beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Looks great!
John's 60gal reef
- Thread starter john0087
- Start date
Ok, so I did enough reading and decided to get rid of the brittle star. I am going to move the rock he is living in into the sump.
My question is, will there be enough detirius on the sump for it to survive. Will he still be able to help clean the system of am I sending him to his grave, which is not my intention. I will move the rock tonight so I and my chromis can sleep in peace
Thanks
John
little_fish
Moderator
Just feed him a piece of table shrimp twice a week and he will be very happy
So I went to the Marine Aquarium Expo in Costa Mesa this past weekend. It was great, lots of people selling some cool frags and live stock. I resisted but I did take home a good deal on the Hydor Smart Wave and a Korallia Evolution PH. I know it's not a true wave maker, but I have it cycling every 45sec between 2 different Koralia's. It is on a timer so it shuts off completely at night and flow at night is provided by my return as well as the 2 PH's hidden behnd the rockwork. I like it thus far.
Also, within the past 3-4 weeks, all of my rocks have turned green. I checked param's last night and they were as follows
PH 8.3
Salinity 34ppm
Temp 80.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate less than 10 (pretty close to 5 but it's hard to tell)
Phosphate Less then .03
Calcium 460
Light cycle is 10hrs for actinics and 8hrs for the LED's and PC whites.
My 2 corals look healthy, are opening good and don't show any sign of stress. I just sent a sample of the water to aquariumwatertesting.com, so we will see how my reading measure up.
Oddly enough, I did read in one of the freebie magazines that I got this weekend that dead live rock has a higher chance of diatoms developing on them because they are so bare. My rock was very dead, white and I boiled them to make sure I killed anything that might have developed while they were in storrage. The "algae" growing on the rocks aren't much of an algae, it doesn't look like turf or hair algae, no bubble algae, just green colored rocks.
Could this be part of the natural progression of white dead rock that will eventually turn brown?
I'll see if I can post some pics later.
Thanks!
John
Also, within the past 3-4 weeks, all of my rocks have turned green. I checked param's last night and they were as follows
PH 8.3
Salinity 34ppm
Temp 80.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate less than 10 (pretty close to 5 but it's hard to tell)
Phosphate Less then .03
Calcium 460
Light cycle is 10hrs for actinics and 8hrs for the LED's and PC whites.
My 2 corals look healthy, are opening good and don't show any sign of stress. I just sent a sample of the water to aquariumwatertesting.com, so we will see how my reading measure up.
Oddly enough, I did read in one of the freebie magazines that I got this weekend that dead live rock has a higher chance of diatoms developing on them because they are so bare. My rock was very dead, white and I boiled them to make sure I killed anything that might have developed while they were in storrage. The "algae" growing on the rocks aren't much of an algae, it doesn't look like turf or hair algae, no bubble algae, just green colored rocks.
Could this be part of the natural progression of white dead rock that will eventually turn brown?
I'll see if I can post some pics later.
Thanks!
John
little_fish
Moderator
The green film is generally the first stage of algae new tanks get, and the nitrates and phosphates are what is feeding the algae growth.
And dead live rock has a higher chance of diatoms growing on them because they will have silicates available for the diatoms to grow on. Algae will grow on corals, so having bare rock doesnt promote diatoms to grow, its having nutrients for the algae to grow from. I think the writer of that article was likely confused with the fact that new tanks which have poorer water quality (which is more conducive to algae growth) also have few corals in there.
And yes, over time the rocks will color up.
And dead live rock has a higher chance of diatoms growing on them because they will have silicates available for the diatoms to grow on. Algae will grow on corals, so having bare rock doesnt promote diatoms to grow, its having nutrients for the algae to grow from. I think the writer of that article was likely confused with the fact that new tanks which have poorer water quality (which is more conducive to algae growth) also have few corals in there.
And yes, over time the rocks will color up.
Yeah, that's what I thought. I am curious to see what the test results come back. I didn't expect to see much alae growth with the Nirtate and Phosphate that results that I am getting with my home Salifert kits.
Also, is there a light that I could pick up at Home Depot for my sump? I can't spend a lot of money right now and I am thinking adding some chaeto and a light in the sump will help.
I'm not gonna mess with the tank too much, just keep going on my weekly 10g WC's. I am running phosban and carbon as well.
Thanks!
John
Also, is there a light that I could pick up at Home Depot for my sump? I can't spend a lot of money right now and I am thinking adding some chaeto and a light in the sump will help.
I'm not gonna mess with the tank too much, just keep going on my weekly 10g WC's. I am running phosban and carbon as well.
Thanks!
John
little_fish
Moderator
You can get one of these cheap metal thingies that look like a bowl but you screw a light into them. All you need is a one of those squiggly CFL bulbs.
Wow,
Came home last night and the algae took off. Looks like there is a little cyno growing on the sandbed now too.
I picked up some chaeto, but I could not find a good light to use for it. I am going to head to another Home Depot on my way home tonight.
I also ordered a bigger clean up crew from reef2go. I think I may have understocked my clean up crew.
Lastly I reduced my light cycle by an hr.
I checked Phospate and Nitrate last night.
Phospoahte less than .03 (it was hard to tell in florescent light not daylight)
Nitrate 5
I am very anxious to see what the results of the water testing shows.
Thanks
John
Came home last night and the algae took off. Looks like there is a little cyno growing on the sandbed now too.
I picked up some chaeto, but I could not find a good light to use for it. I am going to head to another Home Depot on my way home tonight.
I also ordered a bigger clean up crew from reef2go. I think I may have understocked my clean up crew.
Lastly I reduced my light cycle by an hr.
I checked Phospate and Nitrate last night.
Phospoahte less than .03 (it was hard to tell in florescent light not daylight)
Nitrate 5
I am very anxious to see what the results of the water testing shows.
Thanks
John
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Oh, forgot to add:
I feed on fish on
Sat
Sn
Tues
Thurs
I feed my one coral Oysterfeast on Thursday. I spot feed .5ml mixed with tank water and I use a cut 1liter plastic bottle to cover the coral while I feed to there is little waste spread into the tank.
10gl water changes on Friday night, which is 17% (based on 60gal tank) but even with the sump, I don't think I have 60gal of water in the system.
There are 2 foam filters, 1 on the overflow inlet that I clean dayly and 1 on my return pump that I clean when I do my WC.
Thanks
John
I feed on fish on
Sat
Sn
Tues
Thurs
I feed my one coral Oysterfeast on Thursday. I spot feed .5ml mixed with tank water and I use a cut 1liter plastic bottle to cover the coral while I feed to there is little waste spread into the tank.
10gl water changes on Friday night, which is 17% (based on 60gal tank) but even with the sump, I don't think I have 60gal of water in the system.
There are 2 foam filters, 1 on the overflow inlet that I clean dayly and 1 on my return pump that I clean when I do my WC.
Thanks
John
Ok,
So I got the results form aquariumwatertesting.com. Very interesting information compared to my testing, not good or bad, just interesting.
AWT vs Salivert
Ammonia .080 mg/l vs 0ppm
Nitrite .002mg/l vs 0ppm
Nitriate 2.7mg/l vs 5ppm
Phosphate .250mg/l vs .03ppm
Silica .7mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Potassium 300mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Calcium 331mg/l vs 460ppm
Molydenim .2mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Strontium 8.6mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Magnesium 1188mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Iodine .13mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Copper .0000mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Alkalinity 1.80mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Some notes
Ammonia HIGH - I'll buy that there was some organic decay during shippping .080 I am ok with this.
Phoshpate good - Ok so .250 seems high and they list it as good. I test close to 0 but I understand that hobby kits cant test all the phosotate in the system. I am fighting a small algae bloom, so I will but the results - I am running twolittlefishes phosban
Silica High - This is interesting. Analysys says that Silica could cause an algae bloom. My RODI water tests 000 TDS, so I don't know where this could be comming from. According to the label, the phosban should help with this. SInce I do have a small algea bloom, I will buy this results for now.
Calcium LOW - Also interesting. They say they test "free calcium ions". I constantly test over 450ppm, so I am not sure if I should start suplimenting.
Molybdenum HIGH - Where is this stuff comming from? They analysis suggests either from suppliments or my salt mix. High values could casue algea blooms. Ok, so I do have an algae bloom right now, but how do I take care of this, or is this not a factor to be concerned about? I use Seachem reef salt mixed with RODI to 34ppm salinity. I am not dosing anything right now.
Iodine HIGH - Also, where is this comming from and should I be concerend? I am not dosing anything right now.
Alkalinity LOW - So I was reading that overuse of Phosban can lower my alkalinity. Per the instructions 50g per 50gal of water should be used. I am going to check the ammount that I am using. I am also going to pick up a Alk test test and possibly start dosing with a 2 part calcium/buffer suppliment.
Any thoughts or comments is appreciated. HAHA, I probably should have stayed away from this service, but oh well.
Thanks
John
So I got the results form aquariumwatertesting.com. Very interesting information compared to my testing, not good or bad, just interesting.
AWT vs Salivert
Ammonia .080 mg/l vs 0ppm
Nitrite .002mg/l vs 0ppm
Nitriate 2.7mg/l vs 5ppm
Phosphate .250mg/l vs .03ppm
Silica .7mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Potassium 300mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Calcium 331mg/l vs 460ppm
Molydenim .2mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Strontium 8.6mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Magnesium 1188mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Iodine .13mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Copper .0000mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Alkalinity 1.80mg/l vs NOT TESTED
Some notes
Ammonia HIGH - I'll buy that there was some organic decay during shippping .080 I am ok with this.
Phoshpate good - Ok so .250 seems high and they list it as good. I test close to 0 but I understand that hobby kits cant test all the phosotate in the system. I am fighting a small algae bloom, so I will but the results - I am running twolittlefishes phosban
Silica High - This is interesting. Analysys says that Silica could cause an algae bloom. My RODI water tests 000 TDS, so I don't know where this could be comming from. According to the label, the phosban should help with this. SInce I do have a small algea bloom, I will buy this results for now.
Calcium LOW - Also interesting. They say they test "free calcium ions". I constantly test over 450ppm, so I am not sure if I should start suplimenting.
Molybdenum HIGH - Where is this stuff comming from? They analysis suggests either from suppliments or my salt mix. High values could casue algea blooms. Ok, so I do have an algae bloom right now, but how do I take care of this, or is this not a factor to be concerned about? I use Seachem reef salt mixed with RODI to 34ppm salinity. I am not dosing anything right now.
Iodine HIGH - Also, where is this comming from and should I be concerend? I am not dosing anything right now.
Alkalinity LOW - So I was reading that overuse of Phosban can lower my alkalinity. Per the instructions 50g per 50gal of water should be used. I am going to check the ammount that I am using. I am also going to pick up a Alk test test and possibly start dosing with a 2 part calcium/buffer suppliment.
Any thoughts or comments is appreciated. HAHA, I probably should have stayed away from this service, but oh well.
Thanks
John
chichimom79
reef junkie
I think it's cool. I'm guessing they charge for this service? I am also curious, what brand of salt mix are you using and do you stay with the same brand of salt every time you buy?
Yeah, its a service that you pay for. It's a little pricey, but I thought it would be interesting to see since the tank is so new. I paid for a 4 series test that I can use anytime throughout the year. They send you 2 plastic bottles per series (so I have 6 left), packing and labels and all you do is send your samples and they will test and send you a pdf of the results.
I read a lot of mixed reviews on line of their testing. A lot of complaints come from the Calcuim results and nitrate results. Most people that didn't like the service were upset becuase the numbers weren't in line with their own testing...ie calcium too low or nitrate to high etc.
My nitrate matches their results, I figured I would have phospates since 1 - algae bloom is occuring and 2 - I know hobby test kits for phosphate are hard to use and not 100% reliable, so I am inclined to believe that their tests are fairly accurate. I think I am going to send them a sample of my mixed water that I use for water changes. It would be interesting to see what "fresh" salt water tests at and compare the results to home testing of fresh salt water.
I added chaeto and a light to my sump last week, so I am going to let things settle for a few weeks and maybe send another sample of tank water at the end of May.
I have been using Seachem reef salt since I set up this tank. I use RODI water from a spectrapure RODI unit. TDS measures 000 and salt is mixed to 34ppm salinity.
Thanks!
John
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chichimom79
reef junkie
Have you looked into Seachem having silicates and malebdynum (sp?) in their mix?
So the battle with the algae is going well and the growth has slowed down dramatically.
I have been more aggressivly stirring my sand in small sections. I have always stirred it when I did water changes, but I have been really mixing it up nightly in small sections and the difference is dramitic. After the sand is all stirred up, before bed I clean out the prefilter sponge on my overflow box. It is pretty much black once I have stired everything up. Also the skimmate in the skimmer collector is the darkest, thickest green I have ever seen. No ammonia or nitrate spike and the sand isn't that deep, so I am not too worried about releaseing toxins.
My additional clean up crew arrives tonight. I should have done more research before I bought from reefs2go. I saw reefcleaners.org but decieded on reefs2go. Hopefully I have better luck then some other members here.
The good news is that in just a month, my birdsnest sps coral is showing incredible growth and coloration. I will try to post some pics this weekend after my WC.
Thanks
John
I have been more aggressivly stirring my sand in small sections. I have always stirred it when I did water changes, but I have been really mixing it up nightly in small sections and the difference is dramitic. After the sand is all stirred up, before bed I clean out the prefilter sponge on my overflow box. It is pretty much black once I have stired everything up. Also the skimmate in the skimmer collector is the darkest, thickest green I have ever seen. No ammonia or nitrate spike and the sand isn't that deep, so I am not too worried about releaseing toxins.
My additional clean up crew arrives tonight. I should have done more research before I bought from reefs2go. I saw reefcleaners.org but decieded on reefs2go. Hopefully I have better luck then some other members here.
The good news is that in just a month, my birdsnest sps coral is showing incredible growth and coloration. I will try to post some pics this weekend after my WC.
Thanks
John
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little_fish
Moderator
sounds good!
So my cuc arrived yesterday from reefs2go. My wife happened to be home, so I asked her to float the bags in the water for me to equalize the temps.
In the end, I had a few DOA's but thinging to write home about. The worst of the losses where the 2 emerald crabs That one sucks but all in all most other then a few snails and small blue leg hermit crabs, everything survived. However, the water they shipped everyone in was nasty, making aclimating eveyone a pain. It was a pretty big crew, so a few losses don't bother me too much and definately not worth the hassle of a claim and store credit. I'm not endorsing them nor will I buy from them again, just giving my recent experience.
I didn't really get to do a good evaluation on the algae bloom yesterday since I had my wife turn off the primary lights, so there wasn't a lot of growth anyware. I did notice that the bloom of cyno is now very stringy, which is making it hard to clean up, but I think that means it's not taking foot anymore and I might be in the clear soon.
Pics will probably come this weekend.
Thanks!
John
In the end, I had a few DOA's but thinging to write home about. The worst of the losses where the 2 emerald crabs That one sucks but all in all most other then a few snails and small blue leg hermit crabs, everything survived. However, the water they shipped everyone in was nasty, making aclimating eveyone a pain. It was a pretty big crew, so a few losses don't bother me too much and definately not worth the hassle of a claim and store credit. I'm not endorsing them nor will I buy from them again, just giving my recent experience.
I didn't really get to do a good evaluation on the algae bloom yesterday since I had my wife turn off the primary lights, so there wasn't a lot of growth anyware. I did notice that the bloom of cyno is now very stringy, which is making it hard to clean up, but I think that means it's not taking foot anymore and I might be in the clear soon.
Pics will probably come this weekend.
Thanks!
John
Dana42078
Dana
Yet another unsatisfied customer. 2 emeralds DOA acceptable? Not in my book friend. Goodluck with your algae issues!
Definately not acceptable, I didn't mean that, just not worth the effort to fight them, based on all that I have heard. I'm more just licking my wounds and moving on. The pack I got was for a 75g tank, which included the following items
30 Blue leg Hermets - lost maybe 5
20 Red leg hermets - lost 1
6 Scarlet Hermets - lost 0
2 Emerald Crabs - lost 2
20 Turbo Snails - lost 1
30 Nassaruis Snails - lost maybe 10
20 Cerith Snails - lost 0
Like I said, it was a big crew, so I have enough for the tank. Reefs2go did seem like the best deal out there, but I guess you get what you pay for. The emeralds hurt, but I am not gonna cry over spilled milk.....that's all I'm saying.
John
Dana42078
Dana
I totally understand. Just wash yer hands with them and move on. :sfish:
So I did a 10g water change yesterday and a major cleaning. Cleaned my overflow, return pump, and all 4 powerheads. It took a while but it really helped break up the last bit of cyno that was just stuck on various rocks and equipment, but not really taking hold of anything. The tank looks great and water params are great. Before the water change I was at
Temp - 80.3
Ph - 8.0
Salinity - 34ppm
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 2 or less
Phosphate - 0
Cal - 450ppm.
Here are some pics from this morning. The rocks are still a little green but overall ok.
Huge growth on my birdsnest. I got in on the 24th of March and it is looking great.
A couple of the zoa heads are still recovering from the algae battle. There was cyno sticking to a few heads and a couple still havent opened up. I'll monitor closely but they look good overall.
Lastly, just a cool shot of a hermet crab.
Thanks for checking in.
John
Temp - 80.3
Ph - 8.0
Salinity - 34ppm
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 2 or less
Phosphate - 0
Cal - 450ppm.
Here are some pics from this morning. The rocks are still a little green but overall ok.
Huge growth on my birdsnest. I got in on the 24th of March and it is looking great.
A couple of the zoa heads are still recovering from the algae battle. There was cyno sticking to a few heads and a couple still havent opened up. I'll monitor closely but they look good overall.
Lastly, just a cool shot of a hermet crab.
Thanks for checking in.
John
