Marine S.A.T.

stagofdoom

stagofdoom

Phi Kappa Psi
So Ive been quiet about my tank for a while. Ever since the catastrophe where I lost 5 fish I havnt really done anything with it.

Im starting to restock my tank to what I want in it and hopefully by the end of summertime I will have all the fish I want in it.

When everything died I added Marine S.A.T. to clear up some of the algae. My question is how do you properly add the stuff so I know how to do it if I ever decide to do it again. I believe thats what could have destroyed my tank.

The reason ive brought this up is because ive been eyeing the blue lined rabbitfish at the LFS.
 
I used to use 1 cap full in my 75 daily when I had the hair algae outbreak.But I also manulayy picked out as much as I could every night.
Then once the alge was gone,I'd add a 1/2 cap when I did my water changes.
 
Well I did what it said on the label, 1 oz for every 10 gal, but ill do what you did yote and add 1 cap full every day till its gone.
 
Honestly, I dump half a gallon in my tank every month or so. So you probably shouldn't be asking me about dosing advice!!
 
Thoughts

one:
if it were me, and I truly thought that my tank's crash was due to something I dosed, it would be in the trash that same day, never to be dosed again.

two:
from the label:
"Clarifies around live rock, on surfaces-throughout the system
Beautifies in 2 to 4 weeks
Reduces and simplifies routine maintenance
Safe for all desirable marine and plant species
100% Live Bacteria-Not a chemical, Non-Toxic, Non-Pathogenice Dose 1 ounce per 10 gallons weekly until problem is solved then switch to monthly maintenance"

Sounds like you did it right and that this was not likely the cause of your tanks crash.
 
Before adding anything to rid a SW aquarium of algae, it would be more prudent to find the source of nutrients fueling the growth. Algae needs two things, fuel and light. Take away either and it dies. Here are a few questions...

What are your water parameters? Ammonia? Nitrite? Nitrate? Phosphate?
What is your source of water? Tap? RO? RO/DI?
What lighting system? How many hours per day?
What filtering system do you employ? Wet/Dry? Canister? Sump? Refugium? DSB?
What additives are you using?

Knowing the answers to the above ??s will help to pin down the source of the problem. Then we can suggest a course of action to correct it without the use of additives.

Dick
 
stagofdoom said:
So Ive been quiet about my tank for a while. Ever since the catastrophe where I lost 5 fish I havnt really done anything with it.

Im starting to restock my tank to what I want in it and hopefully by the end of summertime I will have all the fish I want in it.

When everything died I added Marine S.A.T. to clear up some of the algae. My question is how do you properly add the stuff so I know how to do it if I ever decide to do it again. I believe thats what could have destroyed my tank.

The reason ive brought this up is because ive been eyeing the blue lined rabbitfish at the LFS.
Click to expand...

I'm with you Stag. I think these Companies have products which when used under ideal circumstances work great. But our tanks are not always perfect and although a product will work on a certain problem there is no certainty that it won't interact with something else in our tanks. Thus causing all kinds of things to become out of whack. Of my two major system crashes, I believe it was a direct result of me trying to adjust something up or down by putting some kind of chemical into the water. Only to shock the system. The only thing I know for sure is that all this chemical stuff is not an exact science; reef keeping with or without fish has certainly not been perfected. At this point I am reluctant to trust putting any chemical into my tank.

As a newbie coming into this I thought there was answer for every problem. As a whole when you read the forums it becomes increasingly apparent that no one has the answers. There are a lot of ideas, but no absolutes! That is one reason I find this hobby so frustrating at times.

When things are going well and prosperous I don't truly know if I'm doing something right or simply just lucky!

JMO:frustrat:
 
dcantucson said:
The only thing I know for sure is that all this chemical stuff is not an exact science; reef keeping with or without fish has certainly not been perfected. At this point I am reluctant to trust putting any chemical into my tank.
Click to expand...

Yes it is!! :) or I wouldn't have a job.... Anyway, I actually agree with you Dcan, but for a slightly different reason. I think there are many companies out there trying to take our money, and I think that because there's not any federal regulations requiring companies to appropriately label pet items (especially in the aquarium biz), so it's a dangerous ground for us to tread. Basically, there are many different things that are beneficial for your tank-- stuff that's normally maintained naturally in seawater, like calcium, etc-- however, companies don't always tell you exactly what's in their mixtures, so how can we trust it?

Personally, I'd love to talk to the stock room at work and see if I can arrange a deal where I can get the chemicals and bacteria I want, in the purity I want, and make my own mixes. Either that or find a company who labels their crap. If i have to spend 20% of my time at work labeling the :pooh: I make, how come they don't have to?? :)

Anyway, back to marine S.A.T... according to the stuff i see on the web, their theory is that the bacteria in marine SAT will consume the nutrients algae eat. That seems sort of plausible to me, but I wish they'd say what kind of bacteria they're using. Personally, I'd just find a hungry tang to clean up the mess... but I doubt the amount of Marine SAT you put in the tank matters all that much. Too much and the bacteria are likely to die off anyway... too little just might not do the trick.
 
tankedchemist said:
Yes it is!! :) or I wouldn't have a job.... Anyway, I actually agree with you Dcan, but for a slightly different reason. I think there are many companies out there trying to take our money, and I think that because there's not any federal regulations requiring companies to appropriately label pet items (especially in the aquarium biz), so it's a dangerous ground for us to tread. Basically, there are many different things that are beneficial for your tank-- stuff that's normally maintained naturally in seawater, like calcium, etc-- however, companies don't always tell you exactly what's in their mixtures, so how can we trust it?

Personally, I'd love to talk to the stock room at work and see if I can arrange a deal where I can get the chemicals and bacteria I want, in the purity I want, and make my own mixes. Either that or find a company who labels their crap. If i have to spend 20% of my time at work labeling the :pooh: I make, how come they don't have to?? :)

Anyway, back to marine S.A.T... according to the stuff i see on the web, their theory is that the bacteria in marine SAT will consume the nutrients algae eat. That seems sort of plausible to me, but I wish they'd say what kind of bacteria they're using. Personally, I'd just find a hungry tang to clean up the mess... but I doubt the amount of Marine SAT you put in the tank matters all that much. Too much and the bacteria are likely to die off anyway... too little just might not do the trick.
Click to expand...

I knew we would be hearing from you on this one. Thanks. All good info!
 
I liked the part that said to wear gloves. But in Quant and Organic labs I would always overfill my burettes. So I never been known to be too safety conscious.
 
motorcyclereefer said:
I liked the part that said to wear gloves. But in Quant and Organic labs I would always overfill my burettes. So I never been known to be too safety conscious.
Click to expand...

I hope to goodness they never had burettes in your organic lab. ;) most of the crud they have you handle in teaching labs isn't that scary, except conc. bases... that crap will really ruin your vision. always wear safety glasses! [/public service announcement]
good thinking to look for the MSDS motor. :)
 

Similar threads

F
New to marine.
Replies
2
Views
1K
kbuser92
kbuser92
R
Reddish brown algae growing on sand
Replies
0
Views
2K
Rayb
R
Mike
  • Sticky
New Member (Owner 😲)
Replies
0
Views
739
Mike
Mike
Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
698
Mike
Mike
drm180
LPS frag ID
Replies
0
Views
2K
drm180
drm180
Back
Top