72 gal algae problem associated with nitrates

[Tazman282]

I have had this tank about 6 months and so far so good but all of a sudden my nitrates went from 20 to like 60 and algae started growing all over the place. All other measurements are where they should be. The only change I made was where I was getting my water from and he said he checks the premixed water every couple of days and has had no other complaints, this store is about 20 min closer to my house is the reason for the change.

Second thing is I really haven't had the corraline algae expanding much. Should I be supplementing with purple up or calcium?

Third issue is my Foxface, in the store he was very active always swiming and he is like that now when no one is around but if anyone even walks by the tank he hides.

Fourth issue, my two clown fish will sometimes hang out together but the are usually on opposite sides of the tank near the surface, doesn't seem normal to me. Any ideas?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[mr_X]

i would add a lot more rock to that tank. there are no hiding places. that will probably help the fish feel more comfortable, and help with filtration as well.
i would guess the new water is not good. i don't think they are telling you the truth about checking it every couple days.
why not check it yourself?

you can't add calcium without adding alk. if you add one you effect the other and adding just calcium will screw up your water. you'll kill off any coralline algae instead of helping it grow. if you haven't checked their water (which allegedly had been checked every couple days and is correct) then i wouldn't add anything.
calcium is not something that's "the more you have , the better off you are".

 

[David S]

go and buy a decent test kit,ro/di filter and salt.do your own tests and mix your own water.

 

[Tazman282]

I have planned on buying more rock but it is so expensive, in regards to the water, I have been adding distilled water as my top off, could this be a problem.

I have a test kit but no I haven't been testing the water from the store, I just assumed they were telling the truth and sending it through a filter.

Thanks for the info on supplements, should I put "purple up" in or not?

 

[abdhalim2]

have u ever test your distilled water..??
i wont add up all the supplement and even the purple up without a test on my water first..

 

[David S]

your tank should get all it needs with regular water changes,how often do you do this?, whats your feeding schedule and how much?The trates will be coming from overfeeding and/or lack of water changes/maintenance.
your coraline will grow well on its own.
the clowns are normal,and as Mr X said more rock work,if your cant afford any use some terracotta pots for the mean time

 

[mr_X]

just look on craigslist and your local reef forums. there is always someone getting out of the hobby in a hurry and you can get some great deals this way if you know what you are looking at.

 

[Tazman282]

I have been doing my water changes, purchased another 20 lbs of rocks, my own ro/di filter and a new MH light fixture.

With the mounting of the fixture I need to move the tank over 6 inches and back 1 inch.

My nitrates are still pretty high but have been coming down. I have been thinking of doing a 60% water change and scrubbing all my rocks to free them from the algae and move the tank. I will lose a bunch of filter feeders and definitley disrupt the aquascape but I don't see any other real options to get rid of the algae all at once.

Should I move the fish out all together during this process and then reacclimate them one at a time?

Any other ideas are welcomed as well.

 

[rdnelson99]

I am a beginner so take what I say with a grain of "Salt". Pun intended.

From what I have read your plan seems pretty extream. I do a 10% PWC every weekend and I believe that shouls be enough if you do everything else correctly. In my 45 Gal, I starterd with 20 LBs of LR and 10 LBs of base rock all on top of 40 LBs of live sand. My water parameters have been steller all along. I had the beginnings of a hair algae problem but took the advice I found here. Cut back on the lighting, do not over feed and get some good hermit crabs and snails. That did it just fine. Then I found some bublle algae and based on advice here, I bought 3 emerald crab. 24 hours later, bubble algae completely gone.

I believe you will find that regular 10% PWC, adding the live rock, reducing the lighting and feeding and making sure you have a good clean up crew will take care of all your problems.

But then I am a newbie.

 

[Tazman282]

I won't diagree with you, but I also need to move the entire setup. My algae issue has been an ongoing issue and rocks look terrible so the good scrub could be an ongoing weekly thing or a one time deal.

 

[Tazman282]

Anyone else have an opinion on this, going to go at it tomorrow. Thanks

 

[Tazman282]

Alright, so I went ahead and removed all fish and moved them into a smaller tank and pulled out all rocks and gave them a good wash. I then did about a 60% water change, which mixed up all the substrate sand etc. I finished my aquascaping and just did a test of the water and nitrates are still about 20 and my ph is at 7.8. Everything else checked out good. What do I do now to get the nitrates to zero and ph up? Thanks.

 

[mr_X]

another water change is what i would do.