Unresolved Either diatoms or cyano and CuC ?

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Anthos312, Oct 19, 2010.

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  1. Tbstr3

    Tbstr3 Skunk Shrimp

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    sounds like your having the same issue i was having after recently going from a 29g iocube to a 55g aquarium i had a massive outbreak of this same brown rusty stuff all over eveything what i did was.

    1. brush all the stuff off everything getting it into the water
    2. did a water change every other day for two weeks (lots of money in salt)
    3. i added a CUC of 150 variety of snails and crabs no blue leg hermits even tho they do help
    4.ive been dosing this as instructed Microbe-Lift Special Blend Aquarium Bacteria at PETCO

    its been a couple weeks now and my tank is starting to come back i did loose every pulsing xenia in the tank but that is the only coral that died
    i woulda thought to have more issue actually since im running 500w of metal halide over my 55g some say extreme lol but things are looking up best of luck to you.
     
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  3. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    The CuC will not make a difference. Whatever is wrong with the tank is causing all snails to stay dormant inside their shells (been so long now many are probably dead)

    I will keep using RO water, and pickup a different salt mix.
     
  4. Atticus818

    Atticus818 Eyelash Blennie

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    I don't know how desperate you are, but you could aways start over completely with the stuff you already have. I recently bleached all my rock in a 50/50 bleach mixture for 2 days, the rocks go from disgusting algae covered fireworm infested hell holes, to pure white new looking rock. Though it is completely void of life. After the bleach soak you need to soak in clean water for about 3 days, doing water changes daily, then dry for about a week. I ended up doing a soak in ultra saturated water (with Prime/Amquel) after the dry time for 2 additional days, just for piece of mind to remove the bleach. Then just use your sand, and a new piece of LR to seed the whole tank, and start over. It may be 4 weeks or more, but it would be a viable solution if you are ready to quit.

    I hope it all works out, the RO should be making a difference IMO. If not, you need to test Nitrate and PO4 and let us know the results. I personally like the Chemi Pure Elite for dealing with PO4, as it is phosphate remover and carbon in one bag. Nitrates above 15 IME and your gonna get some algae and a lethargic CuC. PO4 also can be a coral killer, and is often left untested, but IMO is just as important as Nitrate and the lot.
     
  5. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    I think my plan of action is to first:

    1. Get some phosphate removing media and run that in my HOB filter
    2. Scrubbing the algae off the rocks periodically as it builds up
    3. Doing very often water changes
    4. Selling off my only 2 fish (six line wrasse, and Sri Lanka Chromis)

    I would rather them be in a mature healthy tank than mine....

    I am also concerned about startup costs if this doesnt work. I am going to give it about a month, and if I don't see any improvement I think I will just call it quits for a while and change over to a planted Freshwater tank. Once I have a full time job next summer, I will for sure a new tank for sure (and if i do call it quits for now, I will keep all my stuff so I will be able to use them next summer).
     
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  6. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    So i did a 3 day blackout and turned the MH 150W light on for the first time yesterday. I was very suprised, there was no extra algae growth. It looked fairly clean and that the snails also did some work i think. The palythoas were fully extended and looking good. I still havent gotten any phosphate removing media, i will soon. Any insight on this?
     
  7. N8thanExpl0sion

    N8thanExpl0sion Astrea Snail

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    I had a simular situation. That brown stuff everywhere... Some say it was a bateria infection others say Diatom blume... As you alread found out, if you dark out the tank for a few days things clear up. However for me once this happened, Green hair algae started up and in three days wa every where, then there was the Red Slime. Not sure if this was all related but there you go.
    Phosban is awsome, it is expencive if you get the Elite but worth every penny. Now you say that you are going to put this in you HOB. Depending on the type of HOB you have, putting phostpate removing material in there may only help a little. If you get a powerhead and a Phosphate reactor then this will work very well.

    I know money is tight, I only bring this up as possibly something to look for in the future, save up a few bucks and go this route. The idea is to have the water forced through the media, some HOB systems leaveroom for water to get around it, also some phosphate removing material loose their power if it is allowed for it to wiggle around alot.

    Just keep that in mind.

    If you start to see Algae coming around and you have phosphate material in your filteration I woudl also suggest to elevate your Magnesium. I use KENT Tech M. Magnesium to boost it. Dont do this unless you buy a test kit though. You can read around about raising Magnesium, I found this to be very helpful in my tank.

    As others have said, lave the lights on, I maintain 1.5hr early morning Actinics and then full spectrun for 6 hours and then 1.5hr Actinics only in the evening. Thsi works for me.

    Good luck
     
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  9. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !

    Sounds like your are finally getting a handle on the situation. Maintain course and be patient and I think you will see improvement soon.
     
  10. TriggersRule

    TriggersRule Feather Duster

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    I'm curious...did you ever check your tank parameters after you moved it? If so what was everything at?
     
  11. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    I test for nitrate and ammonia.

    ammonia 0ppm and nitrate less than 5ppm. There was a slight diatom bloom after the tank moved. it then suppressed and cleared up only to then be followed by this crazy brown mess thats been happening for probably a month and a half now. Parameters have been fairly normal.
     
  12. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    So its been a few weeks. I have not honestly done any RO water changes (except 2 and they were large). But other than those 2, all ive been doing is topping off water.

    I also turned off my 150W MH and am using a T-5(Not high output) 30" 36W setup right now. Its really low light levels but it has been enough to keep the corals alive. I honestly blacked out the tank for at least 5 days and have slowly been adding hours of light with this 36W old setup i have.

    The weird thing is, mostly all of the brown stuff has dissipated, my snails are moving around everywhere now, and corals are even starting to open and look good. I am not sure if this is just a phase that had to pass or if my metal halide is too much light (without the use of a skimmer or RO water for water quality) and causing too much algae growth.

    Sry this was long, what do you all think? I am interested to see what happens after i slowly increase my light levels back with my 150W MH.