[saltontherim]

So my phosphates are climbing alittle, I have brown algae growing on some of the walls and some slime algae. Is this helping my phosphate creep up and algae break out alittle on my sand bed? Just checked it and its .05 it was .02 couple days ago. I lightly feed twice a day. I do have chateo in refugium. Thanks for your replies.

 

[DBreefs]

My guess is you are overfeeding or the technique you are using is feeding your tank instead of your fish and or coral. You will have algae to the extent you have extra nutrients to support the growth. Cheato will basically compete against nuisance algae for the extra nutrients in the water leaving the nuisance aglae with little to no "food" to survive. Are you running a protein skimmer? You can start by doing so slow average water changes to help knock the number down, but you really have to find the root cause of the problem.

I also forgot to mention that the nuisance algae growing is probably keeping the amount p04 in your water column down as well since it's "eating it".

 

[saltontherim]

I do run a skimmer. I feed alittle pellet food in the morning, rotate with flake food and at night and replace one of them with frozen shrimp that I clean before I spot feed.

 

[Summey]

My guess is you are overfeeding or the technique you are using is feeding your tank instead of your fish and or coral.

Would you elaborate on this statement?

 

[saltontherim]

its a closed loop system, three spray outlets on bottom and two on back of tank. I have good flow..Just wondering what I am doing wrong. Tank is about 3 months old..

 

[treedog5]

3 months is not very long, could just be going through new tank syndrome. Took my tank a good while before the algae growth stopped showing up similar to how your tank is looking. Also have you considered that may be cyano? Kinda reminds me of the early onset of cyano that I fought off once in my tank.

 

[saltontherim]

Hey man, um kinda but the light makes it look more purple to look like it but not sure. I do run a canister of GFO and keep it changed, just changed it about week or so ago. I will take a pic of sump when I get a chance and show you that. Just frustrating as heck

 

[DBreefs]

Would you elaborate on this statement?

Absolutley. Long story short when I first got into saltwater fish tanks I bought what was "high end" food at the time. My tank was probably 3 months old before I ever added a fish. I had a 55 gallon tank with 2 clownfish and a purple firefish. I wasn't sure how to feed the fish so I had these frozen cubes which a lot of us use in some form or another. I figured I would take hot tap water and melt the cubes then dump the food and water into my tank. After a few days I had a started with a Cyano outbreak and just couldn't shake the stuff. I did water changes weekly for about 2 months and I was never able to get it under control. So I started asking around and was 1st told that putting tap water into your tank is stupid don't ever do that. So I started melting the cubes using water from my tank in a cup I would put it in tank water and agitate it until it was basically liquified and dump it in...hey I stopped using tap water lol!! So I continued to have the Cyano problems after I quit using tap water and switched to using tank water to melt the cubes. I was then introduced by a long time Reef Keeper to the idea of it's not just how often and how much you feed your tank, its also how you feed it thats important. He basically told me about feeding the fish vs feeding the tank and that I was basically dumping in food that the fish wouldn't eat or couldn't even see so it was just breaking down in the tank and causing my algae problem. When I changed the was I was feeding the algae was all but gone within a couple of weeks, so I am a firm believer in that thought process. That said I'm not one who buys into the notion that theres one right way to do something, if something works for you by all means go for it. I can tell you that I feed my tank by taking half a cube of food, hold it in my hand until it starts to thaw a little put it in my tank and roll it between my fingers and gently break it up into small little chunks. That has worked great for me, might not work for everyone, and might not work with certain types of food, but it works for me.

 

[saltontherim]

In raising discus as long as I have and breeding them, the first thing you have to do is know is dont over feed and if you do you do a WC. Well trust me I have done alot of WC over the years and you learn how not to over feed to avoid doing WC and fowling up the water. When I do feed frozen I take a cup of RODI water and put a coffee filter and when it melts, take the filter and squeeze the water out of it and replace with clean water to feed.
Want to know is there something else I am missing, should I clean the sump that has algae growing on the sides, some looks like red slime on some of the walls? Not sure what action I should take now............

 

[DBreefs]

In raising discus as long as I have and breeding them, the first thing you have to do is know is dont over feed and if you do you do a WC. Well trust me I have done alot of WC over the years and you learn how not to over feed to avoid doing WC and fowling up the water. When I do feed frozen I take a cup of RODI water and put a coffee filter and when it melts, take the filter and squeeze the water out of it and replace with clean water to feed.
Want to know is there something else I am missing, should I clean the sump that has algae growing on the sides, some looks like red slime on some of the walls? Not sure what action I should take now............

I wasn't necessarily accusing you of overfeeding, just stating that it's a common cause of nuisance algae. Just offering up some suggestions to your algae issue

 

[saltontherim]

hey trust and believe I will take ALL the suggetions yall have so please keep sending them.....

 

[Regalblue41]

So by squeezing the food in the coffee filter you are giving the fish mush,not great for fish the small particles are great for the corals and algae,do you want a piece of hamburger or do you want steak ??.....Since you have breed discus you know that any ammonia that shows up won`t hurt them at that ph....You are dealing with a different creature,the way mother nature purifies water is algae,you have a new system,once there is enough bacteria in your system to help balance it out more,you will be alright,you need to learn to take your time and enjoy what you have ,quit burning both wheels,,The more you mess with something the more it will bite you in the rear,That is the wisdom of over 20 years of keeping saltwater organisms talking,I know that small things bug the heck out of newer hobbiests in saltwater,the ocean was not built in a day,your tank might have been set up in a day but for you to really enjoy it you need to take your time..People that are good or great in this hobby are going to tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear,You have a beautiful tank,now let it live..Do you follow me........When it comes to pellet food in a salt tank,I call them jawbreakers...LOL.....I am not trying to pick on you or single you out,I want you to discover the newest organism or invent the greatest aquarium product ever..It all comes back to the basics enjoy your tank,things have there place in the world,a smart hobbiest would figure out how to use a drawback to their advantage,I would think hey maybe I can have a place for my undesirables so I can keep my desirables,over a period of time ,If I do this,Then it will take care of that...Best of luck....

 

[saltontherim]

Hey regal, well first of all thank you for your reply like I mentioned all are welcome, second of all let me clarify something I said for you, I dont actually squeeze the frozen shrimp, I pull the water through it and strain (I guess is the term should have used) so that the shrimp stay in tack not the water in was in. If thats wrong then tell me. I do know not to make mush to feed the fish. You are correct that tinkering is not the way to go, and yes a newbie to saltwater, I am but if something is not right then I want to know, so that I do not keep making the same mistake. So if you have any more suggestions I would appreciate any and all feed back. thanks

So by squeezing the food in the coffee filter you are giving the fish mush,not great for fish the small particles are great for the corals and algae,do you want a piece of hamburger or do you want steak ??.....Since you have breed discus you know that any ammonia that shows up won`t hurt them at that ph....You are dealing with a different creature,the way mother nature purifies water is algae,you have a new system,once there is enough bacteria in your system to help balance it out more,you will be alright,you need to learn to take your time and enjoy what you have ,quit burning both wheels,,The more you mess with something the more it will bite you in the rear,That is the wisdom of over 20 years of keeping saltwater organisms talking,I know that small things bug the heck out of newer hobbiests in saltwater,the ocean was not built in a day,your tank might have been set up in a day but for you to really enjoy it you need to take your time..People that are good or great in this hobby are going to tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear,You have a beautiful tank,now let it live..Do you follow me........When it comes to pellet food in a salt tank,I call them jawbreakers...LOL.....I am not trying to pick on you or single you out,I want you to discover the newest organism or invent the greatest aquarium product ever..It all comes back to the basics enjoy your tank,things have there place in the world,a smart hobbiest would figure out how to use a drawback to their advantage,I would think hey maybe I can have a place for my undesirables so I can keep my desirables,over a period of time ,If I do this,Then it will take care of that...Best of luck....

 

[Regalblue41]

It boils down to,Taking your time with a new system,Your system needs time to equalize out so to speak,I guanrentee that you have read a bunch of post from a lot of people that have the same problem,but now since it is your tank it is some how different....New hobbiest want to much to fast to soon,they see pictures of beautiful tanks from different advanced or expert hobbiest,And they want the same or more when they buy their tanks,They don`t understand what the art,science and the knowledge that went into creating the setup took........Money can buy you the parts, but brains and knowledge will dictate how you use them........You have the proper equipment to do a great system,let the system and nature do the work,The more you want things the way you are picturing them in your mind,and you mess with it the more likely it will blow up in your face.....Anyone can be a great hobbiest ,It takes time....Their is a huge difference between being book smart and practical application......People that have responded to your post are trying to help,basically if you do the same thing over and over and get bad results,try something different,,,,,I use food strained through a net to feed my fish,I don`t like using pellet food to feed fish,When it comes to flake food,I like large flakes,and I use it every now and then,when I do use it,I clean my mechanical filter an hour or two after.........That is what I do,I have my reasons or reasoning behind it,but like one gentleman said "It works for me"

 

[saltontherim]

I totally understand about it taking time to mature and settle. I guess I just wanted to make sure what I was doing was right. If it was said, hey its normal just keep what your doing and it will go away or hey stop doing that because that is the problem. I do not expect a 5 year established tank in 3 months but just want to stay on the right path. I need people like you and other experienced people to help keep me there if something goes haywire. I will always listen to those who have been there and done that. I am neither book smart or smart as far as that goes..lol but I look for help from people on here and there patience. If I am doing something wrong I want to know. Thanks again......

 

[Regalblue41]

You said a mouthful=Patience........You have it easy with the flow of information on the computer,When I and many other hobbiest started out there was no free flow of information,people that were successful did not just give out information ,so a lot of people,like myself being hard headed and stubbron learned the hard way,We learned about having nature work with us,Instead of against us,,We learned that there are a lot of companies and people that sell products that don`t work,or are just plain dangerous ..We learned about feeding,filteration,lighting,compatability,We learned how to tweek or customize our systems to keep and grow our guests,We learned that by sharing our knowledge we could grow as individuals and make a hobby easier for the new people who were interested in keeping organisms in their homes,And the main thing is we enjoyed what we were doing......,I worked at a pet shop for years,and the reason why a lot of people had problems,were because they did not know or understand the basics of fish keeping,,They would look for a complicated answer and there was actually was a simple solution to their problem ...Any problem you have with an aquarium,has a simple solution,We try to complicate things,or make things harder than what they really are,If you use logic and reason,You will solve or figure it out,It is when we get our emotions envolved,because of the amount of money or time that we have invested in it,That is when we put our blinders on,and start to mess things up......Do I get an Amen....LOL

 

[saltontherim]

Ok so I am not looking to re-invent the wheel, but some direction if I am not doing something right..So I am still having algae on my sand bed, its not cyano algae its like diatoms or brown algae. The flow is not the issue because I have plenty. Now I know my tank is about 3 months old and this could be new tank syndrome. Little background, I bought live rock from an established tank about 85 to 90 pounds in my 90 gallon tank. I used live sand also when I setup this tank. I just checked my levels are
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 0
calc 425
phos .00

all the other levels are in-line. I clean the sand bed and in an couple of days it starts back..I paid alot of money for my live reef sand and I like it white...lolmg: I do 15% WC a week. So any suggestions or advice you can give me? I had someone tell me to add some bacteria like stability, etc.. I run GFO and and carbon reactors. Just frustrating that this keeps coming up...Idea's??? Do I just let it run its path????

 

[anthonydrew]

I Haven't Read This Whole Thread. But If Your Tests Are Accurate I Am Surprised You Have An Algae Problem. Lots Of Flow In The Tank And Sand Stirrers Such As Snails Can Help. I Just Set Up A 250 Tank. A Few Weeks After, Had A Major Algae Outbreak. Once The Ammonia Hit Zero, The Algae Died Off Within A Week. The Tank Has Only Been Set Up For 6 Weeks Now.

 

[saltontherim]

I have a closed loop system, the spray bars on the bottom (3) I have to turn down not to blow the sand every where and tear up my corals. My levels are accurate so I am a lost for thoughts.....I have alot of snails in the sand bed..I dont know what I am doing wrong or what I am missing.....

 

[saltontherim]

Hey Anthony, I really never had a problem till about couple of weeks ago or so. I know what causes algae and I dont think I have a excess nutrient problem. I run 5 led par 38 bulbs from 10 to 7 (9 hours) on a timer. Should I try to cut it back to 7 and maybe run 3 of them instead of 5. Its mostly a LPS system with exception of a monti cap.

thoughts???