HELP!?!? Algae abundant and water odor

[larryldavis]

Hello...

I'm not new but need some major league help, as I've gotten in trouble! I have a 55 gallon with a Aqua C Remora, approximately 70 pounds of live rock and a very thick sand bed. I have 4 - 48" vho bulbs.

I only have two fish in my tank and have tried to populate heavily with trochus and bumblebee and nassarius snails to control algae. This is an established tank, approximately five years old. I have plenty of flow with three large powerheads.

This tank was marvelous until the last six months. I've developed a super bad hair looking algae on the live rocks and have what appears to be a rusty colored film looking algae on the glass. In addition, the water smells nassssssssty!

I have tried drastic water changes with RO/DI water and have been getting nowhere. Does anyone have any suggestions? I need some major help, quick! Thanks in advance!

[drummereef]

And nothing has died, right? How much flow do you have and do you run carbon? I'd probably get the carbon in there asap.

[larryldavis]

Nothing has died that I can see. Plus it's been building over time. As for carbon, I've never even been told about needing to use carbon. The only filtration this tank has ever had is the sand bed and live rock. Where would I use/add carbon? Dumb question, but I'm quite neive!

[larryldavis]

Nothing has died that I can see. Plus it's been building over time.

Three powerheads running approximately 260 gph each. As for carbon, I've never even been told about needing to use carbon. The only filtration this tank has ever had is the sand bed and live rock. Where would I use/add carbon? Dumb question, but I'm quite neive!

[EQCM2B]

Have you cleaned your skimmer lately?

[drummereef]

If you have a sump, then in there. If not, you could temporarily use a hob filter, like an aquaclear. There's something else going on here we need to get to the bottom of.

[larryldavis]

The entire skimmer? Or the collection cup? I haven't cleaned the skimmer in forever, actually. should I be doing this? Could this be part of my problem?

[drummereef]

Oh yeah. It's just dumping the skimmate back into the tank!

[drummereef]

For that matter, you might want to clean the entire unit + the pump. You should be emptying the collection cup at least weekly.

[larryldavis]

How often should I be cleaning this out? There doesn't appear to be much to clean out when I did it last. It's an Aqua C Remora. It seems to gather more water in the cup than it does foam, but I assumed this is a characteristic of this model?

[drummereef]

They aren't the most efficient skimmer out there - even though I like mine. :D You should be cleaning it out at least once a week if not more. If it's collecting clear water, then you need to raise the collection cup up to gather more foam. But, right now I'd be skimming a bit more on the wet side for a while. Just make sure it doesn't overflow back into the tank.

[EQCM2B]

If it has been that long then I would clean it. Does it still make skimate? There is a screw in the top of the skimmer that you can take out and use the bottle brush that should have come with your skimmer you can brush away anything that might be clogging up the inside of the skimmer. Just be carefull when reinstalling the screw as it will screw all the way in and come out the bottom of the hole if you are not carefull. HTH

[drummereef]

And make sure the maxi-jet is clean to the bone while you're at it.

[larryldavis]

Ill give that a try for starters. Hopefully that'll make a huge difference, combined with aggressive RO/DI water changes. Is there any livestock that can be used to clean the rocks, or do I need to manually do this? In addition, I'm worrying that maybe my sand bed is toooooo deep? I've heard pros and cons on this?

[drummereef]

How thick is the sandbed?

[larryldavis]

It's at my office, so I can't look at the moment. In the highest spot, probably two to three inches above the black moulding on the front of the tank. so that'd make me guess it to be 3-4".

[drummereef]

No, that's not too thick at all. You are fine there. Sounds like the skimmer maintenance is the issue.

[larryldavis]

Do you think that would cause the water odor? What abour the hair algae? It's thick and nasty on the rocks. Do I have to manually remove this? or is there a critter fix? :)

[EQCM2B]

For may hair algae I have a Lawnmower Blenny and for my sandbed I have a Diamond Gobie. They stay on top of things rather well. But I would try to take care of at least the smell and check all water perameters first.

[larryldavis]

I'll do some serious cleaning on the protein skimmer tomorrow. You've been EXTREMELY kind and I'd love to report back to you on this! Hopefully this is my fix!?!?!!?

[drummereef]

I would try to manually remove it first. Adding another critter will increase the bio load, which intern adds to the problem. The stink is from the skimmate overflowing into the tank and causing the nutrients to get out of control. Adding some good quality carbon will help with the odor problem. If it were me, i'd add a phosphate remover like Rowaphos or Phosguard. It's not a permantent solution but should help a little.

[larryldavis]

Do I need to buy a seperate filter to use w/the carbon? Or is there a way to use the carbon to produce some result any other way?

[drummereef]

Do you have a sump?

[larryldavis]

Nope...just lots of sand bed, live rock and protein skimmer.

[EQCM2B]

I have my carbon in a 100 micron bag laying in my sump about half full of carbon. Work wonders for me.

[drummereef]

You could get a hang-on back filter like an Aquaclear 70. Even if it is for temporary use. Others use canister filters for this, but it's another something to have to clean out. They're a real pain imo.

[larryldavis]

If I do that, should I change the carbon out frequently for a while, or will that do me any good?

[drummereef]

I would change the carbon monthly.

[larryldavis]

I'll give this all a try tomorrow and see if I start noticing any changes. I appreciate your help greatly. I'll try to check back in w/you on this post. Thanks again, you're a lifesaver!

[drummereef]

Hope it all works out for you! Keep us posted! :thumbsup:

[PatMayo]

You will have a tough road to hoe. I don't understand why you waited so long to do anything about it.

I would reduce the feeding to virtually nothing. I didn't see you mention any corals. If you do not have corals turn the lights off for a week. It will help with the algae. As well I would do 50% water changes every other day for while. Also I would get a hang on magnum and run carbon through that, it's the most effcient way to run the carbon.

I would also get a RowaPhos reactor and run some Rowa to reduce phosphorus. Your tank is most likely full of it. Two Little fishes makes an inexpensive reactor that works well.

Here are some links that may help as well.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=147010

http://www.melevsreef.com/gha.html

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2002/chem.htm

Do some more research on tank maintenance. It will make your life much easier in the future. This link also will help.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239848

Good Luck,

Regards,

Pat

[john2883]

It sure was nice of everyone to give you a very expensive, long solution to your problem, I have a 55 with virtually your exact setup (maybe 10 lbs less rock). A: whoever insinuated that a Remora is not an efficient skimmer is probably not running it correctly. B: I put together a cheap fuge/sump system with a second hand sump I bought for $25 from a guy here in CO, a hang on Overflow I bought on Ebay for $30, a Mag 7 return I bought new for $40, and a DIY light setup that runs bout $15 total at Home Depot. Once set up, I started a Chaeto ball in the sump, hand picked the hair algae clumps, purchased 1 emerald crab to clean up the remainder my Tangs didnt get to, and voila: no more hair algae nonsense.

[john2883]

Oh, and running active carbon doesnt do a lot in my experience, I started the tank with a Fluval 304 and moved it to my African Tank pretty fast as I found it to do nothing additional.

[PatMayo]

Rowa reactor is $20.00 or so .Pretty cheap in my estimation.
Carbon does a lot. Most successful tanks use it at one time or another. It's been proven scientifically to be beneficial at removing some organics, heavy metals and other contaminates.

I think the biggest sump you can get and cheato is the best long term solution. "The solution is dilution."

I had a remora on my 46. In my estimation it's not the best skimmer but certainly better than most others it's size. For a heavily stocked tank I think there are much better solutions.

Regards,

Pat

[larryldavis]

Thanks for the overwhelming support and list of ideas! I cleaned the skimmer yesterday. Holy s*#t...talk about nassssssty and gross, and full of smelly stuff! I think this is the beginning of drastic improvement for my tank!

I'll keep you all posted!

[Bluetooth]

In reading this thread, I am a bit confused. Was the problem that the original poster never emptied the skimmer cup, or were the suggestions made for him to take apart the skimmer itself and clean it? Was the original poster just not emptying the collection cup?

[larryldavis]

I took apart the skimmer altogether and cleaned it inside and out. I emptied the cup frequently. What came out of the skimmer was nasssssssty!

[larryldavis]

Okay, I've cleaned the skimmer, and am starting to do aggressive water changes. I have also added a great assortment of turbo, margharita and nassarius snails. How many water changes do you think I'm looking at before I notice an improvement in water quality?

Thanks!