tired fustrated and algae

[e46er]

i have a 120 G tank 40 G sump CL system euroreef 135 and a small fuge
lights are 2x150W MH bulbs replaced a month ago
light cycle is 230pm-830 pm with actintics on from 130-9


tank has been set up almost year but 3 months ago i started going out with my current gf and needless to say the tank got slightly neglected water changes became a monthly thing not a weekly thing ect ect

anyways in the past 2 weeks ive done 5-40Gal water changes thats about as fast as i can because my RODI is super slow due to my pathetic water pressure.

here are some pics of my tank as is after the 5 water changes and hours of cleaning out algae


my fuge is packed full but its all brown...........is this normal??


[IMG]http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z76/E46Maniac/IMG_2812

stock for the tank is
2 clownfish
1- 3" blue hippo tang
1-3" foxface
1-1.5" flame hawkfish
1 toadstool
1 frogspawn
i dont overfeed i dont think becuase nothing hits the sand
parameters are as follows
salinity 1.026
Ca-460
Alk-5 DKH........this puzzles me as I have changed 200 G of water in 2 weeks and it seems to measure 8 or so when its mixing also an ELOS kit
PH-8.2
Mg- did 2 tests first one said 950 second one said 1050 both a little low but i hate this ELOS kit!
Nitrate- test kit only goes down to 5 its not that high but its a slight color change
Phosphate- test kit only goes down to 0.25 its not that high but also a slight color change
i also decided to try vodka dosing and started 2 weeks ago with no improvements so far but the algae doesnt seem to be growing anymore but its not really diminishing either...............

im going to buy new test kits for Alk and Mg becuase it seems every test i do with ELOS i get different answers
i have seachem Mg and seachem reef builder (alk) should i try and raise them up right now or wait until i get a test kit with consistant results first??
also im using seachem reef Salt

help me before i lose my mind!!!!!

[intarsiabox]

You could get a Lawnmower Blenny or an Emerald crab to help you with your algae. Does your refugium have a light? It looks like the algae is light starved.

[e46er]

yes sorry i have a light that is 6700 K and it runs on the opposite cycle of the actinics so from 930PM thru to 130PM

[Myka]

Ugh...I feel your pain. Been there.

Start by getting the alkalinity around 8, magnesium around 1350-1400. I would just use the kits you have. Be very diligent in testing. Shake up each ingredient well before use (powders and liquids). Rinse the test tube in tank water several times before use (shake it out well). Be accurate in your 5 mL of tank water (or whatever it is) by using the calibration on the syringe, not the test tube. Be sure all the bubbles are out of the syringe when measuring. Hold droppers at a 45 degree angle when dispensing. Use a credit card to gently pack and flatten scoops of powder. Etc...

Try dropping your calcium to about 410-415 ppm which will be a balanced ratio with your 8 dKH alkalinity. Right now your balance if off.

Trim your Chaeto so it can move easily (you will prob toss 2/3 of it...keep the nice clean green stuff), and put a powerhead into that chamber so that the Chaeto ball rolls in the water so those brown dinoflagellates can't grow. What type of light are you using on the Chaeto? On for what hours?

Have you calibrated your refractometer/hydrometer lately? What brand salt are you using? Have you tested the TDS of your RO/DI lately? Calibrated the TDS meter?

Where did you get your live rock from? How did you treat it when you first got it?

[intarsiabox]

I guess it might just need thinning out a bit then. The stuff under the top layer looks green. The algae absorbs phosphates and pollutants so the only way to permanently get rid rid of it is by taking out some of the algae any way and then repeat the process as it grows back. All those water changes should have removed most of the phosphates that hair algae love so it should start to starve and die off. Are you using RO/DI water?

[e46er]

RODI water no TDS meter (i know I know) the water in Vancouver is really clean to start with and the filters arnt that old but i will grab a TDS meter

salt is seachem reef salt

i recalibrated the refractometer about 3 weeks ago............how often are you supossed to recalibrate it?
i got my live rock from a guy on bcaquaria and basically just threw it in the tank to start the cycle............
fuge light is on flip cycle of the actinics so 9pm -130 pm
its a 13W energy saver which claims the output of a 60W
6700 K 900 lumens

ill clean out the fuge and throw in a power head


now kind of a stupid question but how do i lower the Calcium? i wasnt dosing anything for it............

[Myka]

If the algae is allowed to die in the tank and thus rot, it will release those phosphates and nitrates back into the tank creating the cycle over again. It will still work, the process it much slower.

A couple other things I didn't mention is when you do a water change instead of trying to rip the hair algae out which is difficult, use scissors and give it a brush cut. The use of a turkey baster to blow the detritus off the rocks will really help too.

You may need to add a powerhead or two to get more water blasting towards the rocks. I'm not sure what you have going on with all those Loc Lines.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by e46er

RODI water no TDS meter (i know I know) the water in Vancouver is really clean to start with and the filters arnt that old but i will grab a TDS meter

They're cheap, only like $20.

Originally Posted by e46er

salt is seachem reef salt

You know, I have heard of others who have issues with low alkalinity, high calcium, and are using Seachem Reef Salt. I would consider changing salts. I have never been a fan of the Seachem. I would recommend either IO or H2Ocean depending on your budget. Both are tried and true. I haven't used the H2Ocean firsthand yet though. I have two more pails of IO to go through before I try it out.

Originally Posted by er46er

i recalibrated the refractometer about 3 weeks ago............how often are you supossed to recalibrate it?

I calibrate mine every few months. I don't use it very often though. I use my refractometer to calibrate my hydrometer, then use the hydrometer for daily checks because it's faster. I calibrate the hydrometer monthly.

Originally Posted by 346er

i got my live rock from a guy on bcaquaria and basically just threw it in the tank to start the cycle............

The guy had it in his tank previously? Did he have any algae issues? Were there any algae on the rock when you got it? Anything aside from coralline?

Originally Posted by 346er

fuge light is on flip cycle of the actinics so 9pm -130 pm
its a 13W energy saver which claims the output of a 60W
6700 K 900 lumens

Do you have a reflector for it? If not, consider finding something like this: http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

Originally Posted by e46er

now kind of a stupid question but how do i lower the Calcium? i wasnt dosing anything for it............

I think you gotta change salts. Seachem is notorious for overly high calcium.

[e46er]

ok ill try the sissors because i was just ripping and tearing whatever i dropped generally made it to my overflow boxes or my CL intake which id clean in an hour or so after

the loc lines are a long story

i ordered the tank from a store which was in finincial distress and i actually ordered and paid for a dual corner overflow and he said he would drill 4 holes
1 intake and 3 exits
but when i got to the store it was a dual center overflow and just the 2 holes drilled but my gut told me to take it becuase i got the run around for a month or so saying oh the tank is at my house drilled blah blah so when i saw it i said screw it im taking it as is becuase i just had a feeling he was going under and soon.................couple days later the doors shut so im glad i took it. so i put the 4 loc lines in to kinda disperse the flow becuase i was really trying to stay away from powerheads in the tank.

i would like an acrylic tank made with the bottom drilled about 10 times for a CL and herbie style overflows which i may get if i can get this tank under control before i lose my mind and lose intrest in the hobby

[fishytime]

Some more things to consider....how old is the tank?....how old are your bulbs?....how long do you run your lights for?.... how often do you feed?....although euro-reefs are good skimmers(Im running the same skimmer) it may be borderline for your volume of water....but it doesnt sound like you have a high bioload.....something is feeding that algae