My JAD60 (Boyu 550) with MH lighting and extra filter still looks dirty - HELP PLEASE

[JimGilbert]

I have been trying to make my own way in marine world for the last couple of years and have now run out of patience or reading materails so help would be good. I have bought a JAD 60 tank off fleabay which is about 30 gal with a 150 w MH lamp and some LED for night light. It has the usual compartment filter at the back which i have recently put about 5 kg of live rock and filter media Course to Fine along with a new Carbon and Nitrate filter. I have also got an external CF 1000 filter running with Foam a little rock and mechanical filter elements.
I have got about 20 kg of live rock in the tank itself and Argonite live sand. There is 1 Clown, 1 Regal Tang, 1 Coral Beauty, 1 Damsel, 5 Nassua Snails. I have just added some Turbo Snails and Hermit Crabs as my tank looks aweful 'dirty' on the live rock.
I am now suffering from the Purple and Green Algea, i by no means feed excessively i dont think and this algea is a new problem.
Can someone tell me where they think i am going wrong or do i just need to let the recently added filter media and clean up crew to do their work as they have only been in abou 2 weeks.
I want to start putting corals in but darent while it looks so dirty.
My Nitrate, Nitrate, Phosphate, Ammonia and PH levels seem to be ok everytime i check but i have read that this can be a result that it is feeding the bad elements which mask the cause.
I am sure there must be enough filteration as the external filters is over and above standard requirements, the light is on only 8 hours per day, and i am quite a mean feeder and regularly use live food.
HHEELLPPPP PLEASE.

[r60sgr]

A few questions bud but answers will assist in trying to offer advice.

What circulation do you have in the tank other than filter returns? Foam I'd get rid of as that's a nitrate magnet. You say results seem to be ok but get a second opinion if not 100% sure and post the values up to help us help you. A Regal Tang in that size of tank is a no no. What do you feed the fish and how often that adds to nitrate? What phosphate media are you using?

Stewart

[Tangman]

Hi as said by Stewart water flow is important as it gives the rock some oxygen so it can process the nutrients. Also fish stocking needs watching in a small tank and a Regal Tang is way to big for a 30 gallon tank as they do grow to around 14 inch in length. It maybe is small now but its the waste they produce that is the problem. Your stocking needs to be based on 1 inch of fully grown fish to every 6 gallon of water and that does not mean 1x 5 inch fish, ie it needs to be worked out before you buy any stock as its not fair catching and netting the fish unnessasary to get them out.Also fish that need special feeding like Manderins are not a good choice in a small tank as they require a large amount of live rock to survive unless they are feeding on frozen food as some do. Keeping the water right is the key to keeping any fish and the main thing with marines is good live rock which is scaped in the tank so water can easily flow through it so it can do its job, external filters are not required like they are in freshwater tanks as the live rock is the filter along with a good quality protein skimmer. If you have external filters they only need be used for carbon and phosphate remover and filter floss and being changed or rinsed out every week so they dont produce nutrients. Another thing to bear in mind is the larger the tank the easier it is to keep right as stability is the key to keeping marines ie temperature kept stable and the salt level to 1.025/6, a small tank will warm up quicker than a large tank so causing problems also watch out for water evaporation as you will lose anything from 1 litre a day to 10 litres a day on a large tank and as its only the water that evapoates it raises the salt level so causing stress in the fish / corals. HTH Twiggy

[ShyTalk]

You are way over the top with your filtration mate, all of it will be a pain to keep clean.
Your live rock in the main part is pretty much all you need.
In my 24 gall nano i have a sponge, rinsed weekly in waste tank water, and a bag of carbon wrapped in floss....that's it, absolutely no need for anything else, so my advice is to ditch the rest and clear out your rear compartment of all other media.
From the equipment you describe i'm betting you've recently moved over from tropicals? It may have been needed or useful there, but you didn't have live rock then did you?

As above, really bad choice sticking a tang in a nano, they grow HUGE and a big ocean going fish, sticking one in a nano is like you being imprisoned in a packing case, plus you'll get nothing but grief off other reefers for being cruel to your fish.

Stick you water readings up for us to see, Ph, sg, nitrates, nitrites and phosphates will be a start, i'm suspecting high phosphates as with all that filter media you'll be trapping loads of crud in there & that will feed algae.

In your size tank you should have no more than 3 or 4 SMALL fish, so i'd recommend selling the tang on before it causes you trouble and stick with what you have.

[JimGilbert]

Thanks for the responses, the increased filtrations is a result of the appearance of the tank, i was trying to clean it. I will downsize the fish, the Coral Beauty and Regal Tang are on there way to the LFS. The contradiction on filtration is somewhat confusing, i thought and have read that water quality is key to success and acheiving the right water quality is down to good filtration.
I have some live rock but it sounds like you guys think not enough, there is loads on e-bay or is that a risk route should i buy at LFS for £13 per kilo rather than £6 on fleabay.
I will get the readings this weekend and post a picture so you can see what I mean by the term 'dirty', thanks for the guidance so far, please dont get bored with me, i am on the Reef journey big style now and need the help and advise.

[r60sgr]

I don't read not enough live rock in responses and think the weight of rock you have seems good. The live rock is your filtration and is the best there is. Good circulation around the live rock is key to ensuring the detritus (uneaten food etc) doesn't settle as that feeds algae through high nitrate. As has been asked please list your parameter readings as without that we're guessing a bit and that will only risk mis-diagnosis. The concensus is to get rid of the external because that will breed nitrate too. The polishing media Gav suggested is what should give you clear water.
Lastly we will stick by all your queries so don't worry about that bud.

Stewart

[JimGilbert]

Hello My Saviours

My readings are as follows to help with the diagnosis of my problem
Ph 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate between 5 & 10
Phosphate 0.5 or less if i am optomistic
I am sure you guys will see some symptoms from those readings, is it me but 5 to 10 for Nitrate does not seem that high ! I will bow to greater knowledge
Thanks again
Jim

[Macca]

any chance of a pic Jim?

[JimGilbert]

Hope these are good enough, didnt think the tang was that big it would cause a problem, but i will follow advise i receive as my desire is to have a beautiful reef with a few fish, want the obligatory Clowns with a leather and can i have some Yellow Rock Gobbies for example to replace the tang and the coral beauty

[JimGilbert]

Hope these are good enough, didnt think the tang was that big it would cause a problem, but i will follow advise i receive as my desire is to have a beautiful reef with a few fish, want the obligatory Clowns with a leather and can i have some Yellow Rock Gobbies for example to replace the tang and the coral beauty