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I need help

deepblue68

POTM Winner
I do agree with others dont use chemicals and let the system mature along with dosing some bacteria.
 
Last edited:

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
3 months is a puppy. Personally I probably wouldn't have more than 1 fish in it at this point while riding out the algae blooms, but thats me.
Over the next 7-8 months you're going to have brown stuff on the sand, red stuff on the sand and rocks, hair algae, bubble algae, maybe some aptasia, and you're going to start ripping your hair out and swearing you're getting out of the hobby.

Then it happens!
One day you notice the tank looks great and you haven't touched it in a week.
No equipment appears broken or beeping.
There is no algae.
The water is crystal clear.
The rocks are covered in pods.
The fish are healty.
It is the perfect tank that you've been waiting and working so long for.

Then, a week later, it all goes to sh*& again.

Welcome to reefing :)
 
Ok great. Thank you for all the responses. I’ll hold out and hope for the best. When starting up tanks i never had these issues. I would add live rock and live sand and be good to go. Which i did. But I’ll see how it goes
 
You can try adding some pieces of rock from other trusted established tanks to help diversify bacteria and other microfauna. Also try not to completely bottom out your nutrients, so keep an eye on how much your reactors are stripping from the water.
 
I am running a carbon gfo reactor and skimmer. I haven’t set up any dosing yet. I mainly have only zoas and mushrooms. Tank is about 3 months.
 

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Ride it out, do a 10% water change a week (this is close to gospel). Don't worry about chasing parameters or GFO, or carbon (which decreases O2 levels), or chemicals like Chemipure or whatever. Just keep it simple, this is a normal phase, it looks like hell, it will clear up. And it will happen again.
It's why it's considered a hobby and not a decoration.

Just remember to pull a chair in front of the tank once in a while and LOOK at it. Check out all the cool stuff going on, the new life, the foraging, the hunting (even at the pod level), the territories claimed, the interactions. The algae doesn't look nice, but it doesn't subtract from the amazing things going on in your tank.
 
I am running a carbon gfo reactor and skimmer. I haven’t set up any dosing yet. I mainly have only zoas and mushrooms. Tank is about 3 months.
Get that go out of ur tank please, you shouldn’t need it yet in only 3 months
You got this and everyone here is rooting for you and here to help. Don’t be shy bout anything,, no dumb questions only dumb answers, never be afraid to reach out for help. That’s what this website is all about
Reefers helping Reefers and sometimes a lil reefer
 
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