Beaux

I have yet to see lt move at all. Other than its "branches" moving with the current.

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Are these all hard corals?

It is not something I added.
It looks more plantish rater than coralish.
I never noticed it when i was doing my almost daily scrubs when my diatom outbreak. Nothing new has been added except a few more snails that went into quarantine first.

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Still doing battle with my diatom problem, but I happened across this litte thing. The rock is older than the tank is?

Look familiar to anything?

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That is a very nice piece you have there Gig-em

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Sorry to hear you've been hospitalized.  At least there was someone there to help watch the tanks.  I hope the tanks are no worse for the salinity issue.  Lower it slowly.

Sorry for not replying to this in a while. Been in the hospital for quite some time now.

I did find a remedy for this but not a cure yet. By leaving just the moonlight setting on for over werks give or take, when was released I came home to find all but small spots on the substrate. All my live rock was fully free of it.

However only after 2 days at full spectrum I can clearly see some new growth.

It is wonder that came back to anything at all. My roommate knew nothing about salinity an only lost one blue chromis, with one tank reading 1.29
an the larget tank coming in att 1..30, no coral deaths but pleanty of pissed ones!

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Howdy back at cha!
Glad to see you returned as well.
That is an awesome tank set up, slight hint of jealousy there.

But all the same welcome back. I hope you recognize some of our more senior members.

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P.S.
Can you buy sponges anywhere? Would that help to restore the balance?

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I do see your points either from personal experience or from your research.

My theory was that no matter the type of algea, it needs many factors to flourish. Light being one of them.

In my experiment with only using just the moonlight settings, removing the red and orange, has indeed slowed the growth. It dose not return in mass like it has with all the other methods I have tried.

Day 4 into this experiment I have 0 growth or return to all sides of any part of the glass, as well as reduction of mass amounts piled on my substrate. Even the live rock shows reduction, but not complete annihilation yet. I would like to see if indeed can be a workable resolution.

I still do suction out the spots I see, blow and scrub the live rock, and by late afternoon clean all the filters and other equipment. I am down to roughly only doing 2 to 2 1/2 gallons instead of the 5 plus gallon daily water change.

I have removed all corals into a quarantine tank, but I do not foresee them making a recovery. Let alone the risk of re contaminating the tank however this issue gets resolved.

As far as the substrate I learned a valuable lesson early on. I was rinsing my HOB filters and such in tap water instead of the removed tank water. Learning that I was basically killing off beneficial bactera.

Since the tap water contains chlorine, would it not have the desired affect killing not only the beneficial things but killing off what ever type of algae this may be, or is there a better route for this, should I resort to crashing the tank?

As the other member pointed out about identifying the type of rock, I do not have the knowledge to tell what type it could be. All I remember from that purchase was, it was a bright purplish color and its shape, an arch, was what I was looking for.

As far a set up I did not mean to imply I duplicated tank x to tank y. I had learned much from getting a great tank established on my first try. But without the shared knowledge of our club, I learned about flow, dead spots ect. and that was what I was trying to replicate. Having one of our members come out with a par meter was a tremendous help.

This post was actually more intended for a poll like result ie. if this was your tank and you have tried all that I have tried, what would you do? Keep trying or crash it and start from scratch.

Even then I would have to research how to rid my substrate of the problem, or replace it and a how to acid wash.

But I am glad for the ones that made suggestions such as yourself, because it helped me to expand my knowledge in reef keeping!

I'm reminded of the old adddage "Crazy is doing the same thing over but expecting different results"     But that's exactly what we need to expect.    What's really helped me is the research showing corasl, algae and sponges are all promoting different microbial processes.   Microbial processes in a reef ecosystem are differentially promoted at the Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species and Matz's research argues even at the genotype level.   Haas' research posted above shows at least some of these processes are pathogenic to corals.   Sooooo, even if we do exactly the same thing day in and day out with a system we need to expect things to change over time.  
The reason I would toss the sand is there's going to be a lot of gunk in it.  If I was going to start over it would be easier to just replace it than try to clean it.   The reason I wouldn't replace it if I was going to remediate the ssytem is it would be a lot of extra work to remove it and the biological processes that shift to promote corals over algae are working in the sand just like everywhere else in the ecosystem.  So as I see it it's unessesary to replace it.
 

I'm starting with a quote from Charles Delbeek because it helps show just how complex the question of nutrients in a reef system is:  
"When I see the colors of some of these low nutrient tanks, I can't help but be reminded of bleached coral reefs.  It should therefore not come as a surprise that feeding corals in such systems becomes a very important component in these systems.  Though reefs are often catagorized as nutrient "deserts" the influx of nutrients in the form of particulates and plankton is quite high when the total volume of water passing over a reef is taken into consideration.
Our crystal-clear aquaria do not come close to the nutrient loads that swirl around natural reefs. And so when we create low-nutrient water conditions, we still have to deal with the rest of a much more complex puzzle. Much like those who run their aquarium water temperature close to the thermal maximums of corals walk a narrow tight rope, I can't help but think that low-nutrient aquariums may be headed down a similar path." Charles Delbeck, Coral Nov/Dec 2010, pg 127
As phototrophs corals switch back and forth between being autotrophs (using inorganic nutrients) and heterotrophs (using particulates or organic nutrients).   Corals have shown preferences for feeding one way or the other at the genus level (and I suspect research will eventially show at the species level also) so keep in mind feeding a coral directly may or may not help.    (I'll point out here the colloquial terms "SPS" and "LPS" are irrelevent in determining which a coral specimen prefers.)    But in order to feed and grow corals need phosphate and if they are deficient it really screws them up.   Additionally, from both what I've read and my own experiences over the last 30 years, when corals experience a stress event that disrupts their feeding it can take months to recover (one paper found it took as long as 11 months for corals to recover). 
Looking at what you've posted stripping out all the phosphates would have seriously impacted the corals ability to utilize nutrients AND compete with the algae.  It doesn't help that nuisance algae, via the release of organic carbon, also are promoting pathogenic bacteria for the corals further impacting their ability to compete.  I also know from experience it can take months to shift the equilibrium of a system to one that favors corals.   With the low phospahte levels and the deaths you mentioned it seems to me it seem to me the ratio of nitrogen to phosphate is way out of whack and the only stuff that can really take advantage is the nuisance algae.  
As I see it you have two choices.  First is just start over.  (If it was my tank and I started over I would use the rock but get rid of the sand.)  The second is stop using anything that's messing with the nitrogen and phosphate levels outisde of feeding your fish or the occasional feeding of reef roids.  Do a couple big water changes (~30% but not mor than 50% and part of the water should be from a healthy stable reef system if possible) a week apart.  Add some hardy corals, both stoney and soft (Frogspawn not torch or hammer, Purple Stylo if you have high enough PAR an match PAR levels to what it was grown under, brown finger sinularia, toadstools, are some examples).   I would cut back to just weekly water changes, this gives the ecosystem time to stabelize a bit and it makes for less work.   After a couple big water changes and adding some hardy corals to help compete I'd drop back to ~15-20% weekly.  This second option I know from experience will take at least a couple months and 4-5 isn't unreasonable (look at my two threads on dealing with nuisance algae),
(As an aside, keep in mind "bleached" means a coral has lost it's zooxantheallae, not that it's white.  Bleached corals can in fact be more colorful than their healthy counterparts so color can not be used as an indicator of whether or not a coral is bleached.  To help cause additional confusion melanin is an essential part of a corals immune system, when bacterial loads increase the role of melanine in creating the "browning" of stressed corals or because of carbon dosing is still very poorly researched so "brown" coloration  may not be a good indicator either of healthy coral coloration.  [emoji20]  )
Here's a some additional links:
 
Microbilization of reefs
https://www.nature.com/articles/nmicrobiol201642
 
Organic Carbon causes coral death
https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2005/294/m294p173.pdf
https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2006/314/m314p119.pdf
 
Nitrate enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Nutrient enrichment.pdf
Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2015.00103/full
Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17301601?via%3Dihub
High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/214/16/2749.full
 

I only added what the instructions called for, and just the one dose. I am only feeding once a day, just enough for the fish. Not over feeding. I was feeding reef roids 1 x week until the outbreak.
As per RCA I was using the pellet pack phosphate remover for 2 months. But I never detected any until I stopped using it.
I stopped using any type of cuc because they died within a day. That would be my only guess for the amonia spike.
I am only doing around 5 gallon water changes daily, mostly to vacuum the crud out. I am still doing a 1/4 water change for the substrate. Cleaning the HOB filters and dumping the skimmer trying to rid the tank of this stuff as much as possible.

Tonight I did notice one of my hammer heads is just desimated. The flesh is just falling right off the head. It looks still alive with color, not bleached at all. Once the outbreak started, the few mushrooms I have in the tank pulled inward and have not died or extended outwards either.

The moonlight seems to be slowing it down quite a bit. I just do not know if it will kill it completely.
I still have the eco booster, but at this point I am afraid to do anything than what I am doing now.

Are you still adding ammonia?  How much ammonia did you add in total?  How much are you feeding each day?   It looks to me like there's a ton of Nitrogen and phosphate available in the system but not much to compete with the algae.  Even with daily water changes (which I would think is a hassle) you might not be exporting as much nitrogen and phosphate as is being added.  

What kind of rock are you using?

I seem to have gone from bad to catastrophe with this.

I altered my HOB to add sock that I cut up to increase the catch of what ever this stuff is.

I have done all the recommended advice, but this now is out of control. 

I start every morning vacuuming just the sand bed to remove as much as I can. Then I blow the live rock to get what I can, and follow up with a medium toothbrush to scrub down the live rock.

I have added phosphate bead removal pack, and again redid my HOB with a double layer of the sock material.

Yet I wake the very next morning only for it to look like I have done nothing at all.

I have done 3 different times with total blackouts. Did not phase it. I do not see any point of treating with chemiclean because it is NOT cyno. Plus chemiclean is not an algaecide.

I saw a recommendation video about taking out the orange and red. I only have a moonlight feature so that is what I have been trying for two days. I am unsure how long my fish and coral will hold up by doing this.

I can barely see inside my tank under the moonlight setting, but I am not seeing my glass being completely covered by what ever this stuff (supposedly diatoms) is.

Since starting this moonlight my numbers are erratic. 

PH is 8 which I am working on.

The amonia is dropping from .5 to .25

Cal 480

KH 125.3

Nitrate has jumped to 40. I hoping that with the 5 to 10 gallon daily water changes this is not backfiring on me.

Nitrite 0

Phosphate has increased from 0 to 5.

My hammerheads seem to be doing all right but the torch is stressing hard.

I have 5 blue damsel type fish which are doing fine.

My CUC dies within days of adding new snails and hermits.

This started out what looked like brown hair algea, then I started noticing the bubbles that were hanging on the tops. Was told it was nitrogen.

Now its a powder like dust except what clings to the glass. See photo attached. 

I have been told to scrap the tank, acid wash everything but there is still a chance for it to return.

This has been almost a 3 month battle and my physical limitations are making this more and more difficult.

Any advice? Would you keep up the battle or scrap the tank? I have $800 invested into it.

If I were to scrap it, I wanted to convert it into a sump for my 150, but if there is any chance of infesting my 150, I would rather not take the chance at all.

The tank is just over a year old but financially I have been having to do little by little. My light is trash. Par is only 20 at clear bottom so I moved my corals higher for the light. What would you do?

Howdy and welcome to the club!
You found the best place place to come seeking knowledge.
I know from experience because not to long ago I made the plunge in to reefing and have received only the best advice, and filed for bankruptcy (jk) too!

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I do not claim to be an expert on them, but I do believe there is a way.

I currently have 2 set on my 20 gal nano, and 2 more on my 55 gallon. Different rooms but close enough that one would think they would all pair, but they did not.

So it is possible. I would try pairing them first, and if it did not work as planed, try using an extension cord to distance from the set you have already paired.

Might need to hide the cord in or behind something. But yes I do have 2 sets, both set to one master one slave.

And yes, I totally agree Jeboa does not have anything for customer support.

I will move my set over to my larger tank in the morning to test the theory and post my results tomorrow for you.

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I have always kept my 20 nano at a constant 8.2. In under a years time I have had superior growth and some propagation. But I have been using Reef Roids as well.
Going well into almost my third year with the nano I have had more natural propagation than the tank can handle and moving things over into my larger younger tank. I have been quite happy staying at 8.2 personally.


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Way awesome! I see we share some of the same taste in corals. Nice layout as well. [emoji6]

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Howdy, and welcome.
Have you guessed we like photos? Especially progressive ones. We have a special forum for that. Great to see your builds and maybe pick up a few ideas from there as well.

Welcome to ARC!

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Yes you are probably right about that. I want to add more fish but I do not have near enough liverock. I have been over feeding, before that ghost feeding. I was also told that using a biological booster would help.

I am afraid of adding more liverock at this point might make it worse. I already have active thriving corals, and currently working on a deal with getting more liverock.

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Looking for a little help with this. Once the cycle was 100% complete, I started out with a few pieces of live rock, and everything seemed fine. I added 3 fish, which kinda resembled the spanish hogfish, but the weren't. The had a squareish marking on the main body. 1 relentlessly picked on the other 2 untill they died.

Then I introduced 3 blue chromis. Inturn they picked off the original fish which i never could find. Maybe my clean up crew did the job.

Next I started having a sever brown string algea out break.
I doubled down on my snails, even with some Mexican turbos, nether of which could keep it under control.
I scoured over every inch on my live rock every morning, and the very next morning it was back stronger than before.

Next I started doseing (i could be wrong here) with phosphate bead bags in my over rated HOB, as well as Dolabella Sea Hare. Took a sump tank sock and cut it to fit into my HOB, as well as a looser grade treated mesh material and put that in the HOB as well.

Now the long hair brown algea is partly gone, but still has places on the liverock that returns in mass, and the glass is completely covered again after cleaning and scrubbing.

This has been a nightmare and I am almost at the point of scraping the entire tank.

Has anyone else had to deal with this for 6 to 7 months as I have? Should I continue with my current routine and just have hope that one day this will go away?

I am just so frustrated having to spend all my time and money on this issue instead of being able to invest in more liverock and stocking it.

I have done the 3 day blackouts three separate times. Did not phase it.

My numbers have always been great. When I test I go to RCA to double check.

The last test was showing my amonia on the rise, but it has never tested high before now.

Ph 8.2
Ammonia. 25
Cal 440
Kh 143.2
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Phosphate 0
Sal 1.25

I have 2 blue chromis, the slug and snails, hammerhead, 4 different types and a torch that are all thriving.

The lighting was an issue so I moved all corals to mid range so they are at a much better par reading.

The one photo of the stringy stuff is on the glass, one is the liverock, hard to see the growth there, and the last is of the substrate. I have not vacuumed it up this morning yet.

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Aquadome would be top of the list for me. They have a larger selection by far. Medium to high on the price range, but like I said, large selections. Aquatech is ok but kinda pricey. However my favorite would be River City Aquatics. They have a decent selection at better prices.
If you go to Aquadome ask for James, River City Aquatics ask for Francis.

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I have a good center piece and i understand you dont want to just have it sold by single pieces. My 40 gal breeder is already set up with livestock, so im probably looking for some where around 25- 30 pounds? I wont be picky about what you select either. Im more concerned with poundage than looks.

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Is your friend also considering selling the top, if it i s an all glass and not a hood.

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Helped a friend shut down his system this weekend in a hurry, so now everything is in a trough at my house. Sorry for crappy photos, but he had already started tearing it down before I got there and I'm not going to get good shots in the trough. Trough is 110gal and roughly 53" x 36" top lip so use that for size comparison.
Live rock $1.50/lb, this is from a 5 year old established system. MOST of it is 100% clean and happy, but some did come from a smaller system that had some hair algae but still pest free. He had several large angels, butterflies, harlequin tusk, filefish, etc. So anything that would have been bad/moving in or on this rock was eaten quickly.

Large yellow finger leather colony. This rock is easily 15#+ and 15" across. Possibly could break it up into smaller rocks, but don't wanna. $50

Large GSP rock - 10#" 12" or so - $40
Smaller GSP rocks $15+
RBTA - $30/ea. Some rocks have multiples, if you want those we can work out a deal. I think one rock has 3, another has 2. Or I can break them off individuals.

Mated percula pair goes with one anemone $60
I still have a Rainbow BTA from pham in my system for $60, a normal RBTA for $30, and a tiny (2") Sherman for $20.
Why not list some superman rhodactis from my system while we're here. I can probably cut off single mushrooms for $10/ea minimum 2. Or I have a decent 7" rock that has 12+ on it for $80 obo.

Pickup nights/weekends in Georgetown on most of this stuff. If you want I can bring to work in the arboretum area M-F 9-5, but if it's rock.... you don't get to choose pieces.
-C