hachadwick
Pilot
To fight this algae, what is the old fashion way? I read online that there is a additive that may help, but is there a non-chemical based way of doing it?
My First Aquarium and DIY Skimmer
- Thread starter hachadwick
- Start date
To fight this algae, what is the old fashion way? I read online that there is a additive that may help, but is there a non-chemical based way of doing it?
Samhain
Satin, Lace, and Sequins
Water changes, adequate circulation throughout the tank to minimize dead spots, and minimal feeding. Water changes and minimal feeding deprive it of nutrients, and circulation eliminates places for it to grow, as it likes stagnant water.
little_fish
Reef pro
Samhain has you covered!
slwedge71
reef enthusiast
congratz!!!
hachadwick
Pilot
I am going to perform a 10% water change tonight. I have the salt mixing right now with a pump. The fish is doing great now. The crab is hiding but when he comes out, he is chowing down on some of that green stuff!
little_fish
Reef pro
im glad to hear it!
hachadwick
Pilot
So, first water change complete: changed 5 gallon of the 50 gallons. The fish and the crab seem to be doing fine. Tonight I am going to pick up another clown fish as my son keeps asking me where his Nemo fish is:) I'll post pics tonight and maybe another video.
hachadwick
Pilot
ABout the cyano algae, what we believe is cyano algae because I don't have a clue, I have notices that it is very bright green. It reminds me of the ink from a crayola marker. It looks like green ink is all over my rocks. The length is real short. I ma using distilled water in the tank and I have 30x circulation int he tank. I am about to add another fan to help ripple the surface and help with air exchange.
This stuff is growing like made. I scrubbed the glass two days ago and it's already back. I kind of like the look but I don't think it will be good in the long term. I have read that using good water, doing regular water changes, and reducing the nitrate will help. Is there any fish or inverts that like the stuff? If they like it maybe they will thrive with it growing in my tank.
This stuff is growing like made. I scrubbed the glass two days ago and it's already back. I kind of like the look but I don't think it will be good in the long term. I have read that using good water, doing regular water changes, and reducing the nitrate will help. Is there any fish or inverts that like the stuff? If they like it maybe they will thrive with it growing in my tank.
hachadwick
Pilot
chichimom79
reef junkie
I would go for the metal halides unless the heat from them is going to cause you issues- although, two 250 watt MH may be too much. Not sure.
Im not sure if what you have is cyano, but regardless, just keep your nitrates and phosphates as low as possible and manually remove it when you can. If the emerald crab is eating it, I doubt it's cyano, but I could be wrong. Good luck!
Im not sure if what you have is cyano, but regardless, just keep your nitrates and phosphates as low as possible and manually remove it when you can. If the emerald crab is eating it, I doubt it's cyano, but I could be wrong. Good luck!
slwedge71
reef enthusiast
Most defentally go with the metal Halide lights. The cost in bulbs will be about the same but it is one big chunck every 12-14months vs, every 3-5 months on the T5's. You will also be able to grow a wider variaty of corals with the halide lights.
hachadwick
Pilot
It's really crazy that the most expensive single item I am going to buy for this aquarium is the lighting system! :yikesu:
I will prolly hold off until I am ready to put some coral in there. Right now I need to get the fish and inverts going OK:) Thanks for the input.
little_fish
Reef pro
You need to replace both t5 and metal halide bulbs every 9-12 months, not the in the time frames listed by slwedge.
And cyano is a nickname for a gigantic group of bacteria known as cyanobacteria, which is why it can come in lots of different colors, growth pattern etc. I still think you have cyano, but you know how to deal with that.
If the emerald crab is still eating it, i would worry he isnt getting enough of the correct foods. I would supplement small pieces of algae sheets for him.
And cyano is a nickname for a gigantic group of bacteria known as cyanobacteria, which is why it can come in lots of different colors, growth pattern etc. I still think you have cyano, but you know how to deal with that.
If the emerald crab is still eating it, i would worry he isnt getting enough of the correct foods. I would supplement small pieces of algae sheets for him.
hachadwick
Pilot
Interesting. Do I just add those directly to the tank? How do you feed a crab algae?:dunno:
One thing to maybe note is that the emerald crab starting eating the stuff the second he hit the sand bed..lol it's was like he was hungry or something at the fish store. He is always eating it seems:) Is there a invert or fish that likes to eat this stuff? Does it pose a threat to future reef applications? I thought about attaching a vacuum brush to a hose the next time I siphon for a water change and scrub and suck the stuff at the same time on the next water change. You think that will work?
little_fish
Reef pro
That is a great method of removing the cyano, and i think you should do it when you do your next water change. And there are no creatures that are known to reliable eat cyano, just a few odd cases here and there. But i think those are case of starvation and they are desperate for anything at that point.
And you can buy algae sheets at the LFS, just cut up a small piece and hand it to him, or rubber band it to a rock near his hideout. My crabs always liked it, and once they knew what was coming would run to get the first piece.
And you can buy algae sheets at the LFS, just cut up a small piece and hand it to him, or rubber band it to a rock near his hideout. My crabs always liked it, and once they knew what was coming would run to get the first piece.
hachadwick
Pilot
Sweet! I'll pick up some on the way home. I'm gonna rig up the hose/scrubber tonight and be ready for the next water change.
slwedge71
reef enthusiast
Actually she is right on the life of the MH bulbs. 9-12 months is max. But I would never go past 8 months on T5's. Also I think it depends on your tank. I have read many forums where people change the T5's every 3-4 months. I changed my at 5-6. I have also read forums where they change them between 8-9. So best to ask people here on the forums how their corals where doing at the light change on the T5 fixtures.
hachadwick
Pilot
I am trying to take it fairly slow in stocking my tank. I had one yellow tailed damsel, and one emerald crab. I wanted at least one more fish and another crab and maybe some snails. Last night I went to the LFS and purchased a emerald crab, a fire fish goby, and a turbo snail. This was going to be the occupants of my tank for the duration of the summer. At least tat was the plan.
So, when I arrived home with my creatures, I temp acclimated each one in their respective bags for about thirty minutes. I then dripped acclimated each in their respective bag enough to change the entire water out over a period of about one hour. Everyone was doing great. :bounce:
I added the emerald crab, who is a character! This things dances up and down the front of the glass, runs over and grabs a bite of algae, and dances some more:) He's a hoot. Hide last night and this morning, he came shooting out to greet me, algae in hand, like some mad scientist who just discovered algae..lol HE then ate it:mrgreen:
The turbo snail was added next. I gently placed him on the thickest algae invested rock. It was a 9 pound Fiji rock covered in the bright green stuff. This algae is actually really pretty by the way:) Anyways, I see why they call him a turbo snail! Within a 5 hour period, he cleared nearly all the thick algae off that rock! That things a monster!:mrgreen: He is doing great this morning. Munching on more algae it seems.
Now the fire fish. I added him and last and after about 2 hours of acclimation. He slowly swam to the nearest rock and hide. I never saw him again until this morning. He was :death:. I extracted him from the tank and noticed a gaping wound on his right side. I remember a very small bruised spot on the fish during temp acclimation, but it was very small. The same spot was now a large chunk removed. I wonder is maybe the damsel or crab ate some of him after he died, or worse, did the damsel KILL HIM? They didn't seem to care about each other when I was awake as the damsel just swam around. Maybe after dark they fought. I don't know. Maybe the fire fish was weak already from the small bruise. I don't know, but I know it's not the water cause all the other creatures, including my snail and two emerald crabs are crazy happy. I also performed a water check and everything read ZERO and pH is 8.0 to 8.1ish. :^:
I take it as a lesson. The fish store I purchased it from was not very clean and it looked like they had a bad infestation of some kind of slimy brown algae everywhere in every tank except their coral tanks where there was not fish living. I saw one or two dead fish on the bottom that had not been removed. The lesson is that I should have walked out! I am boycotting that LFS for the short term future anyways.
Another lesson learned! :bounce::bounce::bounce:
So, right now all creatures are happy. I love the turbo snail. I can watch him eat for hours and never get bored:) I find myself wanting to watch him instead of playing battlefield 3 or Halo, which is saying a lot...lol
So, in conclusion, please give me any correction, thoughts, or just comments on all this. They are welcomed, always:Cheers:
So, when I arrived home with my creatures, I temp acclimated each one in their respective bags for about thirty minutes. I then dripped acclimated each in their respective bag enough to change the entire water out over a period of about one hour. Everyone was doing great. :bounce:
I added the emerald crab, who is a character! This things dances up and down the front of the glass, runs over and grabs a bite of algae, and dances some more:) He's a hoot. Hide last night and this morning, he came shooting out to greet me, algae in hand, like some mad scientist who just discovered algae..lol HE then ate it:mrgreen:
The turbo snail was added next. I gently placed him on the thickest algae invested rock. It was a 9 pound Fiji rock covered in the bright green stuff. This algae is actually really pretty by the way:) Anyways, I see why they call him a turbo snail! Within a 5 hour period, he cleared nearly all the thick algae off that rock! That things a monster!:mrgreen: He is doing great this morning. Munching on more algae it seems.
Now the fire fish. I added him and last and after about 2 hours of acclimation. He slowly swam to the nearest rock and hide. I never saw him again until this morning. He was :death:. I extracted him from the tank and noticed a gaping wound on his right side. I remember a very small bruised spot on the fish during temp acclimation, but it was very small. The same spot was now a large chunk removed. I wonder is maybe the damsel or crab ate some of him after he died, or worse, did the damsel KILL HIM? They didn't seem to care about each other when I was awake as the damsel just swam around. Maybe after dark they fought. I don't know. Maybe the fire fish was weak already from the small bruise. I don't know, but I know it's not the water cause all the other creatures, including my snail and two emerald crabs are crazy happy. I also performed a water check and everything read ZERO and pH is 8.0 to 8.1ish. :^:
I take it as a lesson. The fish store I purchased it from was not very clean and it looked like they had a bad infestation of some kind of slimy brown algae everywhere in every tank except their coral tanks where there was not fish living. I saw one or two dead fish on the bottom that had not been removed. The lesson is that I should have walked out! I am boycotting that LFS for the short term future anyways.
Another lesson learned! :bounce::bounce::bounce:
So, right now all creatures are happy. I love the turbo snail. I can watch him eat for hours and never get bored:) I find myself wanting to watch him instead of playing battlefield 3 or Halo, which is saying a lot...lol
So, in conclusion, please give me any correction, thoughts, or just comments on all this. They are welcomed, always:Cheers:
little_fish
Reef pro
I think you are right about why the fish died, but he could have also been caught by a crab.
But remember what i said about buying from sketchy fish stores, Dont Do It!!!! Did you make sure the firefish was eating before you bought him?
But remember what i said about buying from sketchy fish stores, Dont Do It!!!! Did you make sure the firefish was eating before you bought him?
Kelz88
Got Reef?
That small bruised spot worries me. I know damsels are meanies but i think you may have just gotten a bad fish. The gash could have been where your clean up crew started at him, either way take his body out and wait a little bit before adding something new. Keep an eye on your damsel.
Shop around, there are shops that have no idea what they are doing when it comes to salt water fish. And if you do buy another fish from them you might want to quarentine (sp) him for a bit.
Shop around, there are shops that have no idea what they are doing when it comes to salt water fish. And if you do buy another fish from them you might want to quarentine (sp) him for a bit.
