I could use worldly some advice. I am kind of lost at this point...

[Delatedlotus]

Don't know how to start. 27 year old two tank 120g and a 90g with a 55 gallon fuge with chaeto and about 120lbs live rock. I have been trying to lower very high nitrates, I have been using NOPOX. It dropped my no3 down to 24ppm as of now, from some 64ppm over the coarse of a month and half +++ Yayyyy, . Phosphate at 0.08 not to bad... Now you might have guessed it? a good sized red slime out break. I am currently at 24ppm no3, and feel like I just need to keep NOPOX dosing and get down to a normal level. But the ole red slim will take over! I am torn between adding Hydrogen Peroxide at night 1ml per 10 gallons and Microbacor7 in the morning at 1.5ml per 10gallons. But... What about the NOPOX do I keep dosing it as well? This will be just way to much dosing and additives dumped in a tank at once. #1 NOPOX feeds the red slime, but it also lowers no3... What would be the damage if I did all three of these at once??? Is it even possible to do so, and how hard is it going to be on 9 clowns, 3 cleaner wrasses, asst. snails, a star fish. Frags; monti's, some diggis, huge bubble tips, wands, and stuff I never see, ect.. ect... Anyone have a coarse of action on what would the the best and the safest way I can go?. Dang sometimes this hobby can just challenge you to the max at times.. For this at this time, I am like lost.. I could use some input and experience from fellow reefers... I really could...! Thank you for any help at all.

 

[Rp8]

I would not go adding a bunch of stuff throwing stuff all outta whack. How is your flow? What’s causing the no3 to raise? Are you chasing numbers or were your corals actually responding negatively to slightly high no3?
Get some more help in here
@vetteguy53081

 

[fishguy242]

run 30 nitrates myself in 300 gal systems, no water changes
seachem denitrate in reactors ,remove phos when necessary
nothing fast...

 

[brandon429]

most people won't rip clean a tank of that size until the very last step, before giving up. if you want to wait that long/ok np but you can also act now and rip clean the tank so that strong feeding of coral can begin, vs withholding and addition of meds etc.

rip cleaning is the way you fix old reefs, there's an article on it

Old tank syndrome is vanquished in reefing now

the cause of old tank syndrome is compounding whole waste particles that blanket the interstitial sand grain zones and plug up the channels in live rocks. Old tank syndrome is the gradual reduction of open, high flow contact reef tank surface area via compounding waste and invasion blanketing...

www.reef2reef.com

most people just won't disassembly clean a 150+ gallon setup, its so much work. safest option

 

[Delatedlotus]

I would not go adding a bunch of stuff throwing stuff all outta whack. How is your flow? What’s causing the no3 to raise? Are you chasing numbers or were your corals actually responding negatively to slightly high no3?
Get some more help in here
@vetteguy53081

Corals are doing great.. Slow growers but perfect..

 

[vetteguy53081]

Corals are doing great.. Slow growers but perfect..

Keeping things stable with corals doing good is best recourse
No need to make changes

 

[Pico bam]

Chemiclean...

 

[WVNed]

Chemiclean...

 

[Rtaylor]

I’d stop the Nopox and quit worrying about nitrates unless your coral starts to become stagnant or decline. A biopellet reactor or carbon dosing is a better option if you really need to reduce nitrates, but you probably don’t.

 

[Pistondog]

Nopox is carbon dosing, which encourage cyano as well as other bacteria. Some report less cyano when dosing vinegar only.
Blow it off the rocks and stay the carbon dosing course.

 

[Delatedlotus]

most people won't rip clean a tank of that size until the very last step, before giving up. if you want to wait that long/ok np but you can also act now and rip clean the tank so that strong feeding of coral can begin, vs withholding and addition of meds etc.

rip cleaning is the way you fix old reefs, there's an article on it

Old tank syndrome is vanquished in reefing now

the cause of old tank syndrome is compounding whole waste particles that blanket the interstitial sand grain zones and plug up the channels in live rocks. Old tank syndrome is the gradual reduction of open, high flow contact reef tank surface area via compounding waste and invasion blanketing...

www.reef2reef.com

most people just won't disassembly clean a 150+ gallon setup, its so much work. safest option

I do believe there is a lot of myth out there on old tank syndrome. A lot of it... My tanks have never crashed nor have I ever lost much if any stock at all ever.. Once people hear 27 years.. I get an immediate response "It's time to tear it down and start over". No I am not doing that.. Why I ask? I do use a Vortex Diatom, I just drug it out. I admit I have not for a couple three years and now here I am. Vortex Diatom is out of business as of now, and they are holding all patents on it. I would like to get that Patent! I do believe this to be TRUE, that the Diatom filter is the life blood of all solid old both fowler and reef tanks. And absolutely fantastic for any salt or freshwater tank ever and of any size.... In any application what so ever.

It's how to clean a tank crystal clear and move any microscopic unwanted waste what so ever... I am using one right now as we speak, I have had some issues right now, but all will be fixed after a week or so... I believe this, as I have done so before many, many times. A diatom can easily clean away years of build up of old bacteria and clear ground for new fresh bacteria as well. Both deep cleaning in the porous rocks, sumps, and any sand beds of any kind. Creating crystal clear and pristine water conditions unobtained by any other form of manual extraction or by adding cubes, scrubbers, mats, mud, the list goes for ever... I will start using it a lot more from now on... I couldn't get parts for the last couple three years, but now I have modified mine. I have one extremely solid system and have had it for years, and years. I have wholesaled I am not kidding you, well over $150,000 dollars in stock out of them... I will keep you all posted!

 

[Uncle99]

I did not get a good outcome with peroxide dose.
Those numbers are fine IMM, pest stuff like Cyano may follow after a change in water chemistry which you are doing.

Stabilize nutrients where they are now, feed phyto regularly to bolster micro-critter populations which after time, outcompete the pest stuff including Dino’s. Feel free to dose some bacteria as well.

I would not stop the Nopox if it results in the nitrate number holding a firm. Adjust this dose if nitrate dropping or, at least when you’ve reached whatever target you set for nitrate level.

 

[brandon429]

Post a pic of your tank

 

[brandon429]

Can we get that tank picture of the 27 year old system

your post indicated it was in a problem state, the follow up description seemed to indicate it was working fine, a pic ties in unspoken details

if it’s running fine I would continue on course

 

[brandon429]

your diatom filtration really may be keeping the sandbed waste broken up and removed vs sinked stratified- pictures of the full tank shot show sandbed cross sections that will help show unspoken details seen in long term tank keeping

 

[HighlandReef]

I setup my 210 around 2005 timeframe, I have never ripped it apart to clean.
A few years back, My tank did crash after my Achilles tang hid in the rocks and died, never found the fish.
When I rebooted the tank, didn’t do much cleaning beside cleaning equipment and glass panes. Basically, I just got the tank topped off, got salinity in range, started pumps and went for it. Once my tank was cycled, nitrates were off the cart, 200+.
Did massive water change and got nitrates down to 40, from there I started carbon dosing vinegar and was able to get nitrates in check.
To this day, I have not done any type of major tear down or cleaning of this tank. However. I do have strong stream pumps that I occasionally turn up to get any detritus, leftover food from feeding, etc. suspended in water column and then gets caught and filtered out in the filter socks. That is probably my saving grace.

 

[Tamberav]

My friend doses carbon and he started the coral snow + microbacter dosing along with manual removal during water changes or blowing it off the rocks and it cleared up. He continues to dose carbon and it hasn’t returned.

Coral snow helps with manual removal and to collect it into the skimmer or socks as it binds to particulate.

 

[brandon429]

Large tankers have no choice but to try every single counter measure other than rip cleaning, even I would if I owned a reef that weighed more than fifteen pounds full running and stocked. I am impressed by any large tanker that is able to store waste this long and still keep the biota in balance for what we want in reefing. There's no harm in having sandbed waste if it's not stopping the display from running as we've invested/intended.

I like to watch for the systems that are teetering on the edge of ruin/about to be taken down/keeper is in total desperation about to quit/system responds to nothing other than total removal of organics.


if we aren't on the downslope of the bell curve, by all means see how long the hands off streak can continue. Paul uses diatom filters to attain his old large reef as well, they're legit powerful export tools.

lemme see pics I want to factor the sandbed cross section color and how the corners look/catchpoints as well as live rock porosity and coverage from any invasions or expected benthic organisms. wanting to see where and how much any invasions are taking in real estate

 

[Delatedlotus]

Large tankers have no choice but to try every single counter measure other than rip cleaning, even I would if I owned a reef that weighed more than fifteen pounds full running and stocked. I am impressed by any large tanker that is able to store waste this long and still keep the biota in balance for what we want in reefing. There's no harm in having sandbed waste if it's not stopping the display from running as we've invested/intended.

I like to watch for the systems that are teetering on the edge of ruin/about to be taken down/keeper is in total desperation about to quit/system responds to nothing other than total removal of organics.


if we aren't on the downslope of the bell curve, by all means see how long the hands off streak can continue. Paul uses diatom filters to attain his old large reef as well, they're legit powerful export tools.

lemme see pics I want to factor the sandbed cross section color and how the corners look/catchpoints as well as live rock porosity and coverage from any invasions or expected benthic organisms. wanting to see where and how much any invasions are taking in real estate

I just love mine... I just made a HUGE diatom filter.. Huge! Nylon 30inch bag, 7inchs round..!

Danner Mag-Drive Supreme 18 1800 GPH Pump on 3/4inch clear tubing. Pictures very soon, all will be impressed at this one! I have the most finest coral sand money could buy, and its 3inchs to 4inchs deep. I really don't try to turn it to much, but I do just small sections once in a while. Lots of snails and crabs do the work that is needed. Pictures soon... G-Mail is so slow. They really not the best looking tanks. But like explained I have sold fish though these for years, and years. NEVER HAVE I COPPERED MY SYSTEM EVER..!!!!!!!!! I just got set-up again as well. brandon429 I have to ask are you a old Ford kind of guy..?​

 

[brandon429]

pics, from the cell phone / I checked some prior posts like that one we did on ammonia spiking/ no pics either

pics of the tank are #1 diagnostic tool in reefing. params relayed to us are just approximations, but pics show really neat details that predict course for a lot of reefs