TL 550 advice

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michael10

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iv got a Buyo Tl550 thats been running for about a month and a half, my nitrates and amonia are reading zero but im struggling with brown algae on the glass and live rock etc. iv read to try remove as much phosphate as possible using seachem products which i will try but i was wondering what suggestions you guys might have to reduce this.
also my skimmer (which iv read is not that effective in these tanks) runs extremely wet and no matter what i do like adjusting the height of the skimmer and return section of the skimmer it still fills the collection cup each day with water ( lightish brown).
my diy is not good at all so i dont know what to do and im wondering if thats maybe causing algae??

any help is kwl
thanks
 
Some more info on fish, corals, cuc etc. in the tank will help. Being a nano, large weekly water changes are quite cheap so I'll start there. Algae is a phase that most tanks go through for the first few months, even if nitrates and phosphates are undetectable.
 
Hey Michael,

As gaboon said, a little bit more info on what livestock you have, what equipment you have and what your feeding schedule is like would help.

I would also suggest a series of large water changes. Do you have any sponge or filter floss in your system as a filter? These can trap detritus and act as nutrient sources. The reason you have 0 on your readings is because the nuisance algae is pulling up all the excess nutrients.

An excellent solution is also to run some phosban in your filter....
 
Since the tank is only a month old the brown algae will be diatoms. It is perfectly normal to get this as it is part of setting up a new tank. It does not do anything harmful to the tank apart from looking ugly. It will go away on its own after a week or two.

If the skimmer is too wet then try raise the skimmer if you can. If you cant then check the venturi if it is blocked. If it is blocked it will cause the pump to pump is more water to the skimmer and this would raise the internal level and make the skimmer skim wet.
 
mariusmeyer said:
Since the tank is only a month old the brown algae will be diatoms. It is perfectly normal to get this as it is part of setting up a new tank. It does not do anything harmful to the tank apart from looking ugly. It will go away on its own after a week or two.
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Agreed, the diatom algae is quite normal for a new tank and it can bloom occasionally even in tanks up to a year old, your system needs to settle and stabilize and the brown diatoms will disappear on their own, there is no need to buy additives or take preventative measures for it, it is completely natural and will disappear on it's own. Clean your glass daily or every couple of days.
 
"I would also suggest a series of large water changes"

Sorry but this is not great advice.. when you are setting up a new tank you have to understand the cycle that that tank is going to go through. By doing big water changes you are doing nothing else except extending the time that the cycle is going to go through.

Having this brown diaton algae is more than normal, it can last anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 weeks depending on how much you mess with the cycle.

I would resist the urge to add any additives, chamicals or other solutions until your tank has had time to establish itself. i understand that the tank does not look prestine, but it is part of what needs to happen.

If you come from a FW past you have to understand that a marine tank can and will take at least a few months to find it's legs.

Keep testing weekly and make notes on what the test results are and what you add so you start to get a picture of what your tank is doing. They you will be in a better position to decide later on if a water change or chemical solution is the better way to go to adjust the tanks parameters.
 
ok thanks guys, i currently have one blue damsel in the tank thats been happily eating and everything for about a week now, everything else seems stable, i feed it once a day at the same time eah day. bar the damsel the only other inhabitants are a snail and a good few kg live rock.
 
Sounds perfect
 
Didnt realise this was from a cycle. Michael, just google diatoms and see if this is what you have. If this was a new tank going through a new cycle then I agree with everything that has been said.

But, now that I hear you have a damsel in there I would reiterate what I said.

Having a fish changes things, while I wouldnt advocate a large water change as I did earlier, I would still suggest a few moderate water changes to keep unwanted nutrient levels down. This may prolong the cycle slightly, but it will reduce the ammonia, and nitr*te peaks - which are harmful to your livestock. One should not add livestock until the tank is fully cycled.

That said, if the fish is a recent addition, and the diatoms have only cropped up since - then this is due to the new waste inputs (ie: you started feeding and your fish started pooping!) then its to be expected.
 
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michael10 said:
iv got a Buyo Tl550 thats been running for about a month and a half, my nitrates and amonia are reading zero but im struggling with brown algae on the glass and live rock etc. iv read to try remove as much phosphate as possible using seachem products which i will try but i was wondering what suggestions you guys might have to reduce this.
also my skimmer (which iv read is not that effective in these tanks) runs extremely wet and no matter what i do like adjusting the height of the skimmer and return section of the skimmer it still fills the collection cup each day with water ( lightish brown).
my diy is not good at all so i dont know what to do and im wondering if thats maybe causing algae??

any help is kwl
thanks
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Hi, I took off part of the outlet pipe (the part with the tap on it) so that the water could come out at a lower height and then put the skimmer cup as high as possible (it sticks into the skimmer about 5mm) and then the whole skimmer as high as possible - mine works perfectly
 
@ Dane, the tank was crystal clear about a month ago when the first set of brown algae came, it cleared and thats when i added the first fish, its now come back so i think it could be what u suggested about the fish waste.

@Stevengrant thank you very much i will definately give that a try! did you just saw off a small section of the outlet pipe?
 
michael10 said:
@ Dane, the tank was crystal clear about a month ago when the first set of brown algae came, it cleared and thats when i added the first fish, its now come back so i think it could be what u suggested about the fish waste.

@Stevengrant thank you very much i will definately give that a try! did you just saw off a small section of the outlet pipe?
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My outlet pipe came in sections, so I could just unplug the last section
 
o ok kwl ill check that out!
Thanks guys for helping but i want to be a nuisance and ask one more question...for now, what putty should one use when you want to attach LR together??
 
hey guys....got similar situation as above, gonna give try what been suggested. my tank has been cycling now for around 3 weeks. got 2 damsels in there and live rock....WILL try what u guys suggested above. i havent changed my water as yet
 
Also you guys can put in filter floss in the overflow compartment.And change that every 2 or 3 days.(cost +- R15 for a sq meter at any fabric shop) This will catch all the tiny diatoms and poo ect the accumilates in your rear chambers.Trust me you will see a reduction in algae in like 5 or so days.And run Chemi-pure elite.lasts me 4 or so months.

My buyo hasnt looked beter!!!!
 
michael10 said:
o ok kwl ill check that out!
Thanks guys for helping but i want to be a nuisance and ask one more question...for now, what putty should one use when you want to attach LR together??
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Ive used pratley putty. The ORIGINAL. Make sure uts not the quickset one. Then what I did was put it in the microwave for like 5 seconds untill is easier to work with and then attached it to my rocks. you can do it underwwater and it works a charm.

I am running phosguard,purigen(all the time) and filter floss(floss which i change every 3 days) and activated carbon once in a while to clear up my water and my boyu is looking very good. I also struggled with mine(cyono,gha,diotoms) untill I took out those bio balls and ceramic rings and replaced them with phosguard and purigen. I also added some flow to my tank. 1400l/h which made a huge differnce. Im now able to keep all coral and fish happy and diotoms away.

Remember to take things slowly and do research before buying things. Also,dont overfeed. How long are your lights on everyday for. I switch mine on at 9 and off at 5. Or just before and after work.
 
Evo R said:
Also you guys can put in filter floss in the overflow compartment.And change that every 2 or 3 days.(cost +- R15 for a sq meter at any fabric shop) This will catch all the tiny diatoms and poo ect the accumilates in your rear chambers.Trust me you will see a reduction in algae in like 5 or so days.And run Chemi-pure elite.lasts me 4 or so months.

My buyo hasnt looked beter!!!!
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do you rinse the filter floss you buy from the fabric shop before you put it in and do you rinse it with ro water or just tap. ?Im using filter floss(which i rinse before i put it in my tank with ro) which i buy from my lfs for 10 bucks a lil bag and its costing me a fortune so Im definitely gonna go to fabric shop tomorrow.
 
awesome thanks man will try that....is this the same as the white floss you get at the pet shops? ive seen it there and not using it in my tank.

I've for the powerhead (cant recall the specs) and the water is ciruclating good. think it is in the region of 1400l/h.....

my lights i switch the LED ones on at 7am and the main ones then at 9am and then off at 7pm, leave the LED on for another hour to around 8pm and then siwtch all off......so the main lights around 8hours a day.

thanks for the advice guys.....awesome!!!
 
wow never saw the price yet...but sounds like fabric shop better option......

oh the overflow compartment you putting it in, is this the 1st one where the water runs in the back compartments....
 
slless9 said:
awesome thanks man will try that....is this the same as the white floss you get at the pet shops? ive seen it there and not using it in my tank.

I've for the powerhead (cant recall the specs) and the water is ciruclating good. think it is in the region of 1400l/h.....

my lights i switch the LED ones on at 7am and the main ones then at 9am and then off at 7pm, leave the LED on for another hour to around 8pm and then siwtch all off......so the main lights around 8hours a day.

thanks for the advice guys.....awesome!!!
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8 hours a day is fine. Ive got a similar schedule than you. I think the stuff you can buy at the fabric shop is the same as they use to stuff teddybears and pillows etc etc so it the same. just alot cheaper if its R15 a sq meter. Ill go check it out tomorrow. If I can find it in Hermanus.the only thing you can find in this town is a pub,or 2,or 8.which is not such a bad thing.:lol:
 
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