GHA breakout dying. nitrates at 40!

Discussion in 'Algae' started by pizza101, Sep 26, 2013.

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  1. pizza101

    pizza101 Flamingo Tongue

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    So I am on the downward end if a 8 or so month long algae breakout. My nitrates have always been about 2 to 8 and they are at 40 right now.Would this be caused by all the algae die off or maybe the extra 20 turbo snails I put in the tank that is eating the GHA. If so should I just wait it out or do something major. I also just did a ten percent water change. Any help would be great especially from someone that's been thru a bad and long outbreak from a seasoned tank. Thanks in advance!
     
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  3. ingtar_shinowa

    ingtar_shinowa Giant Squid

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    To put it in perspective a 10% water change it like a bandaid on a sucking chest wound. It dropped you nitrates from 40 to 36. To control nitrates you need exportation (algae, gas, bacteria)

    Algae- GHA, macro, tuff scrubber
    Gas- enough LR or sand to create the aerobic and anaerobic environments to turn no2 into n2
    Bacteria- Great skimmer and a carbon source (ie BP's, Vodka, Glucose, Vinegar)



    At the end of the day, this is all the help anyne can give you with the lack of details about your system.
     
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  4. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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  5. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    +2

    Don't know what you did to kill the algae, but:

    1- the dying algae is no longer feeding on nitrates.

    2- the dying algae is now releasing the nitrates it once absorbed.

    3- the dying algae is producing more nitrates from decay.

    If you're looking to manage nitrates with water changes, they'll need to be larger and more frequent, at least until you get the levels under control. Vacuuming out the dying algae while removing water will help a lot. Also, if you don't have a RO/DI filter, you're wasting time and salt by replacing dirty water with dirty water.
     
  6. sailorguy

    sailorguy Torch Coral

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    Try to remove as much algae as you can manually so it doesn't contribute by releasing organics when it dies.Do larger water changes and blow off your rockwork prior to them with a turkey baster.You also may need to be using something to lower phosphates,even if your po4 is low according to tests there could still be enough to feed the algae.
     
  7. yvr

    yvr Skunk Shrimp

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    You should try and remove/siphon out as much of the algae in the short term. In the long term you may have to examine how you care for your tank. There are some commercial dry foods also contain excess nutrients and other undesirable things like nitrates, phosphates etc so I strain/rinse my fresh/frozen foods before feeding my tank. You may want to consider feeding your fish less often. If you have bio balls/media, check if they are dirty or get rid of them if you have enough live rock. Also, changing your photo period, light bulbs, adding more flow, using RO/DI water with a good salt. If your phosphates are high you can add a phosphate remover like Tropic Marin Elimi-Phos also, increasing flow in your tank may help too.
     
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  9. insanespain

    insanespain Ocellaris Clown

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    Need more details about your system, and what you did to finally get the GHA to die off. But everyone has pretty much covered the reasons why your nitrates have crept up with the die off. I wouldn't worry about 40 imo. Some ppl freak out, but I ran a tank that had that high of nitrates forever, and mushrooms and fish didn't care one bit. In my personal experience, and I'm sure this varies, but I have found that limiting phosphates is the MAIN factor in limiting algae growth. It wasn't until i bit the bullet and bought a reactor and GFO that I finally started winning my algae battle.
     
  10. pizza101

    pizza101 Flamingo Tongue

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    Okay ill start out by saying i know its my fault.About a year ago things got a little tight financially. I slowed my water changes down a lot etc. I started to get some GHA. I then pulled out all of my live rock and scrubbed them under tap water. At this point for two days the rock looked great. then it started growing back and covered everything! Im sure the leaching live rock is the cause of most of the trats and phosphate problem.

    So with all the fault and problems out of the way here is the long hard road to recovery began. I first strted with a 30% water change RO/DI of coarse. then i upgraded my lights to all LED and love them ( so does my power bill), I purchased a 36 watt UV sterilizer and plumbed it in,bought a two little fishes phosban reactor with GFO, bought the wp-40 jaeboe wavemaker( best purchase i have ever made for my tank 85 dollars and it has replaced 5 korillas and works almost to good!), 15 LBS miracle mud put in sump with cheato and calurpa, and upgraded to a reef octopus skimmer instead of the corallife that i had. i also have started to use nothing but Thrive products for dosing and i just love them all! The biggest impression is from the 20 mexican turbos and sea hare i added and now i can start to see rock again! Its a great feeling to be honest. I think the tank is about 50% cleaned and i couldn't be prouder. PS. I have had this tank set up for 13 years now.
    It is a 100 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump...
     
  11. ingtar_shinowa

    ingtar_shinowa Giant Squid

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    just keep at it. I think you are headed in the right direction and may be able to cut feedings back a bit
     
  12. pizza101

    pizza101 Flamingo Tongue

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    thanks everyone! you have to appriciate such great feedback.