help?!

[ryan]

its a 2 feet tank...

12 kg of coral sand...

11 kg of live rocks...

eheim 2213 with angel biorings and carbon and ehfi substrat...

coral life salt...

basically threw everything in on the first day...

then 3 days later i added a clown cuz i was told that fish could speed up cycling...

it dies after 3 days...

then 2 weeks after set up i got the marc weiss coral vital and have been adding it daily...

the tank is exposed to some light in the afternoon as its in the garden but under the shade with a screen of bamboo chics that is lowered when it gets bright...

i also have 1x36watts pl 10000k and 1x36watts pl 50/50 6500k

which i stopped turning on after 4-5 days after set up cuz i was told it was not needed for cycling...

~its been almost 3 weeks now...

therez brown stuff growing ALL over the coral sand in front of my tank...

therez green stringy algae on the glass of my tank...

therez white stringy particles suspended in my tank, numbers by the thousands, they actually look like worms...

the brown stuff only seems to grow in the front of my tank, and only at the parts exposed to alittle sunlight in the afternoon...

whats this brown stuff? i was told they were diatom.

whats that actually? and will they disappear? they are growing into my coral sand! argh? are all these stuff happening normal?

is my tank ready? or in big trouble?

thank you for your time!

[wedgee]

Man! Yr situation sounds so much like mine that i could hug u and cry!!! Well, u can really benefit by doing a search for diatoms and cyano in this forum first. U can see the number of new tanks attacked by yr symptoms too...plus u can read and see wat u can do abt them from those previous threads!

If i were u, frankly, I'd tear up the tank and do it all over again (while its not too late!) But this time, get an RO/DI unit to filter yr water first, and start with nice clean water from the beginning! All those nasties u have LOVE the goodies in our tap water (phosphate and silicates), so the best way to get rid of them is thru its source...Er sorry but i'm assuming u dont use an RO unit, so ignore me if i'm wrong.

Those stringies are not worms, I had them exactly the same way as u did...it just appeared on all my tank glass one fine day, and before i knew it, hair algae and diatoms were all over the tank! Maybe those stringies are their initial stage?

Or if u cant bear to redo everything, then i suggest u remove as much of the stuff as u can physically-scrub and siphon it out, and remove the source of their nutrients thereafter by using good water or phosphate removers and sponges (didnt help me much though...) I got past the brown stuff by introducing RO water, so i'm down to hair algae now.

In the meantime, u could try blocking off all light into the tank, they help to reduce some of the algae too...

Hey, some of the big brothers here can give u more suggestions, so dont worry!

PS: I've read dat it is a passing phase for new tanks: once the nasties use up all the nutrients and u introduce new competition, they slowly ease off...

[Tanzy]

If there is no live stock in the tank then I'll suggest that you get a good protein skimmer or a refugium to grow macroalgae in for better nutrient export. Let the tank go through the algae cycle and burn up all the nutrients then change water, if possible use RO/DI.

Alternatively, you could restart the tank. Take everything out and give it a good clean. Get a sump, lose that cannister filter and go with a DSB or plenum.

The sun might increase the temperature in the tank by a bit, so you might want to move the tank too. By the time the sunlight can come through the window, it's either morning or evening when the light has lots of red in it, this might cause nuisance algae too.

[ryan]

oh my gosh is it that bad?

do i have to restart my tank?

i thought it was just a phase in the cycling and it will pass?

my gosh!

i'll get testers today and if everything looks wrong then...

*sigh*

[Creetin]

sorry to move out of topic abit...but isnt a RO unit expensive? was comtemplating one..... how much issit?

[ep4546]

i think that it is better that u re-cycle everything and u should change some of the filter media. the aglae are common as the tank tank is exposed to sunlight and u have on your light too. u should change your 40/40 to actinic light too there is no need for u to add anyting additives now

[ryan]

re-cycle everything?

can i just leave it as it is?

i think the algae came from the marc weiss coral vital i added...

sigh...

i'll change the 50/50 to 10000k

and add another light set just for actinic blue...

[wedgee]

It's better (in my opinion) to restart everything...no matter how u remove the stuff or try to get rid of its nutrients, there will still be traces of them lurking in every corner of the tank...

U dont have to throw away yr rock and sand, just remove them and clean them of the algae and put them into some of yr present water in a bucket.

Clean out yr tank with all u can and pls pls get an RO/DI if u have the money! The lights can wait, cause u have to cycle the tank anyways, and the lights will be redundant in this time (probably up to a month?)

Start the tank again with everything u can- a good protein skimmer, a small sump (u can always use an old fish tank) and i dont know abt the canister (they say it is a nitrate factory). Anyways, u can place yr filter media in the sump now...

Sorry if i'm being naggy here, but do consider restarting yr tank!

[ep4546]

u can try seachem prime additives too

[ryan]

u can try seachem prime additives too

hmmmz whats that for?

care to explain?

[ryan]

It's better (in my opinion) to restart everything...no matter how u remove the stuff or try to get rid of its nutrients, there will still be traces of them lurking in every corner of the tank...

U dont have to throw away yr rock and sand, just remove them and clean them of the algae and put them into some of yr present water in a bucket.

Clean out yr tank with all u can and pls pls get an RO/DI if u have the money! The lights can wait, cause u have to cycle the tank anyways, and the lights will be redundant in this time (probably up to a month?)

Start the tank again with everything u can- a good protein skimmer, a small sump (u can always use an old fish tank) and i dont know abt the canister (they say it is a nitrate factory). Anyways, u can place yr filter media in the sump now...

Sorry if i'm being naggy here, but do consider restarting yr tank!

hmmmz...

i think i can't afford the sump and the space for it too...

are there ready made 2 feet sumps to buy btw?

[newdamsel]

If you are really down on budget and still want a sump, it isnt actually very difficult to construct... just buy a desired tank size, I'm using 5 plan 2ft tank, cost me $15... some 3mm clear acrylic from hardware shop should cost about $10, a heavy duty acrylic penknife $7, silicone $6.... cut and silicone to your own dimensions... just need to search the web for how usu ppl design their sump...

you will also need to factor in the cost of building or buying ya overflow from maintank to sump.... and a return pump.. I got a 1200l/h one for $22.. hope it can help you plan ya budget abit.... i went thru this exact scenario too....

[ryan]

If you are really down on budget and still want a sump, it isnt actually very difficult to construct... just buy a desired tank size, I'm using 5 plan 2ft tank, cost me $15... some 3mm clear acrylic from hardware shop should cost about $10, a heavy duty acrylic penknife $7, silicone $6.... cut and silicone to your own dimensions... just need to search the web for how usu ppl design their sump...

you will also need to factor in the cost of building or buying ya overflow from maintank to sump.... and a return pump.. I got a 1200l/h one for $22.. hope it can help you plan ya budget abit.... i went thru this exact scenario too....  

wow thats cool...

but difficult lah...

can teach me how to do?

i want to use 2 ft 5plan too... but 15 bucks from where?

and do u have pics?

is it a must to have overflow? can't i just use pump?

[Achilles Tang]

Silicon doesn't bond very well with Acrylic.

Building such a sump with a lot of water could be catastrophic.

You have to get Acrylic solvent to melt and bond the pieces together permanently.

3mm acrylic is too thin... IMO. You'll see it bowing.

You better ask Morgan's advise... he has experience with DIY acrylic stuff.

[newdamsel]

I got the tank during one of those neighbourhood luohan sales.... shouldnt be costing anything more than $18 though... maybe you wanna refer to the other thread where there are pictures... that will be easier to follow...

A overflow sys will rid the surface of ya water free of floating particles... to use pump, you will have the greatest headache of ya life when you wanna balance the flow rate of water in and out of the main tank... and if suddenly one pump fails or soemthing get stuck in the pump and blocks the flow ... u should know what will happen... basically 2 pumps only work under IDEAL condition...

ryan... since you do not have much in your tank yet...my suggestion is. clear your present tank... go to the glass maker, cordon off an area and drill a hole... easiest and cheapest... its not really worth the effort... sigh...

[ryan]

yeah not worth the effort...

oh well... i'll just have to live with what i have now...

but can i add some more coral sand on top of the ugly diatoms i have?

i think my cycling is over!

so tomorrow i test water and if ok!, i change 95% water and take out live rocks to clean algae and add 3 kg of finer coral sand and add protein skimmer and 3 dc fans!

and 1 fish and 1 cleaner shrimp!

is that alright?