MBVette January 17, 2013 Author Share January 17, 2013 Now that I have seen some sign that this might improve Im just going to let it run for awhile. I will keep doing weekly water changes with RO water with new cartidges, so hopefully with everything in the next week or two the water will be clear. I did just test again to see where everything stands. I am still getting high phosphate readings of .08, but the nitrates are reading 0 again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE January 17, 2013 Share January 17, 2013 Scott, Give me a call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE January 17, 2013 Share January 17, 2013 ....ooops. Nevermind I found your number Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 17, 2013 Share January 17, 2013 It does look a little better. I would just let it run like this and it will clear up in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basser9 January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 Heres a link for .5 micron bags . A 200/1/.5 bag setup works great on the output of a GAC reactor and a .5 bag alone on your main system can clear up a tank having issues. http://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?query=%2Bfilter+%2Bbag&i=filterbags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 Heres a link for .5 micron bags . A 200/1/.5 bag setup works great on the output of a GAC reactor and a .5 bag alone on your main system can clear up a tank having issues. http://www.dudadiese...ag&i=filterbags +1! No chemicals or "changes." Just a quick cleanup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette January 18, 2013 Author Share January 18, 2013 Well the tank is 95% clear this morning, so I think we got the problem figured out. Now that I can see into the tank it looks like a couple frags died, mainly the two ORA ones I got a few weeks ago. Some mushrooms look pretty bad, but the torch, frogspawn, and the zoas all seem to be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 looks ALOT better! So did you use the algae fix stuff or just the water changes?? I didnt really see where you said what you did.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 He mentioned he added the algaefix product on the 16th, a few days ago. It seems to have worked pretty nicely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 Looking good. My Monday it should be crystal clear at this rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette January 18, 2013 Author Share January 18, 2013 On Wed I added GFO and algaefix, and a 35g water change yesterday. I'm dosing algaefix again today and will do another water change in Monday. I have new rodi cartridges coming today so I can start making water again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 Nice. Once you have an idea of what the problem was, potential solutions opened up for you. Are you skimming wet now, too? You're going to want to export the nutrients that were trapped in the algae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 So was the diagnosis that it was the biopellets, or phosphate in the rocks or in the rodi output? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette January 18, 2013 Author Share January 18, 2013 I'm fairly certain it's phosphates from the rodi. I was getting high readings straight out of the rodi unit. But since its clearing up now I don't know that I'm going to bother taking the rocks out to test them. It had nothing to do with the bio pellets since the bloom got much worse once we turned them off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 I'm fairly certain it's phosphates from the rodi. I was getting high readings straight out of the rodi unit. But since its clearing up now I don't know that I'm going to bother taking the rocks out to test them. It had nothing to do with the bio pellets since the bloom got much worse once we turned them off. Sounds like you still don't know what could really be the issue. When multiple variables are occurring simultaneously, it's hard to really pinpoint a source. I remember at the beginning of the post you said that the phosphates were zero, but now you're getting readings from the r/o. If I were to reason this out, my guess is that the r/o cartridge just needs to be changed and the underlying cloudiness will still be present. I'm suggesting that the biopellets are the culprit since they were used before the tank had a chance to cycle properly. I'm sort of agreeing with Bob in that you probably should leave it alone and let things run their course. If the fish aren't dying and the corals are still existing, then all you have is a little cloudy water. Nature isn't crystal clear everyday either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette January 18, 2013 Author Share January 18, 2013 Well whatever it was it seems to be dying off right now. I've got GFO running and added some cheato. But otherwise I'm going to let it run for a month or so without making any changes other than water changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 18, 2013 Share January 18, 2013 Leaving it be is the best thing for now. I think we are pretty much sure it was algae and not a bacteria bloom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM January 19, 2013 Share January 19, 2013 I'm confused at why the RO/DI would be putting out phosphates. Was your TDS meter still showing 0 while it was testing positive for phosphates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette January 19, 2013 Author Share January 19, 2013 Yes the TDS was still showing 0. I was using a Hannah checker, and at this point I have 0 faith in it since my readings were bouncing around. I'm probably going to get a salifert kit or something else soon. But based on the tank clearing up as soon as I put GFO in, I think either way it has to do with phosphates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 19, 2013 Share January 19, 2013 I think the tank probably cleared up more from the addition of the algaefix then the phosphate remover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 January 19, 2013 Share January 19, 2013 I too abandoned the Hanna meter (I have both low range PO4 and phosphorous) due to unreliable readings. Salifert is tough to read reliably at SPS-range PO4 IMO. I have been using Red Seas for the past 9 months and really like it (low range gradations). $0.02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 19, 2013 Share January 19, 2013 I've had only good and consistent luck with the ULR Phosphorus meter and I've owned mine for about 2 years now. I wonder why you're both getting inconsistent readings? I would not trust the readings after dosing the Algae Fix, however. As the algal cells are killed off, phosphates and other nutrients will be released back into the water column. During this time, your readings may be unreliable or at least inconsistent with any test kit. From looking at the tank earlier and seeing the greenwater, I'm pretty sure that the cloudiness had nothing to do with the biopellets. It was not a bacterial bloom - it was a single-celled algae bloom. Backing this up are: 1) This occurred after the hair algae outbreak was consumed by a sea hare (not addressing the source, but harvesting the algae; and, 2) it quickly responded to dosages of Algae Fix Marine. I can't say with certainty where the nutrients came from that are fueling these outbreaks. Phosphates are among the early ions released from depleted DI resin but inspection of the color-indicating resin cartridge indicated that possibly only half of the resin was completed (it's unlikely that only the cation resin was fully depleted, but possible). The rock is another possible source. And, of course, feeding is a possibility. If the biological filter is not well developed, it could be that even the little bit of feeding that goes on raises the tank's phosphate levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette January 20, 2013 Author Share January 20, 2013 Came in today to do some work around the building and the tank is 100% clear, looks awesome now. The one thing I have noticed in the little bit I watched the tank today, the yellow and purple tang are fighting more than in the past. Dont know if since it was cloudy they were able to get away from each other or something else. But there might be a yellow tang coming up for sale soon. I dont know if you can tell in the pictures or not. but the back and sides walls have a slight bit of a brown algae (I think diatoms) on them but the front is clear. Also along the water line there is a faint line of something, but that could be remnents of dead algae? Nothing I am worried about. Also here is a pic of the RODI cartridges I changed. You can see the resin is only have color changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc January 20, 2013 Share January 20, 2013 looks very good now! awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds January 20, 2013 Share January 20, 2013 Now that's a nice tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now