Algae Problem.....and others (1 Viewer)

[PSXerholic]

Dis lowering the alk, lower the calcium? I used tho keep alk at 9 - 9.5 and the calcium was 430 to 440.
Is fresh air in the skimmer the easiest way to raise the ph?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

In simple words, ALK you maintain individually, independing of any other parameter. Try to be at 7.8-8.2, ideally 8!
Lowering ALK typically only reduces the consumption of CA and MG and others, since certain process are working slower in the tank then.

Fresh Air, but connected through a large Activated carbon filter is the cheapest way to get PH up.
Make sure you use large hoses 1/2" - 3/4" for your air line to avoid losses on the skimmer air inlet.
You can feel the suction of the air inlet on the skimmer and get an idea how much you feel at the end of that hose you run through the house. This actually does not hurt to do at all.
Watch the activated carbon, since the Mosquito poison sprayer are in Houston throughout the year.

Scrubbing Co2 on the skimmer inlet, do first monitor PH continuously, so you know when the media is exhausted on the curves.

-Andre

 

[PSXerholic]

I am having a similar issue, had 0 Nitrates but used Vibrant to knock out my bubble algae. I guess after the bubble algae died off my Nitrates shot sky high. Im sure my potassium was low, but by the time I talked to Andre and he told me to check my potassium, I had already performed a 45 gallon water change.

I just dosed my 3 vials of Biodigest today and performing my water tests daily.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

Hi Chris,
so since you have got stuck with high Nitrates and non-detectable Phosphates you have applied the
"Andre's Biodiversity recovery method" as well !!!!

How are Nitrates now these days?
Just a follow up.

-Andre

 

[malira]

I did a 25 gallon water change and sucked up a lot of algae and cyano.

I am starting a macro algae refugium. Chaeto, Mexican and grape culerpa and hopefully red....something.

Alk - 141
NO3- 1 dosed about 15 mls of nitrates
P - 23 ppb .07 ppm

Phosphates are staying up just by feeding now and less algae.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[PSXerholic]

I did a 25 gallon water change and sucked up a lot of algae and cyano.

I am starting a macro algae refugium. Chaeto, Mexican and grape culerpa and hopefully red....something.

Alk - 141
NO3- 1 dosed about 15 mls of nitrates
P - 23 ppb .07 ppm

Phosphates are staying up just by feeding now and less algae.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Also read this ;-)
It will support your activities right now to better understand the influence in the biology that is going on.
http://www.marsh-reef.org/marine-an...coral-colorization-part-1-now-released-;.html

ALK of 141 is in the unit "ppm CaCO[SUB]3" [/SUB]Correct?
When starting the Macro Algae, look out for a small bottle of Kent Iron & Manganese, which you should dose with 1/2 of what is recommended on the bottle to help the Chaetomorpha and other Macro's.

Watch Po4 drops further and keep it up like that.

-Andre

 

[malira]

I hate when you have written a long post and you hit the back button and it erases everything.

Parameters For the past week
Alk-8 to 8.12
PO4-7 to 22 pp ~ .02 to .06 ppm
Cal-410
Mg-1320
NO3-1 to 5
Ph-8.2

I think I have lost the last coral I'm going to lose. Sometimes they get stressed past the point of recovery.
The big surprise is a piece my son got from Diesel about a year ago. It started green and stayed green. It grew a little but stopped about 4 months ago when my tank took a dive. Lately it's started growing and coloring up. Ben told me it was a "tierra del fuego" but he wasn't 100% positive. It was a little frag.
I say it's a surprise because I've lost almost 90% of my sps. I have a frogskin, a tri color valida, the "tierra del fuego" and two unknown slivers of a frag. I've lost about 20 to 25 frag/mini colonies.

I am about to restart the fuge. I get the grow light tomorrow. I'm also planning on using a wet /dry vac to clean up the sump, and I will pinpoint the algae and vacumm it off the rock. Once it's off the rock it's not growing back so I just need to remove it. Then starve the remaining algae with the refugium.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[PSXerholic]

I hate when you have written a long post and you hit the back button and it erases everything.

Parameters For the past week
Alk-8 to 8.12
PO4-7 to 22 pp ~ .02 to .06 ppm
Cal-410
Mg-1320
NO3-1 to 5
Ph-8.2

I think I have lost the last coral I'm going to lose. Sometimes they get stressed past the point of recovery.
The big surprise is a piece my son got from Diesel about a year ago. It started green and stayed green. It grew a little but stopped about 4 months ago when my tank took a dive. Lately it's started growing and coloring up. Ben told me it was a "tierra del fuego" but he wasn't 100% positive. It was a little frag.
I say it's a surprise because I've lost almost 90% of my sps. I have a frogskin, a tri color valida, the "tierra del fuego" and two unknown slivers of a frag. I've lost about 20 to 25 frag/mini colonies.

I am about to restart the fuge. I get the grow light tomorrow. I'm also planning on using a wet /dry vac to clean up the sump, and I will pinpoint the algae and vacumm it off the rock. Once it's off the rock it's not growing back so I just need to remove it. Then starve the remaining algae with the refugium.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Might not help, but I lost even specific Corals 1/2year after a terrible ALK swing....Sometimes the damage is so hard they never recover. Keep in mind, those are still animals !!!

So however, looks like you got it under control finally and tank recovers so far with that method as described in my Reef Guide Part#1 in more detail.

A few more tanks (I know about) are doing much better where they had one nutrient at zero, while following my Reef Guide.
Great feedback, seems it is all well described, most folks did not need any additional help to figure it out how to get the tanks back on track from high nitrates while low Phosphates etc.

Malira, now you are back to the basics and you can continue soon on a normal behaving tank.
Follow the maintenance doses of Biodigest as described in the Guide to avoid a fallback !!!

Good luck Sir.

-Andre

 

[malira]

Might not help, but I lost even specific Corals 1/2year after a terrible ALK swing....Sometimes the damage is so hard they never recover. Keep in mind, those are still animals !!!

So however, looks like you got it under control finally and tank recovers so far with that method as described in my Reef Guide Part#1 in more detail.

A few more tanks (I know about) are doing much better where they had one nutrient at zero, while following my Reef Guide.
Great feedback, seems it is all well described, most folks did not need any additional help to figure it out how to get the tanks back on track from high nitrates while low Phosphates etc.

Malira, now you are back to the basics and you can continue soon on a normal behaving tank.
Follow the maintenance doses of Biodigest as described in the Guide to avoid a fallback !!!

Good luck Sir.

-Andre

Thank you for your guidance and time.

In a couple of months a visit to buy a few of your beauties.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[Reefahholic]

Malira, can you post a full tank shot of before and after progress? I wanna see how bad it was.

 

[PSXerholic]

Malira, can you post a full tank shot of before and after progress? I wanna see how bad it was.

That's now................JK...Good idea Jared. For progress purpose ;-)

-Andre

 

[malira]

That's now................JK...Good idea Jared. For progress purpose ;-)

-Andre

Thanks for posting my FTS for me.

I'll take some shots this evening.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[Reefahholic]

Lol! Yeah, it's good to know so people in similar situations can follow this thread to get algae free or nutrient control.

 

[malira]

I just did a huge water change and cleaning. I changed around 45 to 50 gallon in a 125 to 130g total water volume. I vacuumed as much algae and cyano I could get to in the DT and totally cleaned out the sump.

It's hard to tell but I can see a difference. I may not be left with any spa but my lps and chalices are growing. More to come.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[malira]

Space invaders about 1.5 years for the big one and 1 yr for the small.

That brain is about over 8 inches across and the big space invaders is almost 3 inches.

These blastos are red with aqua center and they won't stop adding heads.

These are the big red and green that you always see.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[Reefahholic]

Looking like a reef again!

 

[malira]

Yes. thanks, I thought I lost a big lepto colony on a rock but it came back. I need to glue the candy canes, frogspawn and zoas back on the rocks. I have too many things on the sand bed.

I'm almost ready for frags again. Once the fuge kicks in and The algae starts to waste away I will get a few frags.

 

[malira]

Yes. thanks, I thought I lost a big lepto colony on a rock but it came back. I need to glue the candy canes, frogspawn and zoas back on the rocks. I have too many things on the sand bed.

I'm almost ready for frags again. Once the fuge kicks in and The algae starts to waste away I will get a few frags.

This is the lepto when I thought I lost it. It was very pale almost white.

This is it today. You can see a little damage at the top in 2 places.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[malira]

The numbers this week.

Alk - 143 very steady
NO3 - 2 to 5
PO4 - 16 ppb - .049 ppm Pretty steady

I have chaeto but the phosphates are staying steady. The only movement are nitrates.

Calcium - 400
Magnesium - 1400

 

[malira]

That's now................JK...Good idea Jared. For progress purpose ;-)

-Andre

Would now be OK to add more sand? Live?
How much? 1/4 inch? 1/2 inch? More or less?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[malira]

Well it looks like the refugium is working. I dropped to PO4 - 0 ppb from 13 ppb 2 days ago. I going to have to keep testing every 2 days until I get a pattern. But everything is looking good.
Algae is going away little by little. Cyano is still there but not as bad. The sand is clearing up. The only Sps I still have are trying to recover.

I need to get a frag that did not go through this mess to see if I can keep and grow sps. I don't know if my frags are still being effected by what went on or by something still going on.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[PSXerholic]

Well it looks like the refugium is working. I dropped to PO4 - 0 ppb from 13 ppb 2 days ago. I going to have to keep testing every 2 days until I get a pattern. But everything is looking good.
Algae is going away little by little. Cyano is still there but not as bad. The sand is clearing up. The only Sps I still have are trying to recover.

I need to get a frag that did not go through this mess to see if I can keep and grow sps. I don't know if my frags are still being effected by what went on or by something still going on.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Means keep pouring Phyto Feast in.
Get Po4 up, otherwise you can go back to page 4 of this thread ;-)

-Andre