Any way to keep corals alive in a bucket for a few weeks?

[Fatal Morgana]

Every day is an overkill. You can do it once or twice a week, and that's more than sufficient. Again, it will be impossible to solve your algea problem overnight, and it is useless to blast the LR every hour or every day.

Oh, just to be sure it is clear, it is not your rock that make the junk. It is the critters that product detritus, and it get settle on the rock and sand.

 

[Anonymous]

But if the LR is loaded up and consta1ntly producing this detritus means I have to blast the LR every day in hopes of removing the hair algae?

No.

I am sorry you are so fustrated and as I said before- my wife and I were almost there also.

The fustration you are experiencing is because of the "limit" the inputs type of husbantry rather than the consume the outputs type of husbandry.

As you have found out you simply can not limit the inputs when livestock is present. And the tank is responding with hair algae to consume the resulting nutrients.

By contrast plant life can consume the outputs regardless of the (for instance) amount of ditrituos coming from the live rock. If you establish a thriving plant growth of say macros then the hair will be controlled.

Had my wife and I not discovered macros, we would have torn our system down also. Or made it a large planted FW tank. But then she and I both had our FW planted to compair the salt tank too. Now that we have plant life in the salt, it has become much easier to maintain, with no hair algaes, and thriving fish and corals.

 

[Anonymous]

Problem with macros's is I do not want any of them in the main tank.

I do not have enough electricity to run another light. Running a reverse cycle is not an option either since I do not want my living room lit up all night. I live in a condo so no basement or closets near by either.

It would be either a refugium sump with no skimmer or a sump/skimmer. No room do do both under the stand. I would have entertained the idea of adding a nice glass tank for the macros but the electrical issue is stopping me and to have a tank drilled for this.
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[Fatal Morgana]

There are certainly make ways to handle the problem, but "plant life" is not the only way.

Rob, so do you think you can do the manual removal of the algae and detritus while limit the amount of nutrient going to you water for a few weeks? I am sure you probably is in good shape, but make sure you do have your topoff water tested for TDS and nutrient (A/N/N/P) to make sure you are not fueling the algea's growth.

 

[Anonymous]

The top off is 0 TDS. Not tested for anything else? How do you test for others?

Ive been pulling out the hair algae and siphoning the detritus that is there but it comes right back.
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[ChrisRD]

Keep blasting the rockwork periodically and cleaning the detritus (along with all of the other stuff you've been doing) and you'll get back on track. If that's not showing visible signs of improvement in a few weeks you've got another source of phosphate IMO.

If you get to the point where you want to quit, I'd just trade-in/sell anything photosynthetic and run the system without lights for a while. That will definitely nuke any algaes and you still get to enjoy the fish and the hobby.

Then, when you're ready you can get back into the corals by just running the lights again. After a few months of letting the rockwork purge itself of all that detritus you'll have some nice clean rock to start with and I suspect you won't have any algae issues.

Something to think about...

 

[ChrisRD]

Also, if you're looking for snail species that eat hair/macro algaes do a search on conchs and Mexican Turbos.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks.
Ive been doing the yanking the HA for at least 6 months now and doing biweekly WC's for at least 3 months since i yanked the DSB.

Didn't want to lose the corals. The clownfish host in the frogspawns.

But maybe get a small temp tank with a light nad move the corals to it for a few months.
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[Fatal Morgana]

>... The top off is 0 TDS...

There is no such thing as "0" TDS, but that is another topics.

Anyway, if I remember correctly, you have RO/DI, right? Make sure the water filter is working well by testing the TDS with a calibrated meter. You can order calibration fluid for a few bucks, and there is nothing more assuring to know the water input is in good shape. If you run the meter on just the RO (no DI), it should give you some number between the RO/DI and the straight tap water. Confirm it if you don't want to go thru the hassle of ordering fluids.

I do believe that if you remove the nutrient periodically while limit the input, you will be back on track pretty soon. Some people has a working tank due to luck alone, some people has a nasty tank due to luck alone. Fortunately, I think, with good methodology and patience, you will be happy about your tank. IMO, you are not hopeless.

 

[Anonymous]

Rob:

here is a thread where a guy shows about 6 corals and then what he calls his display refugium. Was just thinking of your system. I think the refug is pretty awesome. Just my .02 cents.


http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthr ... did=119028

Bob

 

[Anonymous]

Tap water - 350 TDS
After RO - 35 TDS
After 1st DI - 4 TDS
After 2nd DI - 0 TDS

I topoff everything through a Kalk reactor. using Kent Kalkwasser.

I use Oceanic Salt as well for WC's.
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[Anonymous]

Thanks Bob, Just dont have the juice to run another tank.
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[Anonymous]

IMO, starting with all new LR is going to take you through another algae bloom process all over again. Like taking 2 steps back.

 

[Anonymous]

SO I should wait this out another year I guess.
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[Anonymous]

I personally would. JMO, of course.

 

[Anonymous]

Another year = Pateince over the edge and the sledgehammer some out.

I'll give it another month I guess to see if it improves.

Just hope this is the answer not another 6 months of a swamp.
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[Anonymous]

Rob

You will probably not have to wait a year to see improvements. But waiting is a good idea. It should get better in only a few weeks.

 

[Fatal Morgana]

The water parameter sounds reasonable. You should be able to see *immediate* improvement the moment you weed the tank. There is no way for the algae to grow so fast in your 60 gal that you can't keep up with them. Do weeding a couple time a week, and see if you can relax a bit and do only once a week or less, or speed up the pace, and do it every other day. Keep in mind that after the first one or two thorought weeding, you only need to spend no more than a few minutes for subsequent weeding. It is not as bad as it sounds.

 

[Fastmarc]

Rob, it is important for you to remember that most, if not all of us went through what you are going through right now.
I agree with Hidden. I would wait out this cycle.
I went through a long stage of algae domination as well. It took about 8 months for me to be rid of it. I was just persistantly pulling it out by hand when it was long enough.
It will go if you do not 'feed' it,

 

[Anonymous]

What am I feeding the algae?

I understand waiting but this had been a year so far with the algae.

Just hard to look at the tank with only a few corals not growing.
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