Save my tank!

[jason604]

Originally Posted by Galizio

Ok, no problem, let me know, hopefully you can get the algae under control without using algae fix....
Those lights looks good and a good price, I always look at those on eBay, I wonder if they are any good.....

Yea I'm debating between these and the evergrows but u can't beat around $200 for 2 fixtures

[BubblesUp]

New light would likely make it worse. Just sayin' from recent experience. I got a piece with cyano on it early this year and learned that chemiclean did a good job. It also affected the hair algae. I'm also in the later stages of a Kent Tech M treatment currently which, although slow, is showing good signs of cleaning the whole tank. I'll be doing another chemiclean treatment later today.

As a gardener, know your enemy: http://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide has been helpful in figuring out which ones I have and how to deal with them. In retrospect, I should have been more aggressive early-on with the toothbrush. A cheapo submersible battery toothbrush would have been perfect, if there is such a thing. I had the misfortune of being poisoned by a neighbour with an organophosphate and ended up in VGH almost dead. While I was there, my mother decided she was going to feed the seahorses. With her hand tremors and turkey baster overfeeding combined with the death of a softball sized Sea Hare led to a massive hair algae outbreak. Even though I was sent home unable to walk, I immediately did a 50% WC followed by 25% later in the day and another 50% the next day. The deep sand bed held quite a bit of crud. A few months later, the tank is virtually algae free and the macros are doing a good job of stealing what's left of nutrients from the hair. When I installed my new LED, I turned it too high and lost a Monti. The hair algae has also been quite robust. I've been regularly doing the toothbrush scrub and mag-float scrape with great filtration from a canister with UV.

I hope you do get a handle on it. It took me some time but I have won the battle.

[jason604]

Ok my tank is looking more and more like ****. Things are getting worse even after my large water change. LPS hasn't really opened since. Sps and Monti plates are getting more and more pale. My tri-colored nana colony was almost all dead so I fragged whatever branches were unharmed and it was totally dead as well the next day. Birdnest flesh is peeling off in the middle of this pic. Is the rowaphos reactor the cause cuz it pullin nutrients ou too fast? Should I put it offline or remove half of the media.

[Slyguy00]

If its getting worse after big water changes, id maybe test the water and salt you are using. Do you use rodi?? Do you check ppm??

[jason604]

Originally Posted by Slyguy00

If its getting worse after big water changes, id maybe test the water and salt you are using. Do you use rodi?? Do you check ppm??

I use rodi 0ppm water. Newly made salt water is from IO and tests shows it 10kh, 350cal, 1100 mag

[Slyguy00]

Originally Posted by jason604

I use rodi 0ppm water. Newly made salt water is from IO and tests shows it 10kh, 350cal, 1100 mag

Hmm. A lil low on calcium and magnesium, but nothing that would harm your tank. I don't really think it would be your rowa. The only way to really tell is by testing your phosphates. Did you test before you put your reactor online? If that is one of your concerns I personally don't think it would hurt to turn it off temporally until things start to look better. Or like you said even take half of it out.

[acepumping]

Could be too much rowa. Shocking corals possibly. If too high of phosphates and then you change rowa and suck out phosphates too fast. It can lead to a cyano spike for sure. Cyano will thrive and stretch for food. But will die off once phos under control. But it will take over. New light also can cause it

[jason604]

Phos always tested for 0 before and after but I knew it was there. When I added my rowa I did see a a lot of cyano on my sand. When corals started to go south I changed my rows and added more than I did previously. Dam chemicals!

[Slyguy00]

if your test kit was telling you "0" its lying. and if it actually is "0" then thats probably one reason things arnt doing to well. sps needs small amounts of phosphates to grow and do well

[Ryanerickson]

I'm guessing the rowa has cleaned your water a lot faster then your coral can handle. Adding more made it worse I almost bleached my entire tank 6 months back with to much rowa to fast I was lucky and caught it before anything was damaged.