latest water test, algae

[daytonaconnecti]

just finshed water tests temp 80 sg 1.023 po4 0 no3 10 still getting some green hair, and red turf on a few rocks, any ideas.. maybe recycling.. i had a red reef crab and a blue leg die that i didnt know until their shells came to the front of the glass...

 

[Krish]

I had some major red slime algae in my sump in the fuge section where I run a light on an alternate photoperiod from my tank, but NO algae at all in my tank. The only difference I'd say between the two is wattage per gal. Before upgrading my lights earlier this week I had 1.4 watts per gallon in the tank and 3.6 watts per gal on my sump. Just some thoughts I'm throwing out. Maybe lighting has something to do with it. Not sure about flow but I have about 750 gph pumping through a 12 gal sump, and in the tank, I have 2670 gph. My nitrates are at 6ppm right now. Your tank may still be cycling though which means the algae will come and go for a bit. I guess I never got it in the tank because the conditions were better for it in the sump, but nevertheless it was still there. No 2 systems are the same though. I just wanted to give you an idea of what is happening in my tank (5 months old) incase it may be of some help to you or spark some thought for you...Best of luck daytonabill!

 

[daytonaconnecti]

great thanks, maybe with those critters dieing on me, that may of had something to do with it....ill keep trying...later daytonabill

 

[Krish]

Check your phosphates too if you can. Algae loves them too!

 

[DonW]

If your using a off the shelf P kit like a salifert and your P is that high, then its to high. Check into inputs like food, saltmix, bad di........ Your tank is still brand new if I remember right. Just keep doing your weekly water changes and the high N will be under control soon. When the P and N go away so will the algae.

Don

 

[daytonaconnecti]

the po4 was 0 the nitrates where 10,

 

[DonW]

the po4 was 0 the nitrates where 10,

Oops I misread the post, thought it said .23. If thats sg, Id get that up to 35ppt.

Don

 

[daytonaconnecti]

don does that have anything to do with my algae,sg being low?what is the right sg.

 

[DonW]

1.026/27 may have something to due with the deaths. Are you using swing arm or refract?

Don

 

[daytonaconnecti]

sorry don, sg is 1.023 i have two swing arms they both read the same i used a friends refract that was just calabrated, and it read alot higher, so iam not sure...he has a 55gal thats great.

 

[FishinInTheDark]

I just wanted to mention that the crab shells that you have seen could very well be molts. They do this to grow.

 

[Kensn]

I would calibrate your swing arm to his refractometer, the swing arms are known for bad readings. If you make a mark on it where the refractometer shows the correct SG you can use it, but I would still invest in a refractometer... They're cheaper then a couple of fish.....

 

[daytonaconnecti]

would both swing arms,different brands,that have the same reading be off that much...one i could see, but both...

 

[daytonaconnecti]

I just wanted to mention that the crab shells that you have seen could very well be molts. They do this to grow.

i see the shells, but nothing inside that i can see,also no other shells for them to use...

 

[NaH2O]

How old is the tank? Are you using RO/DI? Have you experienced any other deaths? What livestock do you have in the tank, and how many gallons is the tank?

 

[daytonaconnecti]

hey nikki, this is the sane tank that i stwitch from cc to bb about 4 weeks ago...

 

[NaH2O]

Are you taking a powerhead to your rocks? The rocks might be going through a shedding process, and if the detritus collects on the rocks, then it could fuel the algae growth. I still can't remember....are you using RO/DI water?

 

[Krish]

That's a great point Nikki made daytonabill. The thing I have done differently this time around with my setup, is I blow off my rocks with a powerhead before each water change. You can't imagine what will come off of them and figured if I didn't do that every week, then I'm sure I'd have algae growing. Give it a shot...You have nothing to loose.

 

[FishinInTheDark]

Ah, their shell homes! I thought you meant that their exoskeletons were found. Sorry for butting in!!!

 

[NaH2O]

Ah, their shell homes! I thought you meant that their exoskeletons were found. Sorry for butting in!!!

Conni - I thought the same...I kept picturing molts. How were they acclimated? I recently had to take my tank down and set it back up the next day...despite the great care I took, I lost my long spined urchin, and have noticed one hermit loss (I only had 3 to start with). I think I probably had a spike in parameters that was fast, and stressed the livestock a bit. I'm wondering if the same happened in your system. A slight spike or drop in water parameters after the substrate removal, and you experienced a small die-off. The algae will be right there to make use of the nutrients....similar to the algae cycles of a new set-up.