Alge has ruined this hobby for me...Update

[CosmoKramer1]

well it's been a week of batteling green and brown alge.i'm about to break down my tank and go fresh water.Ita all over the place with small break out of cyno,all my clean up crew has died except for a few hermits.Funny thing is the water test perfect even 0 phosphates.My hopes of having a beautiful reef tank is over its only 2 months into the hobby.Another funny thing is i have small coraline alge growth toh well i just needed to vent

 

[Rabbit]

You have only started. You CAN'T have a beautiful reef tank IMO in two months.

You can't force nature. Sounds like you have had a blow out of sorts.

At 2 months you should just be finishing the cycling. I hope you didn't put in corals in there cause they wouldn't have been able to survive. And if one things dies, everything seems to want to follow.

What are you doing? Do you have good book/menotors? Check out a local Reef Club and People here?

It takes a long time to learn the 'art' of reefin'

HIH

David Roman

 

[CosmoKramer1]

nothing is in the tank except for clean up crew,live rock and live sand

 

[Rabbit]

Cosmo,

Well, that's good, it just sounds like you are having a massive die off from the live rock.

That happens! It's just in what I call the 'Ugly' stage.

Also, could anything have fallen in it? I had a problem with a tank when I was in HS and a dime had fallen in. I found the copper coloured dime - all the silver was dissolved off.

Now, I know this is a hot topic, but I'm a belive in a fish to help cycle the tank. You can use mollies if you don't want to risk never being able to catch a daamsle again. You can adjust them to full salt water over several hours.

my 2 cents,

HIH,

David Roman

 

[fishfarmer]

well it's been a week of batteling green and brown alge

Patience Cosmo, good things come to those who wait. You shouldn't have a beautiful tank within the first couple of months, wait a year for things to really start to come together. I'm still "battling" hair algae in 120 gal FOWLR an that just hit the one year mark. Funny thing is most people who see the tank like the pretty wavy algae .

 

[esmithiii]

This hobby requires patience more than anything else. My 180G tank (with thousands invested) looked like a South Georgia pond for the first three months! It looked like pea soup for a while. Give it at least 6 months before you call it quits. It takes several months for the algae to run its course.

If you have liverock you don't need fish to cycle the tank, IMO.

Ernie

 

[Carpentersreef]

Agreed. Choosing a fish for cycling purposes only is a poor choice for a reef inhabitant qualification.

Mitch

 

[rikacarl]

hang in there! My first reef was a disaster for the first 6 months. At least you said you had some coralline growing, that should be some incentive to hang on to your reef.

How is your tank set up? Were you giving it a lot of light when it was cycling?

 

[Carpentersreef]

...Funny thing is the water test perfect even 0 phosphates...

..The thing is....

...is that if you REALLY wanted to have a reef aquarium... and did the required reading, researching, water testing, ect... the appearance of the "hair" algae would indicate more to you than any water test could.

Reef aquariums are not to be taken lightly. They are NOT pretty boxes of water and fish and coral.

Don't mean to offend.

...know WHAT you've got in front of you, and take it seriously.

Mitch :wink:

 

[Bill2]

Carpentersreef,
You gotta relax a bit. He's frustrated and bashing him isn't going to help him nor the hobby. You have no idea what he has or has not done. Heck, he's bought a phosphate kit. I've never even touched one.

I've been in the hobby a while and to not consider our reef as a pretty box of water with pretty fish is utterly absurd. Our tanks are not real life. I guarentee 99% of the tanks out there are a mishmash of corals and fish from different locals.

Cosmo,
Give it time and just when you think it'll never end it usually does. Make sure you skimmer is cleaned out weekly. A clean skimmer does a much better job than a dirty one.

 

[Anonymous]

The tank is very young right now. Give it time. As others have said the algae cycle is not always fun, or pretty :wink: Could you describe your system a little? It could help us get you through it a little easier. BTW, it is not unusual to have undetectable levels of PO4 or NO3 when there is strong algae growth. The algae takes it up before it can register on the test kits. Have you done a water change since the cycle finished?

 

[Carpentersreef]

That's why I posted "Don't mean to offend". I DON'T mean to offend.

But to start to get frustrated at the 2 month mark means that someone didn't realize what they were getting into.

To say that our aquariums AREN'T real life...is absurd to ME. We have to realize that what we are doing is taking real life animals and putting them in a small, concentrated environment, and that there ARE going to be ramifications involved, but also to realize that we can pretty much predict what is going to happen in these concentrated environments.

Mitch

 

[Bill2]

To say that our aquariums AREN'T real life...is absurd to ME. We have to realize that what we are doing is taking real life animals and putting them in a small, concentrated environment

Might be a problem of definition. I mean to say natural. Our tanks are about as natural for the creatures we put in them as zoos are.

I think many newbies get frustrated early not because they didn't know what was going to happen, but because they have spent x amount of money on all the things that are "necessary" and are looking at a box of rocks in water.

I tell all newbies:
In the words of Obi Wan "Patience young jedi."

 

[Gatortailale1]

maybe I missed it, but what type of water are you using? Do you have ro/di or just tap?

 

[SPC]

Posted by Bill2:
Might be a problem of definition. I mean to say natural. Our tanks are about as natural for the creatures we put in them as zoos are.

-Bill, would you not consider a coral to have a fairly normal life in a "real" hobbiest tank? If they are growing and reproducing what else is there?

I think many newbies get frustrated early not because they didn't know what was going to happen, but because they have spent x amount of money on all the things that are "necessary" and are looking at a box of rocks in water.

-I'm confused here, If they knew what was going to happen, then why would they be frustrated? :?

I tell all newbies:
In the words of Obi Wan "Patience young jedi."

-I agree, this would be a good thing to tell someone "before" they decide to care for living animals.
Steve

 

[CosmoKramer1]

ok people i'll hang in there for the long haul.carpentersreef no offence taken.I know your only tryin to help and i appreciate it.I did expect a alge bloom but not like this.Well i added another powerhead and the skimmers been crankin so i'll sit back and enjoy the green flowing alge for awhile.Do you people suggest i put in another clean up crew maybe a lawnmower blenny? Oh and btw i did and still use RO water we use it for drinking water here also.I installed it before i bought the tank.

Thanks for the suggestions people

 

[Anonymous]

Get the IPSF 9 for $99 special. it includes shipping and has everything you want for the DSB and algae eating. What size tank do you have?

 

[goofyreefer]

You don't want to give up yet. Go slow and try to enjoy it. As for a clean up crew I love the ones from GARF. They were well worth the money for me not to mention their corals are pretty hearty so you may want to try those eventually.

 

[CosmoKramer1]

my tank is a 65 gallon with 100# of live rock i have 2x96 CF and 2 30 watt NO tritons for now.I had a clean up crew from garf in there most have died just about 8 hermits left.I didnt want to put any more in until i figured out what killed them.the ones that survived look kinda funny with alge growing off their shells.I just tested the water again 0's across the board PH is 8.2 79 degres salt is 1.024 akl is 3.2.I'll just sit back and relx a little.I read that if i turn the lights off for a few days that the alge may die back,I may try this starting tomorow.Thanks for your suggestions keep em comming,and thaks for not trasing a newbie like some forums do

 

[goofyreefer]

my problem with the clean up crews is that they contain both snails and hermits. When the food source is limited or gone the hermits target the snails and eat them. So I find empty shells laying around or hermits in what once was a snail shell. Just give it time.