Hello - I need help on some big decisions

S

sheri

Reefing newb
I have had a 30 gallon salt water tan
k for 1.5 years and love it. Easy sailing until the green algae struck about 2 months ago. Purchased hermit crabs and added them - they are still not the fix to the problem. Before that happened my tank was gorgeous. I am in the market to purchase a new tank 75 gallon and I don't really know if I should move my existing Live Rock, sand, corals... until I fix the problem. Suggestions?

Also, I am floored with the sump, skimmer, protein skimmer selections which causes me to continue to put off buying the 75 gallon tank until I know more but because I don't know anyone else that has a salt water tank there is no one for me to talk to about this.

Acrylic or glass, what kind of pump should I go with? I love my fish and want to give them a better surrounding - thanks for all your help!

sheri
 
Hello and welcome to the site. Glad you found us.

I woul have to ask, on your algae issue, when was the last time you changed your bulbs in the light fixture? If you have not..........you should. If you have just recently, shorten your photo period up.

You can definately find a less expensive light fixture than 895.00 for a 75 gallon tank.

For a skimmer on that same set up I would suggest the Reef Octopus 110, a great little skimmer for an in sump application.

Any more questions or guidence, feel free to ask. There are lots of really cool people here that will help you through this journey. :Cheers:
 
Welcome to the site Sheri!

Have you tested your water recently? If so what were the result. There has to be some cause to the algae outbreak. What's your stocking look like? how much, how often, and what kind of foods are you feeding? How often and how much water do you change out?

If you do decide to upgrade to the 75g I would definitely go with a drilled tank, it will make running a sump much easier. Definitely go with a glass tank, acrylic tanks scratch way to easily. Octopus skimmers are great for the money but, if you want to look into a cheaper alternative you could try out an algae scrubber. I love mine and made it for about $30. As for the lights, $895 is pretty expensive for a set of lights. You can find some for 1/2-1/3 of that price and still have great lights.
 
thank you for responding so quickly
1st what is black sand?
I test my water regularly and I always have good numbers. I even took a sample to the local Salt Water Aq store and they tested it as well - all fine.
Thanks so much on the info of the scratches - I did not know and I am surprised considering the cost is so much more. Glad to know glass is better.

Can I find the lights that include the moonlight for less?
 
Black sand is just that, black colored sand.

Do you test for phosphates?

Yep I bought my light fixture for under $400 with moonlights.
 
i didn't answer all the questions sorry
The lights are about 3 months old / had to replace the fixture
The food I use is Dry /Hikari Marine S / I feed them 1 or 2 times a day

When you say a drilled tank what do you mean?
Water changes / 1/4 of the tank every 3 weeks (30 gallon tank)
Every so often I add RODI water to top off the tank
 
Cut back on your feeding to once a day at most. Also, ramp up your water changes to once a week. That will help reduce some of the nutients in the water, and should help out with the algae issue.
 
The light system I am looking at is made by Marineland it is the 24 hour lighting system/ separate timing on each light
14,000K HQI metal halide lamps / HO T5 actinic lamps with LED accent lights
 
I love the knowledge at this site - you guys are great - I appreciate all the suggestions - keep them coming - you are solving all my issues! Thanks
 
You can check out, REEFGEEK.COM, DRFOSTERANDSMITH.COM, BULKREEFSUPPLY.COM, MARINEDEPOT.COM

Just do a google search for on-line retailers. Shop around, you can find better lighting and much better pricing.
 
I agree with Fast, dont leave the lights on so long and cut back on feeding.

You can find light fixtures with LED moon lights built in for much cheaper on ebay or even just running a google shopping search for other sites. Do you want to just add moon light to what you have or do you want a whole new fixture that has extra moon lights?
 
When I had problems and didn't know about phosphates, I quickly started to test. I did something that worked for me. I started a weekly water change system that included mixing new water and really letting it sit a while , all heated nice and ready to go. I did this with RO water - the best in my opinion to reduce elements. Then to get the ugly algae out I went to the store and bought a black broom. I cut the bristles off and siliconed them around a hose. Once dried with rubber band around, I hooked the end to a canister filter packed with carbon and phosphate media. I then started to vacume each and every rock with the home made vaccume. I used a regular gravel syphon to remove accumulation through the substrate that built up. Doing this lowered my phosphates and eliminated the green hair algae from sight. After 2 months at doing this at least once a week my tank is rid of the algae. You have to consider your home water quality. I have well water PACKED with nitrates, so RO-DI unit was my best control, relying on stripping my water of all minerals and using the salt mix to replentish the tank water. I know purchasing the canister for like a hundred bucks was kinda drastic, but when I don't use it for a vacume, which I haven't at all since under control, I still use it in my sump as an extra carbon chamber - or just for some filter media to increase some bio area. Good luck. As far as your lights I don't know. I haven't been out looking at LED. I have heard great things and looked at a couple pluged in in awe. I am stuck on halides for now - but for now never lasts in this hobby. Oh yeah, and cutting back on the feeding like already said is good and what I did as well. I think it's not a problem if theres some control to eliminate. If you do all that and still have a problem then I'd look at RO. Some swear against it. I test my straight water out of the tap and cannot believe the dkh, was just horrible, and the nitrates I am surprized humans could consume.... but thats here in farmland where to be quite honest - with a farm next to us, we use RO just to avoid any consumption of pesticied contamination. Ya really wonder when a survey man comes to the door and asks for a sample of your well water. Uggghhhh. But in GreenBay where the water was pretty good still had it's downs. I think RO-DI is awesome, but like I said, it is really up to each opinion in the hobby. Good luck. Oh , and also, ya know, I can look at my bulbs all day on my lighting issues, and what it comes down to is changing yearly on my halides, 10 months really I think. But if you are doing all you can and out of nowhere the tank gets green, 9 out of 10 (especially with low nitrates and phosphates) , it's time to replace the lights.
 
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