Bubbles everywhere Pictures!!!

[nmhs2]

so i recently started using my metal halides about last week because I want to get into actually keeping corals in my tank. tank has been set up for 3 years but have only done the bare minimum to keep it up. now im ready to start taking good care of it I purchased a lot of stuff last month, like $2000 in apex controller and vortech pump and peristaltic dosing pumps. So anyways back to my main question since I started using metal halide last week now i got crazy bubbles on every side of my tank, any ideas, i also just started dosing 2 part solution? should i start up the old phosban reactor? I am using RO/DI water also

[nmhs2]

Also there is a thin glossy clear layer skimming the surface of my tank near the spots with low waveflow

[sedor]

Looks like the beginning stages of a massive algae outbreak. The new lights are probably fueling what was already laying dormant in your system. Next task, nutrient control. Your always going to want to NO3 and PO4 to read 0, or very close to it. I use a carbon source (vodka) and a good skimmer, you could also use a refugium, gfo, or even good old fashion water changes with RODI water. If you don't have an RODI, get one as your water source is likely your problem as could be overfeeding.

[Agu]

I agree with sedor that you have algae starting to grow due to excess nutrients and the additional energy from the more intense lighting.

I'd do some serious work with a toothbrush and turkey baster so your skimmer can remove the proteins once they're in the water column (that's what you're seeing on the calm areas of the surface btw , a protein slick). Running carbon, the phosban reactor and water changes will also help.

[nmhs2]

so what should i be doing with a toothbrush? like cleaning all the alge from the walls, and trukey baster to blast the rocks?????

[Agu]

so what should i be doing with a toothbrush? like cleaning all the alge from the walls, and trukey baster to blast the rocks?????


Toothbrush on glass and rocks to break things loose and turkey baster to get the detritus in the water column. It's not a once a day procedure though. Every time you look at the tank give it a few blasts from the turkey baster.

[Chondro 5]

That sounds pretty similar to how my "bubbles" started. Years of maintaining the tank with crushed coral substrate which trapped lots of gunk, years of using unfiltered tap water for top off which I thought was fine because kalkwaser neutralizes phosphates right? Well, shortly after I upgraded from pc to metal halides, I got bubbles all over the most brightly lit areas (bubbles are a product of the cyanobacteria). So as already stated, you added the last piece of the equation to get the perfect storm of cyanobacteria. Good luck, took me over six months to get mine under control.

[magikfly]

Siphon that crap out each and every day. Do not overfeed, in fact start underfeeding.
It'll take a while, but eventually, it'll recede

[dogstar74]

+1 to all the above and yes, start GFO. You need to get the phosphate out of the water before the algae can fix it. Then it will eventually starve out the algae.

Good luck,
Aaron

[evokevin]

and some big turbo snails. the snails will clean the tank up a bunch, and a lot faster then trying to starve it out.

[1swtlx]

Chondro hit it right on, You have the perfect storm brewing and nows your chance to steer clear of it. I have the exact same stuff in my tank and it will take over fast! In my case I went from 14k lights to 10k and the spectrum shift just enhanced the problem on mass scale. GL

[Ratkiller]

Plus, when you blast or scrub the algea your not getting rid of it. It's still in your system. You will need to start doing 10% water changes every 3-4 days. Suck out as much as you can. During my outbrake, I attached a tooth brush to my siphon hose with a couple of small zip ties.