Hi All

R

reefie

Reefing newb
new member here and somewhat new to marine tanks, been doing fresh for some time,

55 gallon cube
couple powerheads
protein skimmer
canister filter
coralife power compact with moonlights
live rock
false percula clown
clarkii clown
chocolate tang
coral banded shrimp
bumble bee snails
turbo snails
kenya tree
large coral tree

here is my relatively new tank setup 6 months or so.
CopyofCopyofCIMG3776.jpg


I seem to be getting a lot of red slime and coraline growth, though my newly added large coral tree top right seems to be struggling and moving around. my kenya tree is booming and has spread a smaller tree located behind it. overall the tank and parameters seem good, though I could use an additional piece of equipment to help lower my nitrates.

Im also considering adding this 400w mh w ballast and fan instead of the power compact.
CopyofCopyofCIMG3779.jpg


any advice is appreciated. and hi all! :D
 
hi and welcome to livingreef PCs (power compacts) are very frowned upon so i have learned here MH and T5s are deff the way to go. from what the poeple here have me understanding a good rule for light is around 6 or 7 watts per gallon. as for nitrates just do water changers, use RO/DI water for sure my LFS sells its pre mixed with salt $1 per gallon. im not sure on the red slime but the pro will chime in soon and let you know for sure sorry cant help much more than that and again nice to have you here
 
thanks for the info much appreciated, and yes I figured the mh would be much better for the corals, if it was fish only I might stick with the power compacts, I would like to add some frogspawn soon too!
 
also another question for the experts.

does a 400w metal halide ballast get extremely hot? would it be safe for the ballast to be sitting on a carpet floor? also how many hours should it be on a day for a 55 gallon tank? I know to watch the temps as the heat will get up there, but I am hoping the fans will help thanks all!
 
frogspawn i have noticed is a site fav. personaly i can decide what i like better frogspawn or torches. one of my fav tanks on here is d2mini new build you can find pics in tank show case his tank can give you great ideas
 
To lower nitrates, you will need to keep up on your weekly water changes with RO water, not tap water. If you already use RO, then disregard. You also need to clean out the filter media in that canister weekly, if not more often.

How often do you feed your tank and how much? And with what? Over feeding is a major source of nitrates in a tank.

To get rid of the red slime, increase the flow around your rockwork and get the nitrates lower.

What are your exact parameters also? It will help people more than just saying they seem fine.
 
Hello and welcome!

I bet you the canister filter is contributing to that algae problem. I would disconnect it and just rely on the protein skimmer.

Like BJ said, more flow will help. It looks like you already have 3 powerheads in there. Maybe try aiming them in the direction of where the slime tends to build up?

And shades and BJ were also right about the tap water -- don't use tap water. It will usually lead to neverending algae problems.
 
i have also been told you should have a break in light at least every 8 hours or you will encourage alge growth but if you do decide on MHs you would need to phase it in dont just hang it and turn it on like you do your current light, they are so hot and bright it can harm your current coral, you should turn it on a few hours at a time till everything is used to the light
 
I had the water tested somewhat recently by someone who had a refractometer, he said my nitrates were a bit high for corals but okay for fish, I cant remember the exact reading. I use marine garlic flake by omega one and the green algae sheet bits for the tang. I try to feed once a day but yes sometimes there is a little extra food which the fish do eat. Some days I wait, but I know right away when the fish see me coming they get excited for the food, and they are fed on a pretty consistent basis and with the light timing as well. I leave the pcs on for about 8-9 hrs. I am really pushing the switch to the mh as the kenya tree would probably really boom and hopefully my large coral tree will spring back as well.
 
I know about the light and the temps it can boom too, the light was very expensive and I got it in a trade, the bulb says 20,000 K on it, I know I could not leave it on as long as the pcs, maybe a few hrs
 
also I usually only feed what they can eat within a minute or two if they eat it all I will add a little more, the nitrates are probably causing the slime, and I also do not have a phosban or calcium reactor which I am told would do wonders.
 
i personaly only feed every other day in my preditor and reef tank and my nitrates are even close to 0 the my pred. tank which is a 55 with a lion, snowflake eel, yellow tang, dog face puffer and a butterfly. the MH would really help PCs are very outdated ( thanks biff ) and have a chappy out put compared to MH T5 and LEDs
 
i could be wrong but i think 20,000k is slightly to yellow you want closer to 14,000k but again i could be wrong, biff will prolly chew me up for giving bad info:bowdown::bowdown:
 
from what I researched it has a hint of purple like color, would a end table be suitable for the ballast? also anyone recommend a light of this caliber and how long it should be on each day?
 
Yes, 20K is blue. Quite blue. 10K is yellow. :)

Your nitrates are probably high. You should buy some test kits and test them yourself. Unless you test your water, you have no idea what's going on in there. Nitrates about 20 can be detrimental (even fatal) to corals. I'd bet that with your canister filter and algae problems, they are a lot higher than 20.

A refractometer will measure the specific gravity (salinity) of the water. It doesn't measure nitrates.
 

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