still have algae problem i need serious help!

[NYPDFrogman]

lots of info here, lots of great advice
here's my input and question?
how long is the tank set up and runing?
has it gone through a successful cycle??
you have zero nitrates but have you checked for nitrites?
if you havent completed the cycle and the tank hasnt stabilized you will get diatoms and algae blooms.
I see a clown in the picture if ythe tank hasnt cycled he'll die too get him to someones tank till it stabilizes.

if it's gone through it's cycle do a good water change 25-35% with RO/DI water
NYC water is Not good for your tank period. I lived on SI and it's packed with phosphates!
if you dont have a RO/DI filter thats your next investment in mean time you can get distilled, RO water in a supermarket, not spring water

Frank
patience is the name of the game here

 

[aaron]

Its all very well to jump on the tap water as the culprit for this but i dont see how using tap water would kill fish. Definitely it can be responsible for an algae bloom but there must be something else wrong in this system.

 

[cali_reef]

Tap water can kill fish if it contains high levels of chloride and other trace chemicals that your fish don't like.

In this case I am guessing high levels of Ammonia and the subsequent nitrite did them in while they were weak from the move. The converted Nitrate and phosphates is feeding the algae in the water and making nice green soup in the tank.

 

[fritz]

data

what are your levels?

amonia
nitrite
nitrate
Ph
SG

Phosphate while not desirable won't cause deaths. Not in tap water levels anyway. NYC shocks it's water every so often. Eastern Queens does it more often. Using shocked water (high levels of chlorine) will kill your fish but you'll notice it QUICK. It's good practice to have a chlorine remover and let your water circulate a bit before adding it to your tank. 24 hours is a good amount of time.
It sounds like your tank is going through a cycle so treating the symptoms isn't going to help you.

 

[alrha]

your first step should be to do major water changes using RO/DI water and run carbon and a phosphate media to remove all the junk in your water from the tap.

 

[fritz]

No more Biological filter!!!!!!!!!

hey guy yesterday i posted that i have alot of build up on my tank well after i applied the sock and took out the media the water started to clear up i just came home from school and my tank looks green again and a another fish died whats going on here i dont understand how is a sump better than a canister,when i had my fluval 404 my tank was crystal clear.my sump like i said has three parts skimmer-fuge-and return also i hanged a filter on the back of the sump which contains carbon i put it in the filter because the other bag i place on the return portion poped and some carbon went into my tank and i dont think its water flow because if that was the case i would of had this same problem with the fluval ,please help me out,this forum was created for a reason

I didn't read this right the first time. I thought that you had added a sump, not that you had removed your canister filter AND added a sump. What has happened here is that you have removed your biological filter. Your canister filter was housing the majority of your de-nitrifying bacteria and you've replaced that with a sock, fuge and carbon filter. These all accomplish very different things.

If you want to use Live rock as your biological filter you need much more of it. You may need more flow then you currently have as well. What type of corals do you want to keep in this tank? That will determine how much flow you should have. Right now your tank is going through a cycle (which is a VERY good thing). You want it to do this. Essentially when you removed your canister filter you turned this into a brand new tank. (For future reference if you ever need to remove a canister filter again you should slowly remove the bio media each week until there is none left. This way you give the bacteria colonies that live on your live rock time to "ramp up" so that they can hold the bio load of the entire tank)

If you do massive water changes you're going to end up fighting a never ending battle against your tank cycle that you'll eventually loose. Find your fish a new home temporarily and let nature take it's course. Your amonia, nitrate and nitrite levels will level off, you will get a breakout of all different types of algae. Don't fight it let it go. In a month or so everything will be back to normal and you'll have enough bacteria to sustain a good tank. If you remove the pollutants you won't have enough bacteria to sustain what you will eventually put into it. The higher your amonia goes during your cycle the higher the load that your tank will be ready for. If your keep your amonia at almost zero for the entire cycle you will have very small bacteria colonies and when you add your first two fish you will quadruple the bio load sending your tank into another cycle.

Hope that helps.

 

[PrettyBoy]

thanks alot guys ive heard enough good info from everyone,ive been thinking of getting that tap water filter to filter my water before putting it in my tank is that a ro system or do you guys recommend something else i dont want to spend to much on a ro unit so let me know if ya find something PM me with any results

 

[Tonyscoots84]

rodi if you could get it.. but ro is def. better then tap crap... lolz.. well check on ebay get the aquasafe rodi unit.. this would be the best investment u would ever make... well for the fishies.... lolz ttyl

 

[masterswimmer]

I wouldn't waste good hard earned money on the tap water system. The Aquasafe system that Tony has been pushing is an excellent system for under a $100. A cheap investment for your large investment.

JM $.02,
Russ

 

[nanoreefer22]

Heres a link to the exact one
http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUA-AQUARIUM-1...itemZ4437245614QQcategoryZ20684QQcmdZViewItem
-Kris
PS. I also use this as well as numerous people on the board.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

If you want to use Live rock as your biological filter you need much more of it. You may need more flow then you currently have as well. What type of corals do you want to keep in this tank? That will determine how much flow you should have. Right now your tank is going through a cycle (which is a VERY good thing). You want it to do this. Essentially when you removed your canister filter you turned this into a brand new tank. (For future reference if you ever need to remove a canister filter again you should slowly remove the bio media each week until there is none left. This way you give the bacteria colonies that live on your live rock time to "ramp up" so that they can hold the bio load of the entire tank)

If you do massage water changes you're going to end up fighting a never ending battle against your tank cycle that you'll eventually loose. Find your fish a new home temporarily and let nature take it's course. Your amonia, nitrate and nitrite levels will level off, you will get a breakout of all different types of algae. Don't fight it let it go. In a month or so everything will be back to normal and you'll have enough bacteria to sustain a good tank. If you remove the pollutants you won't have enough bacteria to sustain what you will eventually put into it. The higher your amonia goes during your cycle the higher the load that your tank will be ready for. If your keep your amonia at almost zero for the entire cycle you will have very small bacteria colonies and when you add your first two fish you will quadruple the bio load sending your tank into another cycle.

Hope that helps.

I like your analysis.