Friday night Karma contest

lol good answers people

 

YUP!!

Yeah, I'm just jealous. I wanted to "nail" everyone tomorrow (Ahh-humm!!) ;D

NR, you're an Old Pro dude! (like in a good way, lol)

 

P.S. I didn't read other people answer fist as I wanted to test my knowledge.
First off there's way too many fish and the tangs and butterfly shouldn't be there in the first place.
The tangs need way more room & the butterfly is not reef safe so either loose the fish or the corals. Even after getting rid of those fish you still have too many in there for that size of tank.

You didn't state your light cycle what type and how long are they on for and how old the bulbs are. But anyway if the bulbs are old an/or on too long that cold contribute to it algae growth.

Feeding everyday can also be contributing to the algae.

The wet dry' bio balls could be adding nitrates to the water if they are full of gunk as could the canister filter if not cleaned often enough.

Though the nitrates & phosphates are reading low it just means that there are no free nitrates & phosphates because they've been used by the algae for growth so limiting any extra into the tank is essential in getting a handle on the problem.

In addition the calcium is very low and mag is low as well. Alk is ok but could be a tad higher.
Most would say your temp is too low but with pipefish or seahorses lower temps are better.
Salinity is spot on and PH is within range.
If the fish consume all the food in short order and the bioballs and canister filter are kept clean then it could just be a phase of the tank since it is still young.

 

Hats off to blackraven...I totally forgot about the compatibility issue as checking that is second nature to me with all the years of fishkeeping I've done (FW & BW).

And yes way too many parts to this situation...but then it does make it more realistic.

 

Just thought of 2 other things that could contribute as well...type of substrate...too coarse and it could trap detrius and too little flow could mean it isn't staying in the water column long enough to get skimmed out.

 

No need for me to wait until 10am eastern time – this one has been nailed well.

I wanted to post to you all directly, too many good answers to do that – I am proud of the quality of people we have here on 3Reef !!

Hair Algae is something 99.9% of marine aquarists will battle at some point. The main causes are:

Phosphate, Nitrate and poor lighting spectrum.

The means by which these enter our systems are plentiful….

Solution are also plentiful, immediate action – water change with RO/DI and quality salt mix, Phosphate & Nitrate sponge and new bulbs if needed. Cut back on photo period and feeding schedule.

Often times on 3Reef you will read “do a large water change” when someone posts test results off the charts – this can be good advice, but remember to test PH in the tank and slowly adjust it (probably upwards) to the PH of the large water change. PH Shock will compound tank issues and its something not given enough attention.

The main problem with this weeks issue/question is that its too unrealistic – in an attempt to make the problem “easy” it became “absurd” and honestly everything would be dead in this tank absent of serious filtration and constant monitoring.

Next Friday question will be harder, I was just testing the waters here. Karma to be delivered shortly.

Thank you all for playing – see you next Friday !!!

 

Alright all you "nailers"...next Friday!

 

ok i havent read the other posts but heres my answer (PS i like this game)