should i just start over? =/

[asherah]

my tank is driving me crazy! Nothing appears to be helping my cloudy issue and for some reason my ammonia is 1!!

arghhhhh

my water is turning green even tho it's RO/DI and the TDS inline meter reads 23 in and 0 out.

I've tried carbon, algone, water changes, nothing.

I've got, aquaclear filter (currently with algone). Aqua C skimmer, maxi jet and via aqua pumps for flow. 25lbs of live rock (i'm wondering), and a ball of cheato that has doubled in size.

I'm so frustrated with it..

Maybe I should just start over but am I supposed to do with the fish!

asherah

[NewMariner]

How old is this tank? What do you have in it? Got any pics of the setup?

[awestruck]

We'll try to help but need more information:

What are all of your water parameters?

How long has your tank been established?

What livestock do you have (is it just one clown and the gsp)?

Cleanup crew?

How often are you doing water changes? How long are you mixing the water before putting it in the tank?

Lights? BB or substrate? If substrate, how much and what kind?

This is a start--let's go from there.

[Sk8r]

OK. Let's go through possibilities.
New sand, super fine? That can get up and walk until it develops a bacterial coating.
Are you dosing anything? That can cloud water.
On the other hand---you may be having an algae bloom.

I think I know what would fix it ASAP, but it costs: a diatom filter, or a cannister that's powerful enough to run a 1 micron filter: you're talking a separate pump, a cannister, 1" hose to and from your tank: you stick one hose in your tank---it sucks water into a superfine filter, it 'polishes' the water, because it takes everything out---algae, particulates, slime, and returns it to your tank. If you are having a bacterial bloom, this would fix it---but you're talking a couple of hundred dollars by the time you get an exterior [not water-cooled] pump, [pricey, about 50 to 80 dollars] hose, hose clamps, [cheap], cannister [varies, probably around 50], and 1 micron filter [expended on this problem.] Getting a dedicated diatom filter---Vortech makes one, about 99.00, plus 13.00 for the 'chalk' medium [you put it in the cannister, start the water flow and it plasters itself to the inner surfaces of the filter, becoming a really fine filter.]...but you still need an exterior pump to drive it...back to the 50.00 range.
On the other hand, if you have it, you have a real good backup solution for any future problem. I used to have one, and there've been a couple of times during the last couple of years that I could have used it.
HTH.

[asherah]

it's been up for 1 year.
it currently has
1 occellaris
1 royal gramma
1 watchman goby
1 lubbocks wrasse

ok all of a sudden the ammonia is 0 very strange..yesterday is at 1 and i did a 10 gallon water change.
ph 8.2
alk 5meg
calcium 450
ammonia 0
nitrite o
nitrates 5ppm

substrate - aragonite1inch live sand
bulbs - dual 96watt power compact - really old - new ones on the way
clean up crew - i had cerith and nassarius snails but had a hitchiker crab that killed them ( took care of him tho when i moved the rock he died)

i do water changes weekly..lately more often because of the crappy look and i had ammonia for some reason.

ok i think thats all the questions. i hope that helps.

asherah

[yellowwatchmen]

After reading some of your threads it seems you have a bunch of problems.

[asherah]

yup i do =(

[asherah]

maybe i should just start over.. but i coudn't do it until the end of the month and i don't know what i would do with my fish..

asherah

[NewMariner]

I believe it was a bacterial bloom. Why did you have ammonia? Did something die?

[asherah]

i don't know.. i thought my royal gramma had died but i saw her today.. so i dont know =(

[JKDMan]

are u using tap water through ur ro di unit tds 23 b4 its filtered
wow where do u live

[asherah]

heh yeh tap water through the RO/DI
I live in alberta canada. i'm guessing 23 is high heh

asherah

[spike78]

Originally posted by JKDMan
are u using tap water through ur ro di unit tds 23 b4 its filtered
wow where do u live

Holy crap dude! How is anyone supposed to understand what you are saying?

[awestruck]

Hi, ok, try a couple of things:

You have to get the ammonia to 0 and make sure it stays there. If it isn't 0 buy some Amquel so the ammonia has something to bind to--your animals are stressed with any reading.

Do another water change. And, make sure you are mixing it well (best to let it aerate for 24 hours--not sure if this is related to your issues but it needs to be mixed well).

Is your water moving briskly in the tank? I'm never too great at estimating water flow, and you said that you have 1 maxi jet powered by pumps. So, is it pushing water around?

Can you rig up a refugium? Even a little HOB would be very helpful, but again, $$$.

If your tds isn't reading 0-10, could you possibly buy distilled water from somewhere, or better yet, do you have a lfs that sells good RO/DI water? Clean water is a must as you well know! And, even more importantly, is it time to change the filters in your RO/DI machine?

The 1" sandbed may be causing other issues (nitrates) because it's not deep enough to denitrify. Consider making it one of the following: (1) BB, (2) A very, very thin layer of sand that can be vacuumed regularly, or (3) A DSB of 4-5". However, I doubt your algae bloom is from nitrates.

Turn your lights off for 3-4 days -- seriously -- turn them off. This should help get rid of a lot of it.

Sk8r mentioned a diatom filter and they do a wonderful job of taking junk out of the water. They are expensive, yet my lfs will rent one for the day. Is that a possibility for you?

Take your carbon out, rinse it really well, crush it between your hands to make new surfaces, and put it back in. However, if it's getting old simply buy some new carbon.

How old is the phosban? If it's getting older purchase some new stuff and LOAD it into your filtration system.

Clean your protein skimmer with vinegar; try to get like "brand new".

Alright, if possible try these ideas and see what happens. BTW, feed your fish once a day even though the lights are out. HTH.

[UrbanSage]

Originally posted by awestruck
Turn your lights off for 3-4 days -- seriously -- turn them off. This should help get rid of a lot of it.

You have this guy with dubious ammonia readings, He has algae growth and you tell him to turn the lights off.

Consider the thought that the algae is one of the few things keeping ammonia/nitrite at bay?

If the water itself is turning color.
Hook up a UV sterilizer for the time being make the weekly water changes 10% total tank volume each time.

When doing the water changes blow the rock clean with a power head before siphoning out free floating detritus.
Keep this up for two months. If it helps, keep it up until you learn the balance between what you are doing now and excessive maintenance.

The sand bed is fine at 1".
Definitely get the bulbs replaced.

Can we get a full tank shot?

[awestruck]

An Aqua C skimmer has average performance; I have one too and it does ok, but not great. A 1" sandbed is just enough to trap waste but not break it all the way down. I have talked to many, many people and they have stated that they use a pretty good skimmer if going bearbottom so that the detritus stays in the water column and is skimmed out. A DSB is able to denitrify as I'm sure you know. Even is you blow detritus into the water column, an average skimmer just isn't going to get all of the waste.

Perhaps I'm missing something but how does algae keep the ammonia/nitrates at bay? Dead animals, overfeeding, and/or lackof a sufficient cleanup crew are ususally the reasons for ammonia. Algae is an indication of high phosphates and changes in lighting.

If I am incorrect in this information I welcome advice.