Need help with tank

[reeftanker]

Hello everyone,

I have a 55g saltwater tank with a few corals. My tanks roughly 2 years old and I have never had my corals thrive the way I see in other peoples tank.

Just wanted to ask your advice and how can I make my corals thrive.

At the moment I have
1 x anemone
2 x bubble corals
1 x torch coral
1 large mushroom
1 small mushroom ( looks like its dying)
1 x tube worm
4-5 x bunch of colourful mushrooms which I am not sure came from where, I found them one day on the live rock ( were thriving before but dont open expand much )
1 x metallic mushroom which is not expanding to its full size
1 x Yellow clownfish ( only inhabitant, been with me from the beginning)
1 x cleaner shrimp
4-5 snails

My current water parameters are
Cal : 420
Alk 9 dkh
Salinity : 1.024
Temperature 22 C with the help of chiller
Nitrates 50 ppm ( very high, been trying to fight it for years but cant figure it out)
Phosphate 0 ( the vial didnt change colour so I am assuming its 0)

My Equipment
1 x chiller
1 reef octopus skimmer
1 x Kessil 360 W light
Bunch of cottons and carbon in the sump which I clean with the water change

Current Problems:
Corals dont look as vibrant
I have lot of brown hair like algae which I regularly clean off

In a summary: I have been at this hobby for a long time, I have a aquaponics setup ( thriving), a planted tank ( thriving ) with discuss and angels breeding but I cant figure out why my marine tank isnt doing well...At the moment only my clownfish has been doing good and has grown a lot. But my corals look like they are just surviving and not growing. My corals are also more than a year old but seem to look the same if not better.

Any tips would be very helpful to me. I will share a picture of the tank in the morning when they are opened up.

 

[bribo12]

You probably need more light. You should have at least 2 of the Kessils over a tank that long.
Also, how often are you cleaning your skimmer and do you run any purigen or chemipure? What test kits are you using?

 

[reeftanker]

More light? Are you sure? I think tank is approx 200 litres (50-55g ) its 50cm x 50 cm tank, I will measure properly and tell you in sometime ( maybe I gave some wrong measurement)

I am using SALIFERT test kits, I have a purigen packet attached to the pipe from tank to sump which leads to my filter sock. Not sure what chemipure is, I dont put any other things in the tank

The skimmer I clean usually once a month or if I think its not bubbling good enough. It is is covered in dried algae and from the cup I usually get green water

 

[bribo12]

The Kessils cover 24" areas of the tank and a normal 55 is 48" long if it is a normal 55 gallon tank

 

[chefbill]

First off, I believe your skimmer needs tuning I clean my skimmer three times every two weeks at a minimum. Also you will need a second or supplemental lighting. Third filter floss needs to be changed every few days if you're doing it with water changes I assume you're doing it every week or every two weeks. That allows detritus to build up and that is where your nitrates are coming from

 

[reeftanker]

I usually clean the skimmer once a month or if I see its not bubbling enough but let me try to clean it more often

I keep the setting on kessil at the highest but I noticed algae comes a lot sooner at the highest setting.

Filter floss? Do you mean filter sock? I put it in the washing machine when it gets too yellow comes out white. , But I do it sparingly. Will increase it more now.

Attached some pictures of my tank and sump.

 

[reeftanker]

Skimmer I dont clean it often but let me try that maybe theres a clog or something

Filter floss do you mean filter sock? I put it in the washing machine (W/O) detergent it comes out nice and white but let me try to do more frequently.

Lighting I have put the lighting at max ( but algae explodes )

Regarding water changes I do it every thursday every week without fail.

Added some pictures of my tank and sump to give you a better idea

I have started to add REEF PLUS vitamin and amino acid supplement

Question, can phosphates be 0 with such so much algae everywhere? and just to give you an idea about my situation there is a lot of BROWN EVERYWHERE on my rocks, glass etc, Maybe my husbandry is bad? I will try to the above tips mentioned for cleaning skimmer and the sock

 

[chefbill]

By floss I mean the "cottons" you said you use.
Also me (and other posters) assumed you had a standard 55. I see this isn't the case.
What do you feed? How often and how much?
Chemipure is a mix of GAC and GFO to absorb phosphates.

 

[chefbill]

Personally I would also add a powerhead to increase flow and keep detritus in suspension until your filter sock and skimmer can pull it out.

 

[chefbill]

Personally I would also add a powerhead to increase flow and keep detritus in suspension until your filter sock and skimmer can pull it out.

You also look seriously short on live rock. While one pound per gallon is nothing but a very general guideline it looks like you are running much much less than that. This may also be part of your nitrate problem.

 

[chefbill]

I would also watch a YouTube video on how to tune your skimmer. From your picture it looks like your bubble head is very low, while you're skimmate looks almost clear.

 

[reeftanker]

I do not use chemipure, Should I ?

I have biospheres balls but I need a reactor to make them bubble around. On the packet it says reduces nitrates.

Oh really I wasnt sure about the live rock, I have tons of live rock but I removed them all to thinking it would be too much, will add some more today. Any idea how much should I add? I have many large pieces though I can break them.

I feed ocean nutrition 2 pellets but since its one fish I hardly feed her. I feed the anemone every few days and he nibbles of the anemones food. Sometimes she comes up I feed her.

I removed the cottons yesterday it became very yellow. I think I ll try to remove them completely now

Also the powerhead should I keep it in the skimmer chamber? If yes at the bottom or at the top ?

 

[chefbill]

I would put in your main tank. Flow is almost always a good thing. Get your LFS to test for phosphates, or better yet get your own test kit for it.
I am thinking once you get your nitrates and phosphates under control your algae will go away. There's also a new product that hit the market within the last year called Vibrant which I am currently testing but has gotten rave reviews.

 

[chefbill]

Sorry. Missed your phosphate test in your post. And yes phosphates can be zero if the algae binds it before it can register on a test kit.

 

[chefbill]

Also I would not go to the vitamin and amino acid supplement until you have everything else under control.

 

[reeftanker]

Regarding the flow I always felt the wave maker I had was very powerful my anemone moved last month to under the wave maker so I actually bought another one yesterday with a lower output. Honestly I am scared if it dies so for now he seems a lot happier with the lesser flow.

I will use vinegar and scrub the skimmer and watch a video because I noticed because the water used to be sticky and black but now the water is fully green and very watery ( like someone mixed water and green ink)

Will add some rocks aswell

Appreciate the tips brother ( or sister) will keep you posted !

 

[chefbill]

Glad to help and good luck