1 year and now some problems

Hi it been a while since I last posted anything. I have not lost any corals or fish (I did lose a copper band butterfly fish could not get him to eat) in my first year but I have had some recent problems. Even though I have not lost any corals or fish none of my corals are really thriving either.

I have just had what I think is a diatom outbreak it keeps coming back and I can't figure out why. (I did some reading on the net and was afraid it could be diaflangies) I do water changes every week using RO water or sometimes I buy distilled water and just recently added a sump with some macro algae to try and help out. My calcium is 450 PH 8.2 (I uses super buffer to keep it up)and Nitrate and Nitrite are both 0 but my ammonia is at what looks like .15. Not as high as .25 but not zero either. My KH is always on the high side usually around 300 ppm but sometimes gets so high my test can't register it.

My tank is in the basement and I think I have a CO2 problem but and not sure how this would affect the tank. I feed frozen food about 5 days a week and flakes 2 days. I also use zoo plan two days a week. Up until now I have not had any problems with algae at all. ( I mean squeaky clean) However I have not seen any real growth of coralline algae either. I was running my lights on an 11 hour cycle with 2 t5's running for 11 hours and 2 more t5's and a 250 watt MH running for 8 hours. I dropped it down to 9 hours on the 2 t5'2 and 6 hours on the other 2 t5's and the MH hopping to help with the algae.. My water temp is 78 degrees and my salinity is 1.025. I am running a protein skimmer and have a total of 3650 GPH in water movement not including the pump from my sump with is running about another 600 GPH. I have a 3 inch sand bed that I lightly rake the top once a month. The lighting I am running is 2 ATI blue plus 1 Fiji purple and a aqua super blue by the same company. The MH is a 250 watt Phoenix.

Since the alga outbreak my SPS corals have started to look a little white and not as fuzzy. Also I took some of my live rock out and it is not pink or red with coralline algae but when I get it out of the tank it has a light green pigment to it. I can't brush it off and it is not fuzzy or hairy I am not sure if this is a green coralline or something else. From outside the tank I can't even tell its green.

Just in case anyone wants to know I have a pink skunk clown fish and 3 green chromis


Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Erik

I have a 75 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump and 130 pounds of live rock. I do supplement calcium, strontium, and trace elements. The salt I use is coral pro salt .

Thanks,
Erik

Hey Erik good to have you back!

Personally I wouldn't adjust your PH with additives. It can hurt more than help. Your salt mix should put you about where it needs to be, and it will fluctuate during the day and night.


if you're like me I overfeed. I learned a while back that flake foods add phosphates to your tank that the algae can prosper from. Also to much frozen will do the same. I have a cyno problem that I just can't kick too, as well as some HA although with reduced feeding, reduced light schedule and watching my tank for problems. It's all helped.

You know we're all going to want pics too

I hope I've helped some. We're always here for questions and to help. If I can help some more don't hesitate to ask.

I dont have a lot of experience with this but I noticed you did not have a reading for phosphates. you may wanna check those as well to see if that is the reason for the algae outbreak. I am sure that there are a few that will chime in here with much better advice to help figuring out what the actual problem is. Also with a three inch sand bed you may need to start vaccuuming the entire thing and not just raking the top. It may be holdomg just enough nitrates that are feeding the algae which is giving you the reading of zero. the green on your rocks is most likely the start up algae that will eventually turn into the pretty coraline algae

might sound weird, but maybe you aren't feeding enough of the right stuff?

I've suspected that cyano thrives on lower nutrient levels than your typical nuisance algaes, and if it is growing fast enough, it would suck up all your nitrates daily so you would test 0..

What corals do you have that aren't doing well..

And what brand of frozen food are you feeding??

Originally Posted by ErikTiegs

I have a 75 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump and 130 pounds of live rock. I do supplement calcium, strontium, and trace elements. The salt I use is coral pro salt .

Thanks,
Erik

i didn't see this a while ago. Do you test for these? calcium, strontium, and trace elements

If not I wouldn't be adding them. You can over dose on some of these and cause some issues too. I hope this helps.

How much water do you change weekly, and when was the tank set up?

Originally Posted by ErikTiegs

PH 8.2 (I uses super buffer to keep it up)and Nitrate and Nitrite are both 0 but my ammonia is at what looks like .15. Not as high as .25 but not zero either. My KH is always on the high side usually around 300 ppm but sometimes gets so high my test can't register it. [/COLOR]
[/COLOR]

Just in case anyone wants to know I have a pink skunk clown fish and 3 green chromis


Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Erik

Sorry you're having problems, but good to see you around.
1st ammonia is super toxic i'd check that out more, and start doing some partial w/c's to get that under control. and suck that brown crap out while your changing water. As far as the brown algae goes, you may find a cause but i myself haven't yet either. and still haven't 100% kicked it in my 14 month old tank) Lately its just on portions of the sandbed...

BUT your dkh at 300! thats way way way too high, and i doubt you'll ever get coraline to grow if you don't have the proper alk/calcium balance. The ph increaser is also an alk booster, i did the same thing in the past trying to chase ph! shot my dkh off the chart too honestly, once i stopped testing ph, and focused on the alk/Ca balance things have never looked better I was using baking soda for months to dose alk, but i recently switched back to a ph raising type, and have some better results imo, but i'm not testing ph with it, strictly testing dkh and dosing according to the chemistry calculator on the homepage here. So basically i'm not convinced that its NOT beneficial to keep ph up, but when i did put ph importance over dkh, i was doing more harm then good............ Also with coral and coraline growth the Mg balanced with the alk/Ca is crucial. I didn't see you mention it, ever test that?

You could try feeding your skimmer air intake tube to draw in outside air if you are worried about the basement airs affect on the PH .Also, there is a way to tell if your house air is having an effect on your systems ph. This article has some info, and the "ph aeration test" is a little more than halfway through. Low pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
when i did the test, my house air made 8.0-8.1 ph water, and outside air aerated water was a perfect 8.3
If you try the test out let us know the results.

Originally Posted by ErikTiegs

. My calcium is 450 PH 8.2 (I uses super buffer to keep it up)and Nitrate and Nitrite are both 0 but my ammonia is at what looks like .15. Not as high as .25 but not zero either. My KH is always on the high side usually around 300 ppm but sometimes gets so high my test can't register it.

The buffer you are using to keep your PH up is whats causing your Alk to rise so high. I hate that they sell these PH buffers and dont tell people that they are the same thing as an Alk additive. If you want to get your Alk under control then stop adding the PH buffer and throw out your PH test kit, dont look back. Aquarium Water Chemistry

My tank is in the basement and I think I have a CO2 problem but and not sure how this would affect the tank.

What makes you think you have a CO2 problem?

However I have not seen any real growth of coralline algae either.

Keep your water chemistry in line with NSW levels and have good strong flow and coralline should take off.

Since the alga outbreak my SPS corals have started to look a little white and not as fuzzy.

High Alk can do that to sps. Stop adding the PH buffer and that should go away.

Also I took some of my live rock out and it is not pink or red with coralline algae but when I get it out of the tank it has a light green pigment to it. I can't brush it off and it is not fuzzy or hairy I am not sure if this is a green coralline or something else. From outside the tank I can't even tell its green.

Sounds like green coralline to me

Hi everyone thanks for the great response,

I do 4 - 6 gallons a week depending on how my water parameters look. If I skip a week than I may do as much as 8 or 10 gallons. I don't add much in the way of additives except for a liquid calcium. I will add some other stuff if I skip a week for my water change but for the most part I do not add much. I am very careful with feeding. When adding food I only put 2 maybe 3 flakes in or just a little bit of frozen food. If I don't add PH buffer my PH will fall to the low 7's or high 6's.

I also have just recently stopped using my emperor power filter. The pump died and I can't replace it. That is another reason I went the sump. So I am wondering if the lack of a bio filter may be affecting my water.

I had a couple of emperor filters I was using too. I took em down when I got my sump up and going.

The green does sound like coralline to me too. You're not going to know what to do with it all soon lol.

Originally Posted by ErikTiegs

Hi everyone thanks for the great response,

I do 4 - 6 gallons a week depending on how my water parameters look. If I skip a week than I may do as much as 8 or 10 gallons. I don't add much in the way of additives except for a liquid calcium. I will add some other stuff if I skip a week for my water change but for the most part I do not add much. I am very careful with feeding. When adding food I only put 2 maybe 3 flakes in or just a little bit of frozen food. If I don't add PH buffer my PH will fall to the low 7's or high 6's.

The only way your PH can fall below about 7.8ph is if your dkh is below 7 and or your sand (or some other part of the system) is loaded with dirt, junk, uneaten food ect... Have you actually tested PH and found it that low? What test kit did you use and how old is it? If you continue to add PH buffer you will always have this problem with raising Alk. There is no way around it. The chemicals that are used in PH buffers are the same thing used to raise your Alk.

Originally Posted by ErikTiegs

I also have just recently stopped using my emperor power filter. The pump died and I can't replace it. That is another reason I went the sump. So I am wondering if the lack of a bio filter may be affecting my water.

If you have live rock in your system your biofilter should be just fine.

Originally Posted by ErikTiegs

Hi everyone thanks for the great response,

If I don't add PH buffer my PH will fall to the low 7's or high 6's.

I would reccomend taking a water sample to your LFS and have them test it as well. I've never seen water fall below 7 in a SW aquarium. If you are in fact experiencing PH swings to that magnitude I would do as John reccomended and run the air intake to your skimmer outisde to fresh air or open a window if possible.

Your extremely low PH could be a result of your Alk and Calc balances being way off too. I'd be willing to bet if you did a nice big water change and didn't dose anything for a week your PH would level off.

Originally Posted by ErikTiegs

So I am wondering if the lack of a bio filter may be affecting my water.

I doubt it- the biological organisms which we refer to as the bio-filter reproduce very very rapidly, In an established tank you might see a little bump of ammonia but it would probably only last a couple of hours.

Since you are getting a positive reading on your ammonia test, definitely have someone else test your water just to be safe. How old are your test kits anyway? Old solutions will give false readings too.

I think getting some water tested would be a good idea. How much water do I need to take in and ball park what will it cost? Also my test kits are less than a year old. I also have some dip tests that I use to kind of verify my numbers but I don't have test kits for everything as people have pointed out.

I take in about 8 oz. And they NEVER charge me to test anything I want.

as stated before, don't add supplements if you don't test for them.

Originally Posted by ErikTiegs

I also have just recently stopped using my emperor power filter. The pump died and I can't replace it. That is another reason I went the sump. So I am wondering if the lack of a bio filter may be affecting my water.

do you have much live rock?

I bought 1-20 pound peice of live rock when I got started and had about another 120 pounds of base rock at the same time. So I would say that I have about 140 pounds of live rock now.

The reason I think that I have a Co2 problem is because I always have high KH but my PH is always on the low side. From what I read the only explanation for that is high Co2. I found this on reefkeeping.com. I am not an expert but I think this may be what is wrong. I am going to try and run a air line from my skimmer to an outside window and see if it helps. If it does I am going to get a whole house air exchanger and just fix the problem.

High pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com