Help Please

[cweber]

Ive talked to a few members about some problems ive been having with my tank. I know its hard to find a prob without seeing it but i will give as much info as i can. I have a 20g w/10g sump. I have a protein skimmer and cheato in the sump. The tank has been up since March, livestock since June. For the past 2 or 3 months nothing has been real happy. Almost all of my zoas and palys arent opening, i tryed some SPS and all but one monti cap frag has died. A couple shrooms are doin good and my toadstool has its days. I used to do 3-4 gallon water changes with distilled water every week sometimes every other, and top offs were with tap water. I have a lot of cyano right now with tons of bubble algae and some hair algae. I stoped do topoffs with tap water and use RO water for changes and topoff now. That has been 2 or 3 weeks ago. The last two water changes were 5 gallons back to back. My params as of right now are

pH-8.4
Trates-15
phos-0
calcium-480
alk-8
salinity-1.025

Sorry for the large post, i just want some more opinions. I know my ph is a little high but it stays steady, and i could use more cleanup crew. Can the algae be causeing probs?

[jjmcat]

If you have been using tap water then I doubt your phosphates are really 0 if you have all that algea.I know that's what your test kit might have said but to be honest with you I have never seen a phosphate test kit that was accurate other then the high dollar ones.I would do 10 to 20% water changes every week for the next month or so.After you have done this you should be seeing some improvements.It will take time to get your tank back into shape so dont give up.It wouldnt hurt to add a few snails as well.

[cweber]

I agree on that, thats why i stoped useing the tap water. I have 3 snails and a hermit but i need more. The bubble algae seems to be growing fast still though.

[jjmcat]

If you can get your macro to grow then it will keep your algae down in the display.If it was me and there wasn't much attached to your rock then I would take out your rock and give it a good scrub in saltwater then put it back in.This might help for now with the looks.Also would be a good time while the rock is out to scrape that bubble algae off as well.

[saltysooner]

what kind of lighting, how old are the bulbs?
what fish do you have and are they doing ok?
have you tried increasing the flow in the tank?

[cweber]

I have one clown and one 6line wrasse. They are both fat and healthy. I have a 70watt 14k halide thats 6 months old. I have a maxijet 900 and another 200gph PH in the tank, my return pump burnt up saturday so atm i have a maxi 1200 as return til i figure somthing out.

I dont know if this will make a difference but im trying to get my 75g going. All i need to do is pickup my bucket of salt and water and its ready. Will that solve any probs?

[bryon0508]

if you problem is due to por water quality, yes it could work... on sertin conditions of when you fill this tank you use rodi water.. it might fix you problem but if it something else it might go away for a little while then come back

[cweber]

Ive read about raising your alk with baking soda, is this correct? Is there a formula or rule of thumb to this?

[bryon0508]

thats only for a quick fix it wont keep it up.

[mskohl]

I would try and pick off any large bubble algae without breaking them. Then get a emerald crab - they eat bubble algae.

I agree on the phosphates and nitrates. They are probably higher than tests indicate. I think the cyano, diatoms, and hair algae use the nutrients to grow and take them out of the water column so that they aren't measured in the test sample.

I'd also add some phosguard in your sump - place it so that the water has to run through it. Preferably after the skimmer if you can. Keep up with the water changes and consider cutting back on your lighting and feeding.

[cweber]

I heard of turning the lights out for 2 or 3 days. Should i just cut it back or off a little while? Will the dying algae release harmful amounts of phos and trates back into the water?

Also i would like to buy a emerald crab this weekend, but wont e going home until Sunday afternoon. Would it survive in an ice chest till then or should i make other arrangments?

Thanks everyone for the advise.

[bryon0508]

make other arrangements i wouldnt put him through that

[cweber]

Thats what i thought.

[saltysooner]

just suggestions: try cutting back the photoperiod to 5 hours/day and decrease feeding. add a powerhead, polyfilter, increase alk to 10. do a 4g water change every other day for 1 week.
good luck