I Can't Win

So I finally had my GHA on the retreat by continuing water changes weekly and removing what I can by hand. I think my rock was leaching as mentioned by someone else. I walked into my office this morning to start work and sat down to a puddle on my desk. After searching the seams I found a hairline crack in the back lower corner of my NUVO 8. This tank was purchased in May 2013 and I haven't moved it since originally setting it up.

I currently have my Black Ocellaris and 2 GSP frags in a 5 gal. bucket with a PH/heater. I also put the LR and my filter basket in there.

Is it necessary to have a light on the bucket?
How much sand should I save for when I get a replacement tank? (hopefully at no charge)
Any suggestions to lower chances of this GHA getting put back into my new tank?

 

Well that sucks,

If your only coral is GSP I would not worry about the lighting for a least a week.

The LR and filter media should keep the water quality in line, just feed very little.

Since this is an 8 gallon tank and you feel the LR is contributing to your GHA, just get some new dry base rock. I would save a cup or two of sand.

If you're using RO/DI water and your phosphates and nitrates are in line you should not have a GHA issue, algae has got to have fuel.

Good Luck.

 

Sorry for your troubles, that doesn't sound like fun.

Having lights low/out for a while might help decrease the GHA some?
Not the best for the corals however

 

Totally what she said

 

Thanks for info! I'm just going by what someone else said about the LR leaching... It didn't make sense to me because I didn't have ANY algae issues for the first year. Then all of a sudden it just started up. I would think if the rock was the problem, the algae would've been a problem sooner than 13 months after starting the tank. I was thinking maybe my RO/DI filters/membrane need replaced but the TDS meter reads .02. I also thought maybe my media needed changed and the phosphate sponge was the culprit, so I replaced that last month. My next moves will all depend on whether I get a replacement tank or not from the place I bought it.

 

The rock can absorb phosphate in your tank and release it later. This could be the reason you didn't see any for a year, and then bam! Phosphate sponge will absorb the phosphate in the water column for 2 days and start to release it back into the water as well. You could try using phosphate sponge while everything is in the bucket to remove what's available. But when you do that it kind of forces the phosphate being held in the rock to be released. So its something that takes time and not just a one shot one kill. What salt are you using? Instant ocean in particular contains phosphate. So if you're doing lots of water changes it can build up in the rocks over time.

 

Instant ocean in particular contains phosphate.

Really?

 

Yes, you are correct with the leaching theory.

Some folks have the mistaken idea that rocks are inherently polluted with nitrates/phosphates, which is simply not true. That usually comes from being in a neglected aquarium. However, phosphates and nitrates aren't generally detected well with a TDS meter; you'll need to use the respective test kits to determine if either of those are getting past your filters.

 

Yes. Its not extremely high, but can be seen by testing.

 

I only use Reef Crystals. Everything is doing great in the bucket for now, polyps are extended and fish seems happy. It sucks the tank cracked, but I'm glad nothing died. I would love to get a sump/fuge incorporated when I set up the new tank (hopefully replacement by company I bought this one from).