Im at a loss

[afusco01]

I've had reef tanks for decades.

This one has me perplexed.

I've had my tank running since Oct 5th... So about 3.5 months. My cycle took about 20 days to complete where the nitrate dropped to zero.

120G with built in overflow
150 pounds of dead rock from an old tank totally cleaned before putting it in
45 pounds of Fiji premium from Live Aquaria
60 pounds of Fiji Oolite less than 1 inch thick
Reefbreeder Photon 48
Gyre
2 koralia 1500- each side on back
1 koralia 600- middle back
Apex Jr with PH, 8 bar, 4 bar, and I/O with high and low sump float switches
Lifereef custom sump for up to 300G
I have a Euro-reef CS-6
Reef Dart return
Phosban reactor running 500ml of Rowaphos ( two weeks into it)

I run a 8 hour light cycle peaking at 42% on ch 1 (blue) and 18% on ch 2 (white)

I have:

star polyp
Galaxea frag
Pocillo frag
Zoas
cleaner shrimp
crabs and snails
3 brittle stars

My water para:

Temp 77- Apex
PH 8.27- Apex
KH 10- Red Sea
Nitrates 0- Red Sea and Elos
Phosphates 0- Elos
Silicates 0.03- Elos
Calcium 470- Elos
Spec grav 1.0243

I filled my tank with a Spectrapure CSP RO/DI unit. I have a well. The unit has never given me 0 on the TDS out. It blows through DI fast. But the phosphates and silicates are very low.

I have brown hair algae and some sort of brown bubble looking algae. It won't go away.

I'm fighting with Spectrapure now because I'd like to get O on my TDS meter. I've taken the DI out of the equation and am getting 12 on the TDS with a 96% rejection rate at around 40 PSI.

Again though, my nitrates and phosphates are zero and the silicates are very low...

Can anyone help crack the code here? Why the hair algae that wont go away?

[Mark426]

Even though PO4 is testing zero it MAY be provided to the algae from the rock?

[afusco01]

Even though PO4 is testing zero it MAY be provided to the algae from the rock?It could be. But I thought Phosphate would leech into the water column and at least show up on the test.

The skimmer only pulls intermittently.

[afusco01]

Would a Tang it brown hair algae? I know they love green depending on the species. But brown hair?

Whats the best cleanup critter for brown hair?

[slief]

A couple comments.

Well water usually has high Co2 levels. If you want your DI cartridges to last, you may want to setup a holding tank where you can store well water. Keep the holding tank aerated so you can outgas the Co2. Use a separate pump to feed the well water from the holding tank to the RODI unit. If you already have a cistern, get some high power air pumps and aerate that water 24/7. That should help reduce Co2 in your water..

As for your algae issues. Your tank is still very new and going through all kinds of bacterial cycles. The first several months to a year can be met with a wide range of algae that will come and go until the tank matures. Most people think the first cycle after setting up a tank which lasts a month or so when the ammonia and stuff spikes is it. Not so.

As your tank is maturing over the first several months to a year, you will likely see brown algae, diatom, green algae like hair algae etc. This is a normal process that most of us have gone through at one point in our tanks cycle. Patience is the key. Let these things run their course. You can add some turbo snails or manually remove the algae as needed but that is about all you can really do at this stage. You aren't going to eliminate it and I don't think what you are seeing is related to Po4. It may be partially nutrient related as your bacteria bed is still diversifying but the key is not to do anything drastic. Once the tank matures and bacteria in the system stabilizes, things will balance out and the algae should subside provided you don't overfeed, over stock and provided you continue to use good quality water.

[afusco01]

A couple comments.

Well water usually has high Co2 levels. If you want your DI cartridges to last, you may want to setup a holding tank where you can store well water. Keep the holding tank aerated so you can outgas the Co2. Use a separate pump to feed the well water from the holding tank to the RODI unit. If you already have a cistern, get some high power air pumps and aerate that water 24/7. That should help reduce Co2 in your water..

As for your algae issues. Your tank is still very new and going through all kinds of bacterial cycles. The first several months to a year can be met with a wide range of algae that will come and go until the tank matures. Most people think the first cycle after setting up a tank which lasts a month or so when the ammonia and stuff spikes is it. Not so.

As your tank is maturing over the first several months to a year, you will likely see brown algae, diatom, green algae like hair algae etc. This is a normal process that most of us have gone through at one point in our tanks cycle. Patience is the key. Let these things run their course. You can add some turbo snails or manually remove the algae as needed but that is about all you can really do at this stage. You aren't going to eliminate it and I don't think what you are seeing is related to Po4. It may be partially nutrient related as your bacteria bed is still diversifying but the key is not to do anything drastic. Once the tank matures and bacteria in the system stabilizes, things will balance out and the algae should subside provided you don't overfeed, over stock and provided you continue to use good quality water.I'll come up with a good way to aerate. That could be it.

I hear you on the long term cycling. I feel that the nitrates and phosphate being zero are a really good sign of things to come. I think it will end up being a great tank.

Do you think its safe to add a fish and/or corals while I have the hair algae?

Would an urchin eat the algae fast enough?

Im thinking yellow tang or flame angel.

[killinit123]

It could be. But I thought Phosphate would leech into the water column and at least show up on the test.

The skimmer only pulls intermittently.

what test kit are you using? also it may not show up on a test if it is a trace amount.. also do you have a refuge? if so is there macro in it? the macro could be consuming the po4 before it returns to your DT making it undetectable by your test kit. is the hair algae spreading or is it stationary?

[afusco01]

what test kit are you using? also it may not show up on a test if it is a trace amount.. also do you have a refuge? if so is there macro in it? the macro could be consuming the po4 before it returns to your DT making it undetectable by your test kit. is the hair algae spreading or is it stationary?
Elos kit. No fuge. Not spreading just there. Not everywhere either. Only down the middle of each half and only on the upper half of the rockwork. I only have to scrape the glass once a week.

[slief]

I'll come up with a good way to aerate. That could be it.

I hear you on the long term cycling. I feel that the nitrates and phosphate being zero are a really good sign of things to come. I think it will end up being a great tank.

Do you think its safe to add a fish and/or corals while I have the hair algae?

Would an urchin eat the algae fast enough?

Im thinking yellow tang or flame angel.

Sure, I would add a couple fish... A lawnmower blenny would be a good candidate if there is enough algae in there to keep him fed. I'm not sure an urchin would keep up and they tend to eat coraline algae making live rock look bad where ever they travel. Your tank is on the small side for certain tangs but a yellow may be suitable. I'd probably pass the flame for the short term though as they aren't as hardy.

[afusco01]

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[afusco01]

Sure, I would add a couple fish... A lawnmower blenny would be a good candidate if there is enough algae in there to keep him fed. I'm not sure an urchin would keep up and they tend to eat coraline algae making live rock look bad where ever they travel. Your tank is on the small side for certain tangs but a yellow may be suitable. I'd probably pass the flame for the short term though as they aren't as hardy.Lawnmowers are ugly. Court Jester? Starry blennie? Do Starrys eat as much algae?

Also, that 3rd pic is the weird bubble looking stuff. No clue what it is.

Do you agree that the zero on nitrates and phosphates should mean a really nice tank when all is said and done?

[slief]

Hard to tell from your pictures but it looks like a bacterial bloom. Vacuum it out and let it run it's course. That kind of stuff is normal for a new tank.

As for 0 nitrates and Po4, you don't really have anything in your tank to contribute to them so I would expect those kinds of readings in a new tank without much if any bio load. As for lawnmowers being ugly. I find them to be neat fish with cool personality. I think they are also beneficial in most any tank because they do nothing but forage on algae all day. That said, judging by your pictures, you don't really have much algae to begin with so you will have to supplement any herbivore you put in there with additional feedings.

If it were me, I'd get some snails or blue leg hermit crabs and a lawn mower to start.

[afusco01]

Hard to tell from your pictures but it looks like a bacterial bloom. Vacuum it out and let it run it's course. That kind of stuff is normal for a new tank.

As for 0 nitrates and Po4, you don't really have anything in your tank to contribute to them so I would expect those kinds of readings in a new tank without much if any bio load. As for lawnmowers being ugly. I find them to be neat fish with cool personality. I think they are also beneficial in most any tank because they do nothing but forage on algae all day. That said, judging by your pictures, you don't really have much algae to begin with so you will have to supplement any herbivore you put in there with additional feedings.

If it were me, I'd get some snails or blue leg hermit crabs and a lawn mower to start.
All right. Would a starry do the job? The local LFS has one. Its a bit better looking than the Lawnmower.

[billdogg]

It's really hard to tell from your picture, but there is at least a chance that what you are calling bubble algae is actually colonial tunicates. Is it growing on the new, live rock, or is it on the old rock?

The hair algae could easily be growing where PO4 is leeching from, and is almost certainly using up the available PO4 which is why your test is reading 0. The fact of the matter is that all living creatures need at least a little NO3 and PO4 to survive.

As mentioned above, it will eventually run it's course. Patience is the key. Drastic action to cure a relatively minor problem rarely, if ever, works out well in the end.

[afusco01]

It's really hard to tell from your picture, but there is at least a chance that what you are calling bubble algae is actually colonial tunicates. Is it growing on the new, live rock, or is it on the old rock?

The hair algae could easily be growing where PO4 is leeching from, and is almost certainly using up the available PO4 which is why your test is reading 0. The fact of the matter is that all living creatures need at least a little NO3 and PO4 to survive.

As mentioned above, it will eventually run it's course. Patience is the key. Drastic action to cure a relatively minor problem rarely, if ever, works out well in the end.Its new in the past month and growing on the rocks.

[afusco01]

I did buy two little fishes hydrocarbon and planned to run it in my HOT magnum for a while. Bad idea?

[afusco01]

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ascfaqs2.htm

The first pic pretty much nails it. They are jelly like though. Not rigid at all.

[slief]

I did buy two little fishes hydrocarbon and planned to run it in my HOT magnum for a while. Bad idea?

The carbon probably won't harm anything at this point although I'm not sure it's going to be of much benefit either. If the stuff on your rocks are what is shown in the photo on wetweb, I'd say they aren't a bad thing but it would be really good to get better pictures of what you have in your tank.

[afusco01]

The carbon probably won't harm anything at this point although I'm not sure it's going to be of much benefit either. If the stuff on your rocks are what is shown in the photo on wetweb, I'd say they aren't a bad thing but it would be really good to get better pictures of what you have in your tank.Heres some more. I can see small black specks in the stuff as well.

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[billdogg]

Nice pics. Could you maybe make them a bit bigger? Even if I click on them they are like 1x1

[afusco01]

nice pics. Could you maybe make them a bit bigger? Even if i click on them they are like 1x1305240

[Azedenkae]

I've had reef tanks for decades.

This one has me perplexed.

I've had my tank running since Oct 5th... So about 3.5 months. My cycle took about 20 days to complete where the nitrate dropped to zero.

120G with built in overflow
150 pounds of dead rock from an old tank totally cleaned before putting it in
45 pounds of Fiji premium from Live Aquaria
60 pounds of Fiji Oolite less than 1 inch thick
Reefbreeder Photon 48
Gyre
2 koralia 1500- each side on back
1 koralia 600- middle back
Apex Jr with PH, 8 bar, 4 bar, and I/O with high and low sump float switches
Lifereef custom sump for up to 300G
I have a Euro-reef CS-6
Reef Dart return
Phosban reactor running 500ml of Rowaphos ( two weeks into it)

I run a 8 hour light cycle peaking at 42% on ch 1 (blue) and 18% on ch 2 (white)

I have:

star polyp
Galaxea frag
Pocillo frag
Zoas
cleaner shrimp
crabs and snails
3 brittle stars

My water para:

Temp 77- Apex
PH 8.27- Apex
KH 10- Red Sea
Nitrates 0- Red Sea and Elos
Phosphates 0- Elos
Silicates 0.03- Elos
Calcium 470- Elos
Spec grav 1.0243

I filled my tank with a Spectrapure CSP RO/DI unit. I have a well. The unit has never given me 0 on the TDS out. It blows through DI fast. But the phosphates and silicates are very low.

I have brown hair algae and some sort of brown bubble looking algae. It won't go away.

I'm fighting with Spectrapure now because I'd like to get O on my TDS meter. I've taken the DI out of the equation and am getting 12 on the TDS with a 96% rejection rate at around 40 PSI.

Again though, my nitrates and phosphates are zero and the silicates are very low...

Can anyone help crack the code here? Why the hair algae that wont go away?

What is your feeding regime like? What was your phosphate levels at the end of the cycle?

[afusco01]

What is your feeding regime like? What was your phosphate levels at the end of the cycle?
I feed the cleaner shrimp a pinch of small pellets of formula one every few days. Phosphates were always low. I think 2 maybe at the end of the cycle.

Im toying with the flow from the Gyre. I have it on in one direction and then in the other direction every 30 minutes. I just setup the right and left koralias to only come on for 3 minutes an hour. The flow was really high. This makes it much less.