Reboot. Reset. Nuclear War. Let's Begin.

[reef keeper]

I'll tell you what. Just for you guys. I will completely tear apart my tank after I have my new frag tank set up. Then will spend hours and hours scrubbing rock, kalk pasting the bubble algae and then rebuilding everything.

 

[bart84]

This is what his whole 220gal looks like, there is no way of taking the rock out and scrubbing it. yes it could be done but he would have to destroy the whole tank anyways.

 

[Cliff]

If it's that bad I would say start over.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Take a course brush and scrub the crap out of it. If you keep damaging the tissue that is out of the rock the algae can't photosynthesize and it will start to die off regardless of runners. All algae are the same if you stop or restrict photosynthesis they die off. It is a very manual way of doing it but you will get it under control if you keep on it. I myself don't like starting over unless I absolutely have to and have killed off this type of algae a few times using this method. Will it be a pain? Hell yeah! lol You can beat this if you stick to it.

Honestly, if the rock isn't completely covered (as in any bare space at all even rotate it a bit) as long as conditions remain good in the tank and it has some time Coralline will take hold and it will out compete the turf algae. The reason we like Coralline in our tanks is because of its powerful algaecide that it gives off constantly in an effort to out compete other species and time is the only way you will get that benefit without resorting to established rock.

 

[bart84]

@Cliff. It's that bad. Like I say it's the whole reef. I am all for the natural way and fix it naturally. But there is no way.

 

[Kman]

I have a large tank to with lots of live rock and have dealt with algae outbreaks manually like this for decades. It is just being lazy if you use the excuse it is to large a system. It is labor intensive don't get me wrong. Starting over doesn't address what caused the issue in the first place so unless you fix the cause it will just do it again all over. Look at it this way is this not the second time this tank got started over? How did that work out? I base my response on my experience in handling these issues. I don't give up.

But hey clearly what do I know I have only been in the hobby for decades...

 

[AdInfinitum]

If you are going to nuke it...leave your corals in the main tank, as long as the algae isn't growing over it. Put your new dry rock in the frag tank on a completely isolated system with full lighting and add nothing living but some seed bacteria and some scraped off flakes of coralline from a good clean system then let it grow. Once the rock has a good bit of coverage then make the switch. That should satisfy your desire to use fresh rock but prevent the inevitable colonizing with undesirable algae.

 

[Kman]

Honestly, if the rock isn't completely covered (as in any bare space at all even rotate it a bit) as long as conditions remain good in the tank and it has some time Coralline will take hold and it will out compete the turf algae. The reason we like Coralline in our tanks is because of its powerful algaecide that it gives off constantly in an effort to out compete other species and time is the only way you will get that benefit without resorting to established rock.

Oh I agree. Manually remove the turf and let it run the course. Keep the parameters locked in and it will go away.

 

[reef keeper]

I haven't started this tank over. I sold my old system and my old rock and started this one with used cooked rock.

Google red turf and see what people say. It's not the fluffy stuff. It's the nightmare stuff

 

[Nighthawk26]

I have a large tank to with lots of live rock and have dealt with algae outbreaks manually like this for decades. It is just being lazy if you use the excuse it is to large a system. It is labor intensive don't get me wrong. Starting over doesn't address what caused the issue in the first place so unless you fix the cause it will just do it again all over. Look at it this way is this not the second time this tank got started over? How did that work out? I base my response on my experience in handling these issues. I don't give up.

But hey clearly what do I know I have only been in the hobby for decades...

Easy Tiger!

Couple things here. If you have ever had to tear down a fully set up 220G then you know how much work and a PITA it is, so I am pretty sure you can not call someone lazy for taking that on.

As for the cause of the the problem, he seems to have indicated where he is confident the problem came from. If your comment of him being lazy was from the perspective of why didn't he do something about it then as it got worse, well he has offered an explanation for that oversight as well. He clearly said he was rolling in poop happy that he felt he was getting great coloration of colaline. Clearly that turned out to be wrong.

Everyone is trying to learn her (or at least they should be), and everyone has different levels of experience. That coupled with the comment of the decades you have been doing this suggest so me that you know better how to talk to people. With all that experience I'm sure you have a ton of helpful hints to offer. I can only imagine his frustration.

 

[Cliff]

One question. The rock you used. When it was cooked did you get all of the PO4 out of it? Did you let it sit for a couple of weeks and then re-test to see if anymore is leaching out? Just a question.
I know when I cooked the rock for my current system I got the phosphates down to zero let it set for a week and all of a sudden it would be right back up there again. It took me quite a few weeks of dosing with Lanthanum before it wouldn't leach anymore

 

[reef keeper]

I cooked it right down to zero. 2 months of water changes, testing, lanthanum chloride. It stayed at zero for a few days, and I've never had a phosphate problem at all.

My levels have been pretty consistent. 10 nitrate, <0.03 PO4.

 

[Nighthawk26]

Any chance something in there is acting similar as cyano? In the sense that there are phosphates in there being consumed by X? My system had cyano, but always tested 0 phosphates. We know this isn't possible.

 

[reef keeper]

Once I get my frag tank set up, I'm gonna crank the gfo and see what happens. I don't wanna be seen as lazy.....

No seriously. It thrives in low nutrient, high flow, well lit aquariums. I'm kinda screwed.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Any chance something in there is acting similar as cyano? In the sense that there are phosphates in there being consumed by X? My system had cyano, but always tested 0 phosphates. We know this isn't possible.

Not true!

Cyano has the capacity to fix it's own nitrogen in the absence of available nitrate and even more remarkably it can produce extracellular polyphosphatase enzymes to extract bound phosphorus/phosphate from substrates that are not otherwise biologically available. It is truly amazingly adaptable!!!

 

[teebone110]

If your corals are looking good and this turf algae isn't growing over your frags or coral bases, I would stay the course.
I think I have seen this before, and it may go away on its own? Just my opinion, but I would aim to keep your corals thriving and things may take care of themselves. The frags in your pics look good!

 

[AdInfinitum]

Once I get my frag tank set up, I'm gonna crank the gfo and see what happens. I don't wanna be seen as lazy.....

No seriously. It thrives in low nutrient, high flow, well lit aquariums. I'm kinda screwed.

Honestly IMO you have been the opposite...maybe a bit of laziness would do you some good

...sometimes instead of doing more you really need to do less and just let time and nature solve your problems for you. If you provide conditions that favour what you wish to keep and stress the competition, eventually what you want will win.

 

[AdInfinitum]

...BTW Did you ever seed coralline in the tank? When I set up new systems with a lot of new rock or rock that has been in sumps I always throw a handful of coralline scrapings into the return flow to seed it through the tank then crank up the Mag levels to let it grow out before I add other things.

 

[Nonuser]

I need that seed coralline stuff

 

[Nighthawk26]

Not true!

Cyano has the capacity to fix it's own nitrogen in the absence of available nitrate and even more remarkably it can produce extracellular polyphosphatase enzymes to extract bound phosphorus/phosphate from substrates that are not otherwise biologically available. It is truly amazingly adaptable!!!

That's well over my head. So with that said, could my cured marco rock still have had phosphates that without cyano would have just basically held onto it, but the cyano basically drew it out? Cyano sort of just went away without any direct treatment, so would that mean it basically extracted all it could and then starved itself?