240 lbs of LR in a 125.... good?

[pittchic]

I'm posting this for my father in law who can't type.....

He has 240 lbs of LR in a 125. He has green algae ALL over (i think it is called turf algae), and even the water has a green tint to it. His water tests are all coming up perfect, and he does a lot of them. He used filtered water to fill the tank, and is doing water changes, but with no positive effect.

He has 1 yellow tang and 2 tomato clowns in his tank. He had a bunch of snails, but many of them died. Should he remove the fish for a while?

I've heard he may have too much LR. Is that possible? Should he cut back to 180 lbs of LR (1.5 x gallons) or lower? Should he purchase more algae eating fish to take care of the algae problem?

Also, he has the LR situated in a wall formation in the back of the tank. I recommended losing the wall, and instead going for peaks and valleys in the center of the tank. It is a bare bottom. He has a $300 skimmer (Red Sea I think), which is working very well he says (lots of waste removed, think, smelly, looks like burnt mud). He has a sump (not sure on size) with those blue bio balls.

One more thing about the LR. He bought it uncured and cured it himself for a week in a few rubbermaid bins before placing it in his tank. That was 4 weeks ago though. So even if it was not cured....it would be by now right?

Also, the lights (2 colors) are on for 12 hours a day. Should I recommend he lower the amount of time the lights are on? I heard this will prevent the algae growth at such a fast pace.

Thanks in advance!!!

By the way...he's hoping to turn this into mainly a reef tank with a few fish.

 

[RMPD109]

The algae is probably green hair algae. It is caused by excess nutrients. Probably phosphates in the water. Is he testing for phosphates? Even if he is and they are showing zero it may be that the algae is consuming it as it is formed. Find out what the possible source is of phosphates. Possibly overfeeding.

How old is the tank? What are the water perameters? What type of test kit? Did he ever have an ammonia spike with the new LR?

 

[austinsdad]

So even if it was not cured....it would be by now right?

1 week sounds like a short time to cure uncured rock. And if it didn't, expect another ammonia spike and fish deaths or illness. I suspect the snails may have succommed to water issues. Sure the test kits work. No dip strips, right?

And yes, recommend less light. I do 10hrs on. 12 hrs will create algae problems IMO. Has he tested for phospahtes?



Tell us more abuot the age of the tank and the cyling process.

 

[pittchic]

The tank has been up and running for about 2 months now. He uses a Red Sea test kit that was about $100 if I recall correctly. It's not the dip strips, it's the drops. I'll ask him about the phosphates. Thanks for your help on this!

PS - Do you think that is too much LR for that size aquarium?

 

[RMPD109]

The LR sounds great to me. I wish I could afford 2 lbs per gallon.

 

[austinsdad]

I'm not one to answer that one, but I'd think space in the tank for fish to swim could be a problem. This is a reef tank right? I'd thik so with that much rock.

Do some research on the bio-balls too. I've never used'm, but hear some say they can be nitrate factories. Might consider rock rubble instead.

Also, make sure he saw an ammonia spike and decline when the rocks were curing. The rocks cured in the tub for one week makes me a little nervous.

 

[malkore]

RedSea test kits are junk. Get SeaChem or Salifert. That's all I trust on a reef tank.

 

[Clown Monarch]

I have a 125 with only about 80-90 lbs or rock. I have a pretty good bioload in the tank but have never registered any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. The only time I did see a jump was when I had bio-balls in my canister for about a month.

So I'm on the anti-bio-ball bandwagon now.

 

[swissfish]

yes he should cut back on the light and get some more algea eaters.

Hermit crabs eat the dead snails, but I would remove them anyway.

Does the tank get sunlight, if yes that might be a problem to.

 

[Thumper]

The key at this point is not having a clean up crew to help with the algae, A tank with no algae is an unhealthy tank so the key is controling it. Maybe he is overfeeding the tank or maybe when he added the rock after a week of curing, "which i dont see possible personally" the rock added a ton of nutrients to the water which exploded the algae, Their are honestly lots of reasons of the problem but if he backs off on feedings to a minimal amount, does several large water changes, gets a adequate clean up crew and keeps an eye on water parameters he should see a dramitic change in a week or two and as far as the amount of lr, your fine, 2 pounds per gallon is great, most dont do it due to the cost of rock but no worries there.

 

[xahx]

Ive heard that bio balls eventually turn into nitrate factories

 

[seaham358]

We need to know the numbers of his tests.... he needs to test for Nitrate, Phosphate and silicates and post the numbers so we can see where they are.
I would start be tossing the bio balls.. Not needed when you have LR as a natural filtration. IMO 1-1.5 Lbs per gal is plenty some people like more some less it all depends on your taste. I like having fish tanks not rock tanks so I run less. Having more IMO will not hurt anything.
Have him test this fresh water and see what the reading are before he mixes the salt. And what type of filtered water are we talking about ro, ro/di, kold steril, tap water with house filter.....
12 hours is not too long for lighting IMO. What type of lights are we talking? Cutting back on the lighting till the algea is gone should not hurt anything, I do not see any corals listed.