About ready to throw in the towel and start over!

[Reef Bullet]

I'm seriously at my wits end! I have been battling 0 nitrates for quite some time and had actually started having a phosphate problem because I had increased feeding so much trying to get a tiny bit of no3, so I put GFO online again. It has been almost 7weeks since I added or changed the GFO. I was going to change it today and do a water change (it's been over 2 months besides a small one when I added the GFO and replaced the water I took out when I let the water flow through the reactor till it ran clear to rinse the GFO). Before doing a wc, I just tested po4 (Hanna) and no3 (Red Sea) and both were 0. Last I checked po4 it was .08 on June 3rd.

I have increased feeding and increased feeding and increased feeding some more! I don't know what to do!!!!!

The only explanation I can think of is that I'm having a huge problem with red turf algae. So I'm thinking that the more I feed, the more it grows yet it is consuming all the po4 and no3 so it's undetectable on test kits. What do you guys think?
I also desperately want to get rid of the red turf! But I don't know what to do about it. Someone told me the only way they were able to get rid of theirs was dosing nopox. That's why I got the nopox in the first place. I also had this nasty looking rust colored stuff covering my rocks. It disappeared after I dosed the nopox once. But I also had an acro RTN and I'm not sure it was/is the best solution with levels already reading 0.

So I'm counting on the experts at SCR now. I'm at a loss. And I'm desperate for a solution!!!

Note: I added GFO on April 28 and I dosed nopox ONE TIME on May 4

 

[CamelMD]

i had a bad case of cyno . i turned out lights for 3 days. that did the trick. You might have to repeat it every few weeks for awhile. try it.

-nik

 

[reefes pieces]

The only explanation I can think of is that I'm having a huge problem with red turf algae. So I'm thinking that the more I feed, the more it grows yet it is consuming all the po4 and no3 so it's undetectable on test kits. What do you guys think?
I also desperately want to get rid of the red turf! But I don't know what to do about it. Someone told me the only way they were able to get rid of theirs was dosing nopox. That's why I got the nopox in the first place. I also had this nasty looking rust colored stuff covering my rocks. It disappeared after I dosed the nopox once. But I also had an acro RTN and I'm not sure it was/is the best solution with levels already reading 0.

I'm no expert (my disclaimer) but that seems to be the most logical reason. I'd say prioritize the problems. Focus on getting rid of the turf algae and then get ur nitrates to ideal levels. Right now you're trying to solve problem 2 but feeding problem 1. This is the bullet tank right and not the behemoth?

 

[reefes pieces]

Do you have any tuxedo urchins? I read somewhere that it was the only thing that mowed down turf algae

 

[wickedfish]

What is your lighting? Are your bulbs on the red or green area? Reason I ask is in my sump that crap disappeared once I took the leds off line.

Now in the display I have the same crap and I have plenty of red turf to go around. Also 0 nitrate and 0.-0.04 phosphates. It has to be color spectrum. In my tank when I had stubborn green algae the red turf wasn't around. Now it's vice versa in the display and vice versa in the sump (covered in dark green algae.)

 

[wickedfish]

I'm most likely doing the chemi clean, cause I'm gangster. And don't give a crap

 

[Reef Bullet]

I'm no expert (my disclaimer) but that seems to be the most logical reason. I'd say prioritize the problems. Focus on getting rid of the turf algae and then get ur nitrates to ideal levels. Right now you're trying to solve problem 2 but feeding problem 1. This is the bullet tank right and not the behemoth?

Yes the bullet tank... A lot of my corals colors are faded and look terrible. I really feel they're starving but I guess I could be wrong. I guess the problem is that I'm not sure what to do when it comes to focusing on the problem. I have been doing whatever I can think of already. I am losing the battle in every respect.

Do you have any tuxedo urchins? I read somewhere that it was the only thing that mowed down turf algae

Yeah everything I've read says red turf is insensitive to no3 and po4 reduction and actually thrives in pristine water. The only proven methods for removal are tuxedo urchins and Mexican Turbo snails. I guess I'll be getting myself some turbos

 

[Reef Bullet]

What is your lighting? Are your bulbs on the red or green area? Reason I ask is in my sump that crap disappeared once I took the leds off line.

Now in the display I have the same crap and I have plenty of red turf to go around. Also 0 nitrate and 0.-0.04 phosphates. It has to be color spectrum. In my tank when I had stubborn green algae the red turf wasn't around. Now it's vice versa in the display and vice versa in the sump (covered in dark green algae.)

6 bulb T5
Blue plus, Coral plus, and Fiji pink

I'm most likely doing the chemi clean, cause I'm gangster. And don't give a crap

Dooooooo iiiiiiiiiiiittttt! And then let me know how well it worked and if things die... other than the algae of course

 

[gonumber24]

I've used chemiclean with success multiple times in the past for cyano. Are you saying red turf algae is the same as cyano?

 

[Reef Bullet]

Are you saying red turf algae is the same as cyano?

I'm not. But I can't speak for Nik or Wicked. I know chemi clean can work for cyano... do people use it for red turf as well?

 

[Adrock]

yeah one thing at a time and do not freak about it take it slow and I noticed with the turf algae if you raise you mag and keep ca and alk pretty stable that the coralline algae over takes it and yes your test results can be affected by things( Algae, Coral and ect..) in your aquarium that utilize what you are testing for

 

[Emac909]

Lindsey make a Santa Monica style scrubber and get the turf algae to grow on that. Please don't ask how YouTube is ur friend.

 

[Six2seven]

I'm no expert (my disclaimer) but that seems to be the most logical reason. I'd say prioritize the problems. Focus on getting rid of the turf algae and then get ur nitrates to ideal levels. Right now you're trying to solve problem 2 but feeding problem 1. This is the bullet tank right and not the behemoth?

i agree here. take it step by step and try to solve one problem at a time.

How old are your bulbs?

 

[Emac909]

I don't know y ur so concerned about 0 no3. Mine r always at 0. I could give a rats a$$ about it. If u think ur test is bad, then test ur tap water there's always nitrates in tap water.

 

[Reef Bullet]

I don't know y ur so concerned about 0 no3. Mine r always at 0. I could give a rats a$$ about it. If u think ur test is bad, then test ur tap water there's always nitrates in tap water.

I'm concerned more by the way my corals look(faded colors and zoas shrinking and not happy) more than the actual numbers being 0 but I know that 0 is actually not ideal and so I figure that if there is really 0 available to my corals, they truly are starving and that's why they're faded out etc. It would explain why acros do well but not montis and Z's and P's.
If my corals were all doing fantastic, I wouldn't be concerned about test result numbers being 0.

Lindsey make a Santa Monica style scrubber and get the turf algae to grow on that. Please don't ask how YouTube is ur friend.

I have already looked into it but I don't think I have room in my sump.
My chaeto doesn't grow in my fuge.
In CA it was the opposite... my chaeto grew like crazy and I didn't have algae in my dt at all.

 

[Reef Bullet]

i agree here. take it step by step and try to solve one problem at a time.

How old are your bulbs?

2 out of 6 are old. I am going to change them in the morning when the lights are off and cool to touch.
I don't think red turf has anything to do with old bulbs though. It's usually unaffected by the normal things that affect algae growth like bulb spectrum, raising mag, no3 and po4, etc.

 

[wickedfish]

6 bulb T5
Blue plus, Coral plus, and Fiji pink


Dooooooo iiiiiiiiiiiittttt! And then let me know how well it worked and if things die... other than the algae of course

I did it 8 months ago and it worked like a dream. It just melts that stuff away in 30 hours nothing on the rocks or on tips etc

 

[wickedfish]

I'm not. But I can't speak for Nik or Wicked. I know chemi clean can work for cyano... do people use it for red turf as well?

The stuff I have Mike said it was red turf and its the same stuff I has last time, and chemi clean blasted it.

 

[Reef Bullet]

The stuff I have Mike said it was red turf and its the same stuff I has last time, and chemi clean blasted it.

Looks like this?

 

[Justin]

I'm surprised your foxface doesn't eat it. Where are all the fish in your tank? Maybe your bioload is low?

Maybe you should also consider getting new test kits to make sure yours are reading correctly.