tank. But once again, I'm in Montana, this isn't an option, I would have nowhere to keep my fish alive while the tank resettled. The UV sterlizer has the water getting much much better, it's not even green anymore it's more lime, so hopefully it'll clear up in as little as three weeks, it shore didn't take three weeks to development the problem!!!

 

[ReefGuru]

UV sterilizers will work for you. However, I would be VERY afraid of using them in your tank. There is no magical way or unfortunate accident that caused the problem with your tank. You are doing something wrong that is resulting in over nutrification. My guess is either feeding too much "bad" food (flakes, brine shrimp) or just feeding too much. The other possibility is not enough water changes. You should only use the UV filter for an hour a day or so to quiet the symptoms until you can solve this. The best way to solve this, is to do a 10% weekly water change for the next month or so, using quality salt like Tropic Marin, and make sure you arent feeding too much. This should remove the problems that are causing you to get the algae. Because something that could cause a bloom like that is probably also very bad for your fish. My guess is that if its not phosphate or nitrates, then it is Fe2+. Ferous iron can cause green water at AMAZING rates (there have been several publication about iron fertilization in oceans in the jurnals Nature and Science). You should remove the cause of the problem, not the symptom.

 

[Clown Monarch]

It looks like there should be a duck swimming on that.

 

[Guest]

have you taken some water down to a marine fish store to see what they think, I've never seen anything like that but i'm sure theres got to be an answer if you go over everything you did and have step by step

 

[nyghtone]

Update again, haha

For everyone that helped me with this problem I'm sending another pic of my tank today so you can see the improvement. I'm going to be investing in a five stage RO/DI system next month to avoid this in the future. Thanks again everybody.

Original

Today, two 20% Water changes and 72 hours after a UV install

 

[yaksplat]

hey, you weren't lying...

You do have things in there

 

[alrmc4]

good luck and make sure you post us a new pic when you have it cleared up

 

[nyghtone]

8 day update

I said I'd keep yall updated, so here's the tank after 8 days, thanks again for all the suggestions.

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[EL Diablo]

Wow. tank is starting to really clear up. Glad to see it.

Good Luck

 

[Guest]

at least ur fish are alive and well congrats on getting ur tank cleared up

 

[agoodyear]

hope this helps...

The problem is probably not your phosphate levels. The green water is caused by free floating algae that grows at such a rapid rate that it turns the water green. Water changes are not very helpful, as the algae spores can be found in almost every water source. The only other ingredients needed for a green water outbreak are high nutrient levels (nitrate) and intense lighting, or lack thereof. I am currently battling the problem myself, as I recently upgraded my lighting system and filtration system.

I have NEVER heard of not putting any substrate in the tank until it has cycled. There is nothing for the good bacteria to grow on in the tank except for the minimal amount of live rock you have. If you don't have a local pet-store to buy sand from, then I guess you will just have to bite the bullet and pay for the outrageous shipping fees. I am a college student myself, so I know all about the money deal.

I would also reccommend buying live sand, which they sell by the bag at all the major pet shops carrying marine supplies online. It costs about the same as regular marine substrates (around $25 a bag,) but its worth it because it will help cycle your tank. A few good sites to buy live sand are liveaquaria.com and petsolutions.com. Also, look on e-bay; a lot of suppliers sell stuff on e-bay, and you can also get live rock pretty cheap there, but like all live rock not bought locally, you will have to cure it before adding it.
Hope I helped!!! Angie