High Tide Aquatics

HELP! MY TANK IS IN TERRIBLY BAD CONDITION!

Euphyllia

Euphyllia

Guest
BARcard
IN MY 14GALLON... I have a terrible problem with hair algae that won't go away and a beautification problem with hundreds of snails! I used Rowa Phos (The phosphate remover) and that doesn't work. I've pulled it off the rocks and it keeps growing back! I do water changes every weekend and still yet it doesn't do anything. I've done this for 1-2 months and now it is bugging me.
Now let's move on to the snail problem...
THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! When I look in the aquarium in the morning... I can't look in the aquarium because the glass is covered with snails! They are white and less than a 1/2 CM in size. They are SOOOOOOOOOOOO
ANNOYING! I've had them for about 2 months but a new batch of them (100 - 200) appeared yesterday!

My solution...
(This is in my 14gallon not the new 34)
in about a month from now, take all my coral that DOESN'T have hair algae or snails and put them into the 34 for a while and put my clowns in a BIG container. Take everything out of the 14gallon (put coral in 34)
and completely clean out the 14gallon. After that, put my clowns back into it and then set it up with new rocks (old ones have hair algae) and put the coral back once the 14 has cycled.
That is my plan... Any other alternatives???
 
Have you bought anything that eats hair algae, one or two turbo snails and blue legged hermit crabs.

What supplements are you giving your tank right now and what do you feed it, maybe you can cut back on food a bit.

Many algaes love light, so you might try lowering your photo period which means less lights on during day.

Some extreme things you might want to do is remove the worst rocks into a bucket with saltwater and scrub them vigorously removing what you can, being careful not to let them dry and making sure you use saltwater to rinse and put them back. If you dont have any blue legged hermit crabs they can be miracle workers, try them after you clean the rocks. Then a few days without light might help, maybe for the lights out you might want to move your most sensitive coral but if you have mostly softies you should be ok.

To completely clean the tank out probably isnt the best idea, you dont want to cycle your tank again if you can help it.

~smile Amy
 
If the tank is empty I would wrap it with a garbage bag and turn the lights out. Let it stay in the dark for 4-5 days then do a big water change. I would not worry about the snails, I just had a huge explosion of them this last week. I was gone and I think the tank sitter was feeding to much. You might be feeding your tank to much.
 
Zep brings up a possibility. Do you use RO/DI water to mix your own salt water, mix with tap, or buy premix?
What are your nitrate and phosphate levels at right now?
 
Maybe you can try a small sea hare. They're voracious algae eaters.
If not, than I also vote for blue legged hermit crabs (don't judge them by their size! :)), or Turbo snails.
 
Recognize that nutrients allow the algae to prosper. Cut back on the nutrients and ensure extra nutrients are removed (via skimmer, filter, etc or water changes). I would do the following (all at the same time):

1) Take out the rocks and scrub algae out.

2) 25% water changes every week, using a power head to suspend extra detruis/nutrients (spell?) when draining.

3) Get new bulbs, and cut back on the hours of light.

4) Use a filter sock to filter out the little algae that's suspended. Or use a canister filter if you don't have a sump.

5) Buy a few small hermit crabs so they can eat small left over food that the fish can't get.

6) Buy a variety of snails (one or two of each kind) so they can eat the "baby" algae, detrius (spell?), etc.

7) Run the phosphate canister.

8) Feed sparingly.

9) Ensure adequate water circulation - you need to export the unused nutrients out of your tank.

10) Run an UV if you have one.

11) Run a sulfur reactor if you have one :).


Yeah, it's the shotgun approach and it will take about 8 weeks to see the results.
But it worked for me. After the algae is gone, you can cut back on the amount of water changes, turn off the UV and sulfur reactor.
 
Over the last month I have not been adding supplements. I take some of the rocks out and clean them already (so that isn't anything new). I test my levels and get below 25(PPM I Think). I have the light on from 6AM to 3-4PM. I don't mix my own water. I get it from the LFS ad they get it from a place that filters it and they get it from the ocean. All my hermits are dead and I took all my snails out (they didn't do anything). I do water changes with salt water.
 
a) How much have you been feeding?
b)Levels of what are below 25ppm.
c) what water do you top off with?
d) Have you tried testing your waterchange water before you put it in your tank? What are the levels of that?
e) Add a few small hermits. What kind of snails did you have?
f) In my opinion, that's a pretty long photoperiod. Maybe shorten it a bit, especially if your corals won't suffer. When was the last time you replaced your lights?


as for your snails, move some to your other tank maybe? Or see if your LFS will take them as a trade-in, or pass them out to fellow reefers if they want some. It'd help if you could post a picture though....
 
have you tried a turbo snail? it's an easy thing to try. I tried a lot of the other remedies for my algae problems but found out that once I had the right grazers the problem was solved.
 
[quote author=Zepplock link=topic=5734.msg71998#msg71998 date=1230658043]
Ditch that LFS "ocean" water dude ;-)
Buy a good RO unit (~$100 on ebay) - it'll serve you as a source of drinking water too.
[/quote]

Agree here... that "ocean" water at the LFS i've seen comes with "free hair algae" with every 5 gallon purchase ;) Get an RO unit. Cheaper in the long run IMO... and you know what you're getting.
 
[quote author=Gomer link=topic=5734.msg71992#msg71992 date=1230655726]
Euphyllia, can you tell us what your current Nitrate and Phosphate levels are (a number if possible for each).


[/quote]

Ok, so the levels are...
Phosphate - (Between 0PPM & 25PPM) 12PPM???
Nitrate - 0PPM
 
Answers to these previously asked questions would help:

a) How much have you been feeding?
c) what water do you top off with?
d) Have you tried testing your waterchange water before you put it in your tank? What are the levels of that?
e) Add a few small hermits. What kind of snails did you have?
f) In my opinion, that's a pretty long photoperiod. Maybe shorten it a bit, especially if your corals won't suffer. When was the last time you replaced your lights?
 
I feed until my clowns stop eating... about 15 pellets each. The pellets are extremely small and it would take five of them to be the size of a regular pellet. They are the Red Tiny Bits.
 
[quote author=Roc link=topic=5734.msg72020#msg72020 date=1230675193]
Answers to these previously asked questions would help:


c) what water do you top off with?
d) Have you tried testing your waterchange water before you put it in your tank? What are the levels of that?
e) Add a few small hermits. What kind of snails did you have?
f) In my opinion, that's a pretty long photoperiod. Maybe shorten it a bit, especially if your corals won't suffer. When was the last time you replaced your lights?





[/quote]

Ok So how about answers to these questions
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top