The reef gods have it in for me!

Quinn · #1 10-30-2003, 11:35 PM

So everything in my tank has been going dandy for the last six months. No livestock losses since a single cleaner shrimp died mysteriously in the summer, lots of frags looking very nice, skimmer producing nice coffee-coloured skimmate...

All of a sudden, I have a huge cyano outbreak. It is basically covering all of my sandbed whereever light touches. I have tried siphoning it out but that seems like a lost cause. My strawberry conch seemed to be doing a good job for the first two weeks but in the last few days it's become a thick red mat. Coupled with that, I am now seeing the green type as well. I finally cleaned off my fuge walls today and found that rather than being half caulerpa and half tube worms, it's almost entirely filled with tube worms with a few sprigs of caulerpa here and there. I have translucent sea squirts everywhere in my live rock. I mentioned that I had a flood the other day when I added nine new SPS frags, thanks to the epoxy I expect. The weird thing is, over the last two days, my skimmer has been producing a full two litres of skimmate a day, and it looks like weak tea, rather than the two litres of dark stuff I used to get every two weeks.

So the problems basically are:
-Cyano like crazy
-Skimmer going nuts

Possible factors:
-Too many nutrients
-Worms may have killed off the caulerpa in the sump
-I started feeding my tang romaine lettuce rather than nori, and quite a bit
-I feed three times a day, first and second time pellets and flakes, then mysis before bed
-TDS and other levels
-I am doing tests now and will post when I have the readings

Unlikely factors:
-Lighting
-I have dual 400w Ushios
-Flow
-Mag 12 and four MJ1200s for about 15x turnover

So I am thinking I will clean out the fuge and get rid of some of the worms, clean the skimmer (I did this right after the flood though), and feed a bit less (twice a day).

Any suggestions or comments? My tank specifications are at http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5489.

martym · #2 10-30-2003, 11:54 PM

You mentioned the flood due to the expoxy of your new frags. Is it possible this is creating something in the water colum???? Good luck

Jack · #3 10-30-2003, 11:59 PM

Quinn, what skimmer are you using?

My guess would be the heavy feeding of the flake and pellet foods causing the mess.

Quinn · #4 10-31-2003, 12:06 AM

Just a Berlin Hang-On running in the sump. The thing is, I've been feeding like this for months with no problems.

Jack · #5 10-31-2003, 12:26 AM

Well organics may have been building up and building up then bam an outbreak. I think you are underskimmed for your size and type of tank, IMO.

I just built a huge DIY beckett and it was easy, might be a fun weekend project.

Quinn · #6 10-31-2003, 12:38 AM

I agree I am underskimming. Unfortunately there are a few cards against me as far as acquiring a new skimmer goes, mainly cost and size. I'll see what everyone else thinks, regardless.

Jack · #7 10-31-2003, 12:41 AM

Mine wasn't too expensive at all but I'd get opinions non the less..

Did any overflowing skimmate get into the tank? Maybe the dissruption in the skimmer built up organics... hopefully this goes away!

StirCrazy · #8 10-31-2003, 03:00 AM

Teevee, did you go with a DSB?

Steve

reefburnaby · #9 10-31-2003, 03:01 AM

Teevee,

Hmmm...you can add DSB crashing as another possible problem.

I would try upgrading the pump on the Red Sea. Which Rio are you using for it now?

Is cyano growing on your DSB and your refugium?

- Victor.

AJ_77 · #10 10-31-2003, 03:57 AM

Victor, are sandbeds crashing in 6 months now?

He has a buildup of nutrients from overfeeding, IME. Had that happen a few times myself, must be an Alberta thing.

Upgrade the skimmer, deal with the excessive feeding, and you'll be on your way. And avoid that epoxy...

Oh, and for a short-term solution, try Dr Bob's Chemi-Clean. Cleans that stuff up like nobody's business. (Large water change after.) Check for LTA compatibility though... just thought of that.